[MarkC]

What is the hardest part of building your own electric guitar? Is it the body,neck,electronics? I'd love to try it but I have zero experience.

 

[RBlakeney]

I am starting my first actual build today. I would suggest if you don't have an experience to try out one of the DIY kits first. They are quite easy to build and will allow you to be able to do all the finishing yourself , the electronics, as well as get comfortable with how everything does (and doesn't) go together.

 

[greco]

Can you solder?

It helps to get the soldering equipment in advance and practice a fair amount if you have no experience. Fortunately, there are hundreds of tutorials/videos on this topic.

 

[keto]

If you're talking about assembling parts, there's nothing particularly difficult. Oh sure the soldering can be a challenge if you've never done, but you can practice and get at least decent at it pretty quickly.

If your talking about doing the woodworking, the neck (which I haven't done) would have to be the most difficult. Getting the fretboard radiussed properly, any inlays you want, and the big one, routing for and installing a truss rod.

 

[greco]

but you can practice and get at least decent at it pretty quickly.

@keto extended on my comment about soldering. As he states, you can get decent results fairly quickly...especially if you follow all the steps in sequence each time.

@RBlakeney 's suggestion of starting with a DIY kit is wise, IMO.

 

[sambonee]

Any suggestions to a video as a "soldering 101"?

 

[Lincoln]

In my humble opinion.........the finishing is the hardest part of a guitar build. A kit is nice because you get everything you need and you know it all goes together, but the parts are usually raw wood that require finishing. By "finishing" I mean the color and clear coat. Buying a finished body, a neck, and then buying/adding the other parts you need is a great way to start. I started that way, and promptly drove myself crazy trying to all the right screws to put it together with. Lowes is the answer to screw problem. Stainless steel, oval head, Phillips. They've got them, nobody else does.

Somebody really should make up & sell screw kits for Strats, Tele's, and LP's. That would be total awesomeness.

 

[cboutilier]

Neck building and/or finish work, depending on your skill set and aptitudes.

 

[Guest]

By "finishing" I mean the color ..

I find that the 'choice' of colour tends to be the hardest for me.
Also, solid, transparent or stain.

 

[Guest]

Getting the frets perfect. That's why a Plek machine costs so much.

 

[Ronbeast]

+1 for the neck. Doesn't matter how high quality your materials and components are if the neck is poorly fretted and poorly made.

The second most difficult for me is the finish. You've never felt true anger until you try spraying a finish as a rookie. There is a serious art form to guitar finishing, and I applaud the ladies and gentlemen who are truly professional at it. I've burnt guitars in the fire pit because of streaks and dirt in the finish.

 

[High/Deaf]

If your talking about doing the woodworking, the neck (which I haven't done) would have to be the most difficult. Getting the fretboard radiussed properly, any inlays you want, and the big one, routing for and installing a truss rod.

Not to mention, where you put the frets seems to be a big issue. If I were to do it, it would look something like this - and not on purpose.

 

[Steadfastly]

If you don't have the proper tools, that would be the biggest obstacle in my thinking. Good tools can be expensive and if you are going to do a good job, you need them unless you are just buying parts and are assembling rather than building. Purchasing the tools can put the price of your build in the thousands of dollars if you are starting from scratch.