I am looking to invest in a complete luthier tool sets for electric guitar , just reasonably decent. Not going to be a luthier but DIY. Stewmac's pricing are a little crazy. For their filing tool i think is still acceptable due to the precision. I will probably get a couple of tools from them seperately. Would appreciate if anyone can share your lists and what brand, or where you got them? Thanks. John J.
Not only are StewMac's prices offensive, their shipping charges are insulting. I patronize this company almost exclusively... http://japarts.ca They charge actual shipping. That said, I'm in North America.
I order several times a year from StewMac. I pay a one time shipping fee and that covers my shipments for the year. I think it is $59. Whoops.. just checked. It is down to $40. That helps on shipping but not their prices.
I found this site recently. Not a complete selection, but what it has seems reasonably priced. https://elmerguitar.com/
If you wanna invenst in a tool set get a bunch of nut slotting files(minimum 3 of them).Those are actually money very well spent although they seem a bit expensive...other than that for things like straight edges...notched straight edges...fret rockers....triangular fret files..etc etc etc you can pretty easily find cheap replacements on your local hardware store (with a little modding help from you) that ll do the job just as well.
google and ebay is your friend, stew-mac now has several competitors. unless stew-mac is the only vendor with a unique product, someone else now sells the same things for less so shop around. and even though stew-mac may have an exclusive tool, there is more than 1 way to do most jobs, stew mac complicates many tasks by making you think you need their expensive tool. - those repairs were made for decades without their "special tool", so investigate. i will say that their wild tech fret files are worth the money if you do a lot of fret work. and real nut files not purchased from stew-mac are worth their weight in gold. but almost anything else can be done with next to nothing and home made stuff.
Tools are tools. Very few are specialised. Buy from tool shops, where the guitar and luthier supply shops get theirs and add their 100% profit to the price.
Another fine site: https://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/ They have some common items at better than Stew Mac prices.
And to your point, there are many Stew-Mac Videos and others featuring Dan Erlewine where he clearly points out how and when you can or should make your own tool for a job. In most of his DVD's he offers alterntives, often homemade ones to S-M's pricey tools.
Music Nomad offer some basic tools and kits that while not exactly cheap are still worthwhile and very compact. https://www.musicnomadcare.com/Products/ https://www.musicnomadcare.com/Products/Setup-Starter-Kit-Bundle/?
Another suggestion - stay away from "complete" tool kits. They tend to have lower quality items you may or may never use. I've slowly collected most everything I need by now at the time I needed them. YMMV, etc. The most specialized I've gotten are these nut files. Going to used for the first full use as I attempt to create the nut from a blank for my upcoming build. https://www.philadelphialuthiertool...tapered-electric-guitar-nut-file-set-3-files/
+1 on Stewmac’s Stewmax. $39.95 for free 2-day shipping for a year, along with discounts on books and videos. StewMac is certainly expensive for some items, but also reasonable for others. It’s hit or miss. I’ve also used some of the other sources listed above with good results. Also eBay. Bill, tgo
Oh, these as well. Very similar to Stew Mac's version, only cheaper. https://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/luthier-tools/measuring-tools/guitar-radius-gauge-set-of-2/ https://www.philadelphialuthiertool...acing-rule-nut-and-bridge-string-layout-tool/
. Look up the Ron Kirn thread 'leveling yer guitar' or it might be tele or something like that, should be on this forum and is certainly on TDPRI. Includes a download pdf of how to as well as a minimal set of simple tools. You don't need to go crazy with the high priced tools. You'll find suggestions for 'you gotta get tool X' just like you'll see 'you gotta get a tube amp and a Custom Shop guitar to play anything at all'. You can get everything you need at Harbor Freight for maybe $50 total or splurge to $100. You can notch a feeler gauge set into nut file (there's a thread around here or TDPRI), or welding tip cleaners. You'll only want a few higher priced parts if you are doing more than one guitar a day. If you've got a fleet of three hundred guitars to mod and maintain then you've probably got the funds and interest to call up Stew Mac and order one and spares of everything. Find the plans for the Matt Vinson fret leveling jig, if you're serious about fret leveling. .
A lot of my tools are modified from tools you can get at any hardware store. My fret leveling files are just flat files with the tang ground off and then wood epoxied to one side for a handle. Fret pullers and fret end nippers are just plain old end nippers ground flush. My crowning file is a triangle file is a triangle file with the corners ground smooth. Stew Mac is ridiculous.
in dan erlewine's book - "how to make your electric guitar play great" he gives many tips and examples of diy how to. the website "frets.com" has tips and tricks from some of the best instrument repair people ever, also.
