LA Guitar Factory Luthiery School

LA Guitar Factory is home of the first and only luthiery school in the Charlotte, NC area. Luthiery, or guitar building, is offered in a unique one-on-one program. The student learns to build their own guitar under direct guidance and supervision of luthiers Ari Lehtela or Luke Lukuer.

For first time students, we offer a two-part course consisting of building a ‘tele’ style guitar. The first part of the course consists of building the guitar body. All aspects of the construction of a high quality solidbody will be covered. The student will have, at the time of completion of this part of the course, a finished ‘tele’ style body (of domestic and/or exotic wood) and all templates relating to building the body as well wiring diagrams for the electronics. The second part of the course involves one of two options:

A. Attachment of a pre-made neck

B. Construction of the neck, from start to finish

Option B involves much more time than option A and for that reason will run higher cost-wise. Courses in semi-hollowbody or acoustic guitar construction are also offered for those with prior guitar building or woodworking experience. Please inquire.

Luthiery Courses

Building a Tele-style Solidbody Guitar

Part 1: Construction of the body

making all required templates, jigs and fixtures

selecting all the right wood

how to do a proper glue-joint (if applicable)

how to bring the body to proper dimensions

locating neck pocket and neck attachment holes

final sanding, scraping and contouring of the body

finishing options

wiring electronics

Fee: Requires a minimum of four two-hour sessions @ $240*

Additional costs:

wood ( $30~$100 average range)

2 templates ( $20 )

finish ( $5 and up )

hardware ( $75~$150 )

pickups ( $75~$150 )

electronics ( $20 average )

tools ($ depending on what woodworking tools the student may already have)

Part 2: Construction of the neck

making all required templates, jigs and fixtures

selecting the right wood

woodworking the neck to dimensions using both hand and power tools

cutting the truss rod cavity and optionally, graphite bar reinforcement channels

fingerboard construction and installation

fretting the fingerboard and inlay of position markers

final sanding, scraping and detail work of the neck

finishing options

installation of the neck to the previously built body

stringing up of the instrument and final set up including cutting the nut, wiring and final tuning of the instrument

leveling the frets, if necessary

Fee: Requires a minimum of five two-hour sessions @ $300

Additional costs:

wood ($50~$100)

template ($10)

fretwire ($5)

hardware ($50~$75)

truss rod ($15)

2 graphite bars ($35)

inlay material ($5~$10)

finish ($5 and up)

tools ($ varies)

* Courses may run longer at a higher fee, depending on the student’s knowledge of woodworking and guitar building. Also a factor is whether he or she has the woodworking tools listed below and space for doing woodworking, or access to these outside of our shop. These will need to be discussed prior to commencement of the course.

Tools List:

2 HP or higher plunge router ( such as Porter Cable 7529 or DeWalt DW621 )

a set of Ľ" or ˝" shank carbide-tipped router bits (these will be discussed with the luthier)

hand drill such as DeWalt DW100

drill bits and forstner bits ( sizes to be discussed with luthier )

various clamps including bar clamps as well as woodworking clamps

various grits of sandpaper

various drum sanders ( used with hand drill )

Other tools may include: drill press, band saw and oscillating spindle sander. The tools list above is not a requirement but rather to show the main tools of operation. Having some of the tools listed will allow the student to take the work home to work on and thus potentially lessen the cost as well as overall timeframe of the project.

Safety glasses, dust mask and hearing protection can be supplied by us or the student can bring their own.