Frequently Asked Questions

What is required to play the videos? A computer with a browser, and the Flash plugin. There is a menu included which makes the process easy. You can stop/Forward/Rewind very easily.

What exactly is included? I show the complete design and machining of a guitar body and neck in these videos. I also include many sample files, and even "real world pictures" (in the neck videos) of the process.

Do I need both disks in each set? The disks are designed to be used independent of each other, even though they are linked. The guitar model machined in Mastercam, is first constructed in Solidworks. Nothing to keep you from buying them seperately and learning only the design process, or the machining process (if you are already an expert in one). The guitar models and neck models are included on BOTH CD's (machining and design). if you want to see the complete process, then buy both in each of the sets.

Will you ship Internationaly? Yes I will, that is why there is a separate column for International shipments in the order page. Please contact me if you have special shipping or customs requirements. I have shipped these in many parts of the world with no issues!

These disks are expensive, why? Considering the amount of time an effort I have put into these, I think they are quite cheap. Have a look around, and you will what average costs of Solidworks and Mastercam lessons cost these days. Seen the latest prices on some instructional Books and videos? Seen any focusing specifically on guitars? In addition, even if you are NOT interested in building guitars, but want to learn machining or design, these can be a great set as well.

Why do I have to pay for shipping? Because the post office will not deliver packages for free.

How difficult was building the CNC machine? If you have woodworking skills, the build is not difficult at all. All the parts were obtained at my local hardware/home store. There is a bit of electronics knowledge required (soldering) when putting the controller together, however the instructions that came with the Xylotex board were detailed. Visit some of the forums, and you will see that folks are putting together machines working in their basements and garages. If you are really serious about this, you can also purchase a CNC machine (from places like shopbot or K2CNC) but they are NOT cheap!

Seems expensive to get started, why the trouble? Yes, when you consider the cost of the software, hardware, CNC router etc, it will be quite expensive to put a system like this together. You can buy a quality guitar these days for much, much less. However, this is not about being easy, but about learning CNC, and then building an instrument(s) that you will have for the rest of your life, and you can say "I build it!" I can not describe the feeling to you, when you see your CNC router carve out a guitar body or neck for the first time, after having "drawn" this body/neck inside a computer!