Man, I don’t build guitars or even know how to play. I really love your enthusiasm and how you explain your process. I have 3 lasers and I’m always willing to learn new techniques. Keep up the great work!!!
Hey Dan, you might already know this, but if you're going to use the laser on MDf (and potentially some ply woods) you'll want to make sure it's in a well ventilated area The glue used to bind MDF is a neuro toxin when burned
This has nothing to do with the video sorry about that but I just retired from being the sound guy at our church after 15 years and our worship leader who I’ve worked with since he was a little kid gave me hat from your merch as a going away present. We’ve learned so much from this channel and appreciate your videos. And by the way top quality and comfort on the hat. Thanks again.
Uses: Lay out perfect fret lines and nut locations, fret inlays and head stock logos both the recess and the actual inlay. Now the recess might not burn that deep but it will definitely give you a hard line to work from. Maybe even cut the fret slots. My brothers laser has a vacuum table same honeycomb but the base has slots in a grid that allows the air through the honeycomb it will suck wood veneer and paper flat, and also the fumes. Future is looking good.
Dan you have came a long way since you built guitars in a shed behind your home. Your videos just keep getting more an more informative. Thanks for the awesome content!!!!
Sweet new Toy Dan!! You're gonna kill it! Who doesn't want a laser? I can't wait till the price comes down because I think this will also make some badass air brush templates! Oh! The Flame buster is much more fun than a baby monitor! lol! Thanks for the video!
Hey Dan, just a word of caution. I have a 1m square 48w laser. The deck under my laser got chared over the course of a year. A few weeks ago I started a job and ran in the house to get a cup coffee, and my wife stopped me to talk about something. When I went out my deck had caught fire, the laser shut down, but it did so right over the burning wood. It was a big mess. I had to order new wires for the laser so I can check to see if the laser will work. I rebuilt my deck using plywood covered with concrete backer board, and then sheet metal. I say all of that to say it doesn’t take long and all your tools and shop can be turned to ashes. Please be careful and keep up the good work.
As someone who uses an Ortur Laser (to do the artwork on powder coated guitar effects) I'm happy to see more applications of this laser for guitar applications. I'm glad you got the honeycomb and air assist (they really should include the honeycomb)
You should do a video on how to use the machine. In my experience, laser machines like this are awesome, but have a host of quirks to the process and a learning curve. If not a How-To video for the entire machine, maybe just a machine highlighting things you had to figure out or tips and tricks. I'm really interested in this machine now.
Yeah it’s a little bit of a learning curve. Since you build it yourself you learn the ins and outs of how it works, for me the learning curve was more with learning to use the software, which lightburn has a great tutorial UA-cam channel that was extremely helpful.
Very cool! Our local luthiers group just did an introduction to these at our latest meeting! Lots of possibilities! I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Honestly, looking at the prices, ~$800 is a really good price for a laser like this, and this thing is about $800 AFTER you include all of the upgrades, so that's great for small business use like this.
Hey Dan, great video. I checked out this video just after purchasing the Ortur laser. I can't wait to try it out on a Stewmac kit I have. Can I ask where you got that paisley pattern from? Was that something you designed? I look forward to checking out more of your videos. Thank you so much, Tim
Great video! Been woodworking for quite a while, I can’t play the guitar at all, but I have the itch to make one out of spalted maple. Having the same laser and extension has made me go for it so thank you. On a side note the American Flag you have vertically displayed @9:36 is in the wrong orientation. The union is always in the top left whether displayed vertical or horizontal
Haha that flag is printed on the box of a pop up tent my father in law bought at Costco. You can take it up with them. I did t even realize it was in the shot until you said something 😂
Really cool video and great examples of how you can use such laser engravers for guitar building. One potential extension could be to engrave custom fret markers and a logo on the neck.
Awesome video man! Where do you recommend getting the guitar body files for lightburn? Or if you make them yourself do you have a tutorial video on the subject?
Hey Dan, I have just about got my Ortur setup with the upgrades you've suggested. I was wondering if you might post a video on how to go about engraving those guitar bodies. I'm working on two guitar and a bass kits. I don't see any vids out there on the process. Any help you can give would be GREATLY appreciated.
Pretty cool. So you could pretty much put on any pattern whether it be stadard or custom onto your guitars without having to mark out and carve it by hand. I would imagine this saves more than a few hours work per unit since you can now pretty much set it running and do something else while you wait for the cutter to complete its run. It could be really good for doing things like patterns and logo's on headstocks and necks as well or even just burning the image onto laminate in order to cut down on labour time while doing these. I would also consider adding a fire alarm to your safety rig though since if you can catch any flames before the temperature rises to 300 degrees then that is a lot less mess to clear up and a lot more that could be salvaged of you equipment.
The laser itself has a smoke alarm built in. It will make a sound and emergency stop the laser. But if there’s fire it won’t put it out, that’s what the flame buster is for.
Dan, love your content, you have given me the courage to start making my own guitar bodies, the necks I'll still buy for now. Have you thought about making your basses and guitars in kit form, I'd seriously think about buying one and where can I find your basses for sale?
I do sell them as a neck and body only kit, I sell them on my website, gunsandguitars.net but I do them as preorders and when they sell out I don’t take more preorders until the previous orders are filled. You can sign up for my email list and you’ll be notified as an early bird when I have more custom builds and kits available for preorder
Thinking you could use it to cut the body shape multiple times from different woods and then glue/laminate them to make your own layered look guitar, then show off the woods/laminations when you angle grind edges/body carve (don't know what term you use).
If you're thinking of engraving an arched top you should take into consideration that you'll probably have to compensate the lack of a 3rd axis on the laser machine. Maybe there's some sort of option to flag in the machine software, but if not I guess you'll to do some test. Looking at it, I think this machine is studied to perform operations on flat surfaces. If you use a deeply arched surface you risk to have the pattern "stretched out" Can't wait to see what the Behemoth guitars look like :)
Dan your awesome dude love your projects especially guitar mods. Quick question I’m a fairly new subscriber and may have missed it but how do you make your shell control knobs!?😄 HELP PLEASE! Thanks brother keep rockin 🤙🏼
how do i import a guitar tele body into light burn and then add the graphics on top. Im new to light burn. Is it two layers that are on top of each other?
Dan, I would be interested to know if you could use this laser to make a headstock veneer - cutting out the logo/text from the wood veneer and then cutting out your inlay logo/text from something like mother-of-pearl and gluing it in. Even if someone else has done this, I'd love to see how it is done "Dan style"
Hearing you were toying with the idea of making a guitar version of the Behemoth is so exciting. I actually liked how the Jazzmaster trem looked on the mock up, but i think a Mustang trem would be even cooler. Congrats to Jamie! I hope that Tele ends up playing as good as it looks
I had no idea they made low wattage laser engravers like this. I have a 100watt engraver with a huge tube. It cost like $3500. LOL These low watt engravers could be very handy.
That's a really cool setup. I've looked at a few different companies CNC machines . One in particular that can use different cutting heads . Such as a plasma cutter a drill or router type head for precise cutting and honing. Plus a couple other attachments that the basic machine for up to five foot is just below 5k and the larger one for up to 10 feet is a little over 10 k. One question. Is it possible to adjust the body size of whatever instrument you're building and keep the full standard length fretboard? I actually like the way the cut out with the under sized top horn looks. I hope you never have to use that flame buster . I know from experience a fire extinguisher and or halon is a nasty flavor to have in side your mouth.
am i dreaming? did n't i just see you make a paisley pattterned guitar with cloth and epoxy? now it's laser engraved. i must be getting my videos mixed up. anyway, cool tool for sure. so, i'm south of you a ways and it blew like a hurricane. i heard there was a lot of rain up your way, hope you didn't get washed out. especially your new property. you get to go see what a crazy storm does to the ground.
Someone needs to send you an Inventables X-Carve to make your bodies, necks, and fretboards. Between these two tools, one could safely build a new guitar every day for an initial investment of $1500.
Just a small thing to consider, "Behemoth", at least in my branch of Satanism, is considered a Demon. I know you're a follower of God and Jesus, so I figured it was something I should mention in case you weren't aware of the potential Satanic meaning of the word. That said, that laser work is beautiful! Jamie's a lucky one for sure!
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. My inspiration of course comes from the Bible. At the end of the book of Job when Job is questioning God about allowing him to suffer so much, God responds with “where were you when I created the Behemoth and the Leviathan?” Meaning, who is Job to question the creator of the universe. The Behemoth is thought to be a mastodon or other similar ancient creature by biblical scholars, but really all we know is that it’s one of God’s beautiful creations.
Please don't call it a toy . Under definition it is a class 3 laser and 99% chance the glasses it came with and the shield is not the right frequency to protect your eyes. Im a laser tech by profession and have studied at University of Wisconsin .god bless
Man, I don’t build guitars or even know how to play. I really love your enthusiasm and how you explain your process. I have 3 lasers and I’m always willing to learn new techniques. Keep up the great work!!!
Hey Dan, you might already know this, but if you're going to use the laser on MDf (and potentially some ply woods) you'll want to make sure it's in a well ventilated area
The glue used to bind MDF is a neuro toxin when burned
That body looks sooo cool! Congrats James!
Can't believe I won. Thank you Jesus!!!! And Dan hahahaha
Congrats Jamie! You deserve it!
Congrats!!!!
Mannnnn…. You are SOOO LUCKY!!! Congratulations! 😃👍
This has nothing to do with the video sorry about that but I just retired from being the sound guy at our church after 15 years and our worship leader who I’ve worked with since he was a little kid gave me hat from your merch as a going away present. We’ve learned so much from this channel and appreciate your videos. And by the way top quality and comfort on the hat. Thanks again.
Congrats Jamie! Just a little jealous lol!
OMG I thought I won it based on comments like this before watching the video and having my heart broken 😭
Uses: Lay out perfect fret lines and nut locations, fret inlays and head stock logos both the recess and the actual inlay. Now the recess might not burn that deep but it will definitely give you a hard line to work from. Maybe even cut the fret slots. My brothers laser has a vacuum table same honeycomb but the base has slots in a grid that allows the air through the honeycomb it will suck wood veneer and paper flat, and also the fumes. Future is looking good.
Locating fret slots is a very good idea! Makes it easier to adapt the scale if desired.
Lots of great ideas here!
Dan you have came a long way since you built guitars in a shed behind your home. Your videos just keep getting more an more informative. Thanks for the awesome content!!!!
Wow, that’s awesome! And it’s fire red too.
Best instructional video on making templates using a diode laser!!
Sweet new Toy Dan!! You're gonna kill it! Who doesn't want a laser? I can't wait till the price comes down because I think this will also make some badass air brush templates! Oh! The Flame buster is much more fun than a baby monitor! lol! Thanks for the video!
Congrats Jamie
That body looks awesome and I know who to send my files to when I want a template made
Itty bitty behemoth is killer
Hey Dan, just a word of caution. I have a 1m square 48w laser. The deck under my laser got chared over the course of a year. A few weeks ago I started a job and ran in the house to get a cup coffee, and my wife stopped me to talk about something. When I went out my deck had caught fire, the laser shut down, but it did so right over the burning wood. It was a big mess. I had to order new wires for the laser so I can check to see if the laser will work. I rebuilt my deck using plywood covered with concrete backer board, and then sheet metal. I say all of that to say it doesn’t take long and all your tools and shop can be turned to ashes. Please be careful and keep up the good work.
This would be perfect for cutting out veneers fitted for your custom designs. That way, you could use inexpensive body wood and drop a nice top on it.
that Tele looks amazing
As someone who uses an Ortur Laser (to do the artwork on powder coated guitar effects) I'm happy to see more applications of this laser for guitar applications. I'm glad you got the honeycomb and air assist (they really should include the honeycomb)
Couldn’t agree more! Can’t believe I was cutting on a bare mdf table 🤦♂️🤷♂️ shows how much I know.
You should do a video on how to use the machine. In my experience, laser machines like this are awesome, but have a host of quirks to the process and a learning curve. If not a How-To video for the entire machine, maybe just a machine highlighting things you had to figure out or tips and tricks. I'm really interested in this machine now.
Yeah it’s a little bit of a learning curve. Since you build it yourself you learn the ins and outs of how it works, for me the learning curve was more with learning to use the software, which lightburn has a great tutorial UA-cam channel that was extremely helpful.
This is sick, as always... Keep experimenting, because what you're doing is getting better and better and better !
Very cool! Our local luthiers group just did an introduction to these at our latest meeting! Lots of possibilities! I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
This laser kit is so cool. Really tempting!
Honestly, looking at the prices, ~$800 is a really good price for a laser like this, and this thing is about $800 AFTER you include all of the upgrades, so that's great for small business use like this.
You've come a long way on your journey, can't wait to see what you do next.
Congratulations to the winner
I sorta like the cut-horn look of that happy miscalculation of wood left-over scene :D I keep forgetting you make guitars and extended bases!
Hey Dan, great video. I checked out this video just after purchasing the Ortur laser. I can't wait to try it out on a Stewmac kit I have. Can I ask where you got that paisley pattern from? Was that something you designed? I look forward to checking out more of your videos. Thank you so much,
Tim
Great video! Been woodworking for quite a while, I can’t play the guitar at all, but I have the itch to make one out of spalted maple. Having the same laser and extension has made me go for it so thank you. On a side note the American Flag you have vertically displayed @9:36 is in the wrong orientation. The union is always in the top left whether displayed vertical or horizontal
Haha that flag is printed on the box of a pop up tent my father in law bought at Costco. You can take it up with them. I did t even realize it was in the shot until you said something 😂
Very cool! You could probably do some pretty nice engraving on gun stocks with it too!
Definitely! I haven’t even explored it’s use for my other hobby yet. Definitely gotta try engraving some stocks and slides!
@@GunsandGuitars oh yeah, I didn't even think about slides!
I’m used to guitar envy with these types of videos, but now I gotta deal with some serious laser envy.
you can set up an old andriod phone on wifi with driodcam to monitor it on your phone or computer if you need to
I hope they will make an extension for the Version 3.
This was really cool. Thanks for the video! Blessings.
Really cool video and great examples of how you can use such laser engravers for guitar building. One potential extension could be to engrave custom fret markers and a logo on the neck.
jim sway does that a lot - he even engraves his fret slots ;) see also texas toast!
Awesome video man! Where do you recommend getting the guitar body files for lightburn? Or if you make them yourself do you have a tutorial video on the subject?
God bless you always Dan, such a great guy and great inspiration!!!
amazing tool
Hey Dan, I have just about got my Ortur setup with the upgrades you've suggested. I was wondering if you might post a video on how to go about engraving those guitar bodies. I'm working on two guitar and a bass kits. I don't see any vids out there on the process. Any help you can give would be GREATLY appreciated.
How did you go about getting your pickup and body shape cut in ratio? I have lightburn and could use the help.
This tele body is awesome!! Are you willing to do this for others?
I don’t see why not. All it takes is time
@@GunsandGuitars will message you on Instagram. Very cool!
Pretty cool. So you could pretty much put on any pattern whether it be stadard or custom onto your guitars without having to mark out and carve it by hand. I would imagine this saves more than a few hours work per unit since you can now pretty much set it running and do something else while you wait for the cutter to complete its run. It could be really good for doing things like patterns and logo's on headstocks and necks as well or even just burning the image onto laminate in order to cut down on labour time while doing these.
I would also consider adding a fire alarm to your safety rig though since if you can catch any flames before the temperature rises to 300 degrees then that is a lot less mess to clear up and a lot more that could be salvaged of you equipment.
Agreed on the fire alarm. 300°F, or about 150°C, is very high. A lot of bad stuff can happen before that temperature is reached.
The laser itself has a smoke alarm built in. It will make a sound and emergency stop the laser. But if there’s fire it won’t put it out, that’s what the flame buster is for.
Dan, love your content, you have given me the courage to start making my own guitar bodies, the necks I'll still buy for now. Have you thought about making your basses and guitars in kit form, I'd seriously think about buying one and where can I find your basses for sale?
I do sell them as a neck and body only kit, I sell them on my website, gunsandguitars.net but I do them as preorders and when they sell out I don’t take more preorders until the previous orders are filled. You can sign up for my email list and you’ll be notified as an early bird when I have more custom builds and kits available for preorder
Thinking you could use it to cut the body shape multiple times from different woods and then glue/laminate them to make your own layered look guitar, then show off the woods/laminations when you angle grind edges/body carve (don't know what term you use).
I actually had this same idea! But what woods could I get that wide and flat?
@@GunsandGuitars could you use normal body woods like ash and maple but have some layers stained before lamination?
Would I be able to make a Flying V template with the extension kit? Is there enough room for the long body?
If you're thinking of engraving an arched top you should take into consideration that you'll probably have to compensate the lack of a 3rd axis on the laser machine.
Maybe there's some sort of option to flag in the machine software, but if not I guess you'll to do some test.
Looking at it, I think this machine is studied to perform operations on flat surfaces. If you use a deeply arched surface you risk to have the pattern "stretched out"
Can't wait to see what the Behemoth guitars look like :)
Can it do something similar to a z glide pattern on the neck?
Dan your awesome dude love your projects especially guitar mods. Quick question I’m a fairly new subscriber and may have missed it but how do you make your shell control knobs!?😄 HELP PLEASE! Thanks brother keep rockin 🤙🏼
how do i import a guitar tele body into light burn and then add the graphics on top. Im new to light burn. Is it two layers that are on top of each other?
Dan, do you sell body templates?
How can you match exactly the engraving design with guitar contour? Did you had some special calibration?
Impressive Machine .
Oh man, I was SO close to winning that one =-D
You were!
Dan, I would be interested to know if you could use this laser to make a headstock veneer - cutting out the logo/text from the wood veneer and then cutting out your inlay logo/text from something like mother-of-pearl and gluing it in. Even if someone else has done this, I'd love to see how it is done "Dan style"
Great idea! It’s definitely capable of it. Just need to try it out!
Can a lacquer finished guitar engraved ?
Hearing you were toying with the idea of making a guitar version of the Behemoth is so exciting. I actually liked how the Jazzmaster trem looked on the mock up, but i think a Mustang trem would be even cooler.
Congrats to Jamie! I hope that Tele ends up playing as good as it looks
Hey there!
Wow!!!!!
Have you thought of selling behemoth templates?
I had no idea they made low wattage laser engravers like this. I have a 100watt engraver with a huge tube. It cost like $3500. LOL These low watt engravers could be very handy.
Yeah I think this one is 10watt 😂
Audi parts, speaker rings, etc etc.
Very cool.
That's a really cool setup. I've looked at a few different companies CNC machines . One in particular that can use different cutting heads . Such as a plasma cutter a drill or router type head for precise cutting and honing. Plus a couple other attachments that the basic machine for up to five foot is just below 5k and the larger one for up to 10 feet is a little over 10 k. One question. Is it possible to adjust the body size of whatever instrument you're building and keep the full standard length fretboard? I actually like the way the cut out with the under sized top horn looks. I hope you never have to use that flame buster . I know from experience a fire extinguisher and or halon is a nasty flavor to have in side your mouth.
Yes you can change the body size without messing with the scale length.
@@GunsandGuitars cool was wondering. Thank you.
I wish i could have one
So i can teach my son
am i dreaming? did n't i just see you make a paisley pattterned guitar with cloth and epoxy? now it's laser engraved. i must be getting my videos mixed up.
anyway, cool tool for sure.
so, i'm south of you a ways and it blew like a hurricane. i heard there was a lot of rain up your way, hope you didn't get washed out. especially your new property. you get to go see what a crazy storm does to the ground.
Head stock decal.
I just click pause in lightburn if I need to walk away
Idea. For the monstrosity, hypothetically, could you engrave 2 to 3 sections and piece them together after?
Maybe? That’s a tough one
Someone needs to send you an Inventables X-Carve to make your bodies, necks, and fretboards. Between these two tools, one could safely build a new guitar every day for an initial investment of $1500.
That's a lot of capability for a pretty low price.
Just a small thing to consider, "Behemoth", at least in my branch of Satanism, is considered a Demon. I know you're a follower of God and Jesus, so I figured it was something I should mention in case you weren't aware of the potential Satanic meaning of the word.
That said, that laser work is beautiful! Jamie's a lucky one for sure!
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. My inspiration of course comes from the Bible. At the end of the book of Job when Job is questioning God about allowing him to suffer so much, God responds with “where were you when I created the Behemoth and the Leviathan?” Meaning, who is Job to question the creator of the universe. The Behemoth is thought to be a mastodon or other similar ancient creature by biblical scholars, but really all we know is that it’s one of God’s beautiful creations.
Please don't call it a toy . Under definition it is a class 3 laser and 99% chance the glasses it came with and the shield is not the right frequency to protect your eyes. Im a laser tech by profession and have studied at University of Wisconsin .god bless
Thanks for the heads up! I appreciate you looking out for me