Hi Howard.

Glad to see you back. I'm not on here much at the moment either, but keeping busy.

Best of luck to you.

John

Hi Howard.

Great question, although a difficult one. Everyone here will give you a different list, and none will be wrong. If I had to start again the first big thing I would buy would be a bandsaw (a two wheel one with a heavy steel frame), followed by a good belt sander. Those are the two most important for me. Probably a double ended grinder if you don't already have one. Sharpening tools is so important. Don't throw old tools away either. Old files can be made into very good chisels if ground down properly. After the big stuff it is probably hand tools like knives, chisels, files and hand planes. I have borrowed a router recently but haven't used it yet and you can certainly shape necks without that.

I worked in the crafts before I started making these guitars, so I have lots of tools, some of which I would never buy if it were just for making these, but it's nice to have them. Look out for old tools. They were well made and can often be restored into something better than you can buy new at a decent price. Oh, and lastly clamps. Lots of clamps. Finally though, I would buy when you have a need. If you have already built one then you obviously can build with what you have so only buy as the need arrises. Hope this helps a bit and let me know if you have any other questions.

All the best.

John