Watch this amateur woodworker make an incredible guitar – out of a shelf.
A jaw-dropping build inspired by Brian May's home made guitar
When we all finally emerge from this lockdown many will ask, “What did you do during the lockdown?” The 33-year old Belgian who runs the tchiks guitars & furnitures YouTube channel has a unique answer: a guitar made from a shelf! To document his inspiring build, he produced a fabulously absorbing video.
Shelf Guitar
This mesmerising 26-minute YouTube video is worth every second of your precious time. I sat and watched it with a coffee in hand and was just completely immersed in the process. Thankfully there are no distractions or a dodgy soundtrack to detract from this amazing guitar build by tchiks guitars & furnitures.
The builder used a set of sapele office shelves to build this guitar. Watch the whole process below.
The original shelves
Inspired by Brian May
Using the wood from a shelf to make the semi-hollow body, the builder was inspired by Brian May of Queen, who built his Red Special with his father using wood from an old fireplace. This build follows in those footsteps.
This build started in mid April 2020 when Belgium went into lockdown. I was inspired to find out that this was only the third guitar he’d ever built. I find that jaw-dropping, as the best I have ever done is variations on a Telecaster and that doesn’t require nearly as much skill as this semi-hollow build.
Tooled up!
Sure, he has a well-equipped workshop and a host of tools for the job, being a woodworker by trade (if not by training). But I could not help being impressed by the methodical nature of this build from start to finish. I really don’t want to spoil the video for you, but there are a couple of moments when I was just so impressed by his choices when handling certain tasks. I loved the way he got the tang of the fret prepped before fitting it, leaving no sharp edges. His use of a cabinet scraper to carve the body was amazing.
Go grab a beverage and immerse yourself in this guitar build video. It is beautifully edited and gives you insights into the juicy parts of the build in great detail. It’s a perfect slice of guitar construction heaven that’s worth 26 minutes of your life.
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More Information
- tchiks guitars & furnitures YouTube page
- Instagram pics of the guitar
- The original office shelves here
Video
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- The original shelves: Imgur
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3 responses to “Watch this amateur woodworker make an incredible guitar – out of a shelf.”
Amazing craftsmanship, superb artisan. What a beautiful guitar. BRAVO!
Can you tell me where you got the plans. I like the build. Great video. I have made a canoe, kayak, and ukulele. I would like to try this.
Hear this is actually very dignified when judged in terms of the work of a woodmaster. It looks very dignified that the most important thing is it looks the way I would see it. And I think it was important that she looked good. But it would be cool to hear how it sounds. After all, if the guy withstood these lines, then he got a great combo.