How to Make an Electric Flying-V Guitar

How to Build a Flying-V Electric Guitar

I always wanted to build a guitar for myself to learn how they work firsthand. So I wrote directions for building a guitar so that other children who want to can do it too. To start, you should get the following materials: a premade neck, tuners, strings, mahogany wood, potentiometers (Electrical Kit), volume and tone knobs, humbucker pickups, rolling bridge, string plate tail piece, pickguard (optional), and a jack plate. Attach them with the instructions stated for carving the body, attaching electricals, and doing finishing touches to make it all come together.

For this project, you will need: a premade neck, tuners, strings, mahogany wood, potentiometers (Electrical Kit), volume and tone knobs, humbucker pickups, rolling bridge, string plate tail piece, pickguard (optional), and a jack plate

To carve the body, first make a template for the body, as illustrated on slide 2, using cardboard or paper. Assuring there is enough room to carve, add an extra half or full inch. Then, using this template, you can carve out the body and adjust it to how you personally feel. After cutting out the body, sand down the sides to fit around the neck and have equal measurements on each side. To ensure there is enough space for the electrical equipment, refer to the template. However, be careful because there must be enough room for the backplate. For the neck, use a smaller power tool that can cut to the length you need but not through the wood entirely. Then, use the same method for the humbuckers and potentiometers. Finally, sand the wood so it’s smooth and the correct size. Once this step is finished, carving the body is completed.

Adding the electrical parts requires precision to ensure the wires have enough room, along with the rest of the electrical supplies. The humbucker should have three wires attached that vary on the pickup, but it’s generally: black, which is negative; green and gray, which are ground; and red and white, which are coil traps. These wires attach to the potentiometers and the jack. To attach the wires, know which wires are which colors. If you are unsure, then use a Volt-Ohm-Milliammeter. Once checked, solder the wires to the following. For the neck pickup, put the green in the closest available slot, then put gray above it. Attach the red and white to a series link, and finally connect black to the available slot diagonal to green. Then, for the bridge pickup, place black in the same position only on the bridge pot, and place gray in the closest spot. Finally, attach green to the slot above green, and the red and white to the series link again. Once done, the electronics are complete, and humbuckers and potentiometers should be installed.

For the finishing touches, attach the neck to the body in the space made, then attach the strap buttons, bridge, tailpiece, jackplate, and pickguard if added. To secure these, they should have screws to screw into the wood. Use a neckplate for the neck with four screws to join it to the body. The strap buttons are the screw, and a strap lock may be added if preferred. To coat the guitar, or make it shine, use polyurethane. Start by sanding with a 320 ultra-fine sanding block, then use a tack cloth to wipe any dust off. Next, paint with the polyurethane with a one-inch paint brush and repeat the process.

The guitar should now be functional and work with an amp. So if anything is wrong, it’s likely something with the wiring. But otherwise, the guitar should be of decent quality and playable for concerts. The guitar may be thrashy or nice, depending on what you prefer, so the guitar may vary from what is in the pictures. Nevertheless, it should be functional with an amp if done correctly.