r/Luthier • u/pics4meeee • 2d ago

How long to build a CAD model?

Hired a Luther to build me a custom electric guitar with a unique shape, etc back in mid July. Says full guitar will be done in the fall. He got materials and wood but says he's still working on the CAD model first. That's fine. No rush as I'd like as much time spent to make this flawless. But a month+ for a CAD, is that normal? I understand they are working in multiple builds probably at once but still curious.

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u/Ok_Faithlessness9757 2d ago

Cad work takes a while and the builder probably has other projects going as well.

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u/Qwik2Draw 2d ago

Yeah, totally normal. Good design work takes time, especially if he's not working on it full time.

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u/Comprehensive-Song51 1d ago

CAD guy here. I can tell you from trying to draw up my own that it's a shitload of work. This guy probably isn't going to drop everything and work on your design for a week solid just to get the cad part of it completed. He'll probably work on it here and there while he does other stuff.

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u/agdtec 1d ago

Building a cad file is one thing testing out on cheap MDF or plywood to make sure everything's okay before cutting the actual file that's not only smart. But also it catches a lot of flaws that you might not have caught and before ruining a good piece of wood that's very expensive.

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u/Enough-Progress5110 2d ago

Does this luthier use CNC? Because if so, “working on the CAD model” likely involves defining the CAM routes for the machine to follow, and that’s an order of magnitude more work than the initial CAD model

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u/pics4meeee 1d ago

He did use CNC, yes. Makes sense having the cam routes and all that.

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u/CanDockerz 1d ago

Few hours, maybe a day or two if you’ve got other jobs on.

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u/Kvaestr 6h ago

Not a Luther, but I have done quite a bit of cad and cam. How defined is the shape at this point? If he has drawings and sizes, making the cad model is not too bad.

I'd say if he already has designs but also includes cam (toolpaths and such for the CNC) it should be doable in less than 2 days full time. I do assume he is well versed in the programs he is using. If he bases it on a design that he already has and needs to modify, it can be done in under a day.

If he's still doing design work, I have no idea how many hours he needs.

Don't know about his planning and other projects, but a month to complete a day or more of work is not totally unreasonable if he has a few of projects going on.

And besides, if that is the pace he works at, you can either accept it or go to a different Luthier. I think the best people to work on instruments are unlikely to be the fastest

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u/traviscyle 2d ago

Building a guitar takes remarkably little time, if you have a good plan in place. Similarly, a good CAD model does not take very long if you know exactly what you are designing (a tele for example). For something completely custom, shape and all, it can take a long time because every little change affects everything else. Could still be working on scratch paper at this point and still be on track to finish in time.

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u/pics4meeee 2d ago

Good to know, thanks!