Essential MARKING & MEASURING Tools For Accurate Guitar-Building

An Awl is pretty useful.

Highly recommend the Incra precision T rules, one of my frequently reached for tools from start to finish of a build

Buying Drill bits, Forstner bits, making holes with pointy things. Avoiding tear outs. That'd be a good lesson.

Mititoyo is nice. But I prefer Starrett. Also you should get two of them. First is a dial type because it will also be useful. Second is a digital because it is very handy for switching between metric and imperial without any calculation. A third cheap one is nice to use as a precision sciber.

I attended a CG course (10 day and Sean was one of my instructors. He gave great advice when the stuff-up fairy visited) and took photos of the tools I thought I would need later on. When I got home I bought the steel protractor, the wheel marking guage and an awl. I already had all the other stuff mentioned. Hmmmm....still need to get myself a drum sander. Expensive hobby this.

Again good information to know. It can be surprising to see what other people use in their tool chest thinking that those tool are perfect to what they are working on and thinking to your self why are they using something so primitive or so clunky when their are much better options to choose from. Some times those tools are perfectly fine for the job other times not even close. I will say that some of the builders of both guitars and just wooden furniture that use nothing but old hand tools and get what at least in the videos look to be a fantastic piece I do have a lot of respect for.

Hmm. Calipers…. My go to is a set of mitutoyo verniers. If you’re gonna go digital. Check the reviews for battery drain when off. Nothing worse that picking up the calipers to use. Finding them dead. And not having an LR44 battery on hand…

I want to ask a question about marking knife - as someone that comes from hand tool woodworking, marking knife is more essential for joinery fit and precision that any pencil type. Why it is not used more in guitar making, especially for centerlines, neck/body joints ecc?

Agree on all these, although I'd add a marking knife as an essential tool. I use mine all the time!

Cool vid Sean.
The most essential tool for me is my head torch. Now I know it's not a marking or measuring tool but I find it helps me a lot. Overhead lighting can create tiny shadows at the edge of marking and measuring tools which the head torch eliminates. I also use it for checking accuracy as you would use a torch to see gaps between a straight edge and a work piece.
If you can't accurately see what you are measuring then you can't accurately measure! 😀

Awesome Sean. I actually got a set of Mitutoyo calipers from my mother in law who worked for a brass works company before she retired. I love those things and the fact that they were a gift makes them even better😊 Nice video brother. ✌️&🤍

Thank you for these lists, very helpful to fill out the gaps in what I have.

BUT but but I cut it THREE times and it is STILL too short!!! Repurpose worn out jewelers screwdrivers as mini chisel's. Sharpen and shape them for different jobs. AWESOME for smaller detail work like inlays or cleaning out imperfect routes like squaring off inside corners