If, like me, you've always fancied being one of those 'Can do' guitarists that you see on forums and in rehearsal rooms, telling everybody that they 'dropped in a Bare Knuckle' or 'chucked on a set of Gotohs', but basically haven't got a clue where to start.

If your face adopts a fixed grin when you are told that you 'just need to shim the neck' or that you should 'cut a new nut', then this might well be the place to find a little inspiration.

DIY Dunce is my attempt to show that however inept you are at anything practical, however unlikely it is that it might work out in the end, literally anybody (and I mean anybody) can build, enhance and maintain their guitar.

But, this isn't one of those columns where some expert talks you through the steps and you get lost at step one and give up.

No, I'll come out and say it - I am completely useless at anything practical.
I can't paint,
I can't solder,
I definitely can't begin to think about doing any kind of woodwork,
and in fact it is more than fair to say that I am the last person in the world who is qualified to write this column.

But saying all that, I have a deep wish to build my own guitar, to make some pedals and generally do something interesting and learn a bit along the way.

Why should you read it?
Well, I'm promising to make all of my idiot mistakes in public, and you never know, if I actually manage to do some of these things, it will quite literally mean that anybody can. It will probably amuse you too, even if it is in a roll-you-eyes kind of way. It could be fun, and I hope you pop in occasionally and see what I've been upto.