A few pictures of making the current guitar

[george wilson]

I found some photos we had made taken to show the customer progress on the guitar. Some members here have asked to see them.

I have reached the limit of pictures. I'll add a few others as the thread goes along.

The sides in the mold are in 1 picture. I'd like to mention that even the plywood is vintage!! Williamsburg was always throwing stuff out. This plywood was from an old cabinet. It is so old that it actually is 3/4" thick!!

The bookmatched 1960 vintage Brazilian rosewood is seen in a picture.

The customer wanted a bolt on neck. You see the holes in the mahogany neck block. I put a 1/2" brass rod vertically up through the heel of the neck. At its top,the truss rod is threaded through it. The 2 hardened socket head cap screws thread into it farther down. Some makers use those screw in metal thread inserts. I don't think they are strong enough,and the bottom one could split the heel of the neck.
I assure you,the location of the brass is not where the guitar vibrates. The bolt on neck does make taking the neck off easier,though this is the first one I have made that way.


The age of the spruce is also pictured. A+,1968.

The bracing of the top. Notice that I do something I don't think others do. I glue a thin strip of bias tape inside the center of the top. This adds very greatly to the strength of the joint. I am certain it can never come loose. It weighs so little,I doubt very much if it affects the tone. The tape also is added at the ends of the cross braces,where they enter UNDER the X brace,where the X brace crosses,and at the ends of any braces that terminate without going under the liner blocks on classical guitars. The tape also runs along both edges of the maple bridge plate. Bridge plates can come loose. This one won't so easily. My bridge plate is about 1/2 the width of some,and some use heavy rosewood for it. Why?? That is a real tone killer. Mine is built like the pre war ones.

I use individual liner blocks rather than kerfed strips. It is a little touch that makes the edge joint of the top and back vibrate a little bit more freely. Also less likely to come loose as a strip might for any reason. I borrowed it from the best Spanish makers,who use individual blocks under their tops.

You can make out the vertical glued thicker tapes that go from top to back,to help stop cracks from spreading should the guitar be hit on something.
Some makers use a vertical wood strips,but that is not a good idea,as the sides can grow and shrink being side grain,while wood strips cannot do so much. Sooner or later,they will pop loose.

The soundhole was fitted pearl pieces around it between the purfling.

In the picture of the bracing,you can see a little brass brace plane with a palm knob I made for small work. Also,one of my old 1965 Marples chisels,and a bit of a boxwood handled Marples.

[David Keller NC]

OK George - I'll bite. What's "bias tape"? Maybe I've just not been paying attention, but I've never seen something like that in a commercial guitar, even very high end ones (and I've never made an acoustic, just electrics).

[george wilson]

It is from the fabric store for making clothes. A thin,synthetic cloth tape that is 1/2" wide.

I got the idea from making harpsichords. The original makers glued strips of linen to the seams under their soundboards.

Here are a few more pictures:

My wife thought I was a clamp freak until she saw how many clamps I use to glue up a guitar! The long wooden clamps at the bottom are a few of a set of 24 I made year ago. And before that,another set of 24.

The bottom of the guitar. Shows the mitering of those little purflings.

The bottom of the guitar's top. A little detail I had shown the customer,so,of course it was wanted.

The Brazilian rosewood peghead overlay ready to glue on. After gluing on,the binding and purfling will be added to it. I see it came out blurred.

[John Coloccia]

Yeah, it is nearly impossible to have enough clamps for guitar building. That's the first thing people notice when they come into my shop. "So, do you think you have enough clamps??". My answer is always, "No, not yet. I don't have the room to store enough clamps."

Have you tried the reverse kerfed linings, George? I just switched to those. They're far better than the regular linings and they look 10 times better too...not that most would notice, but I certainly notice. I know what you mean about the regular linings, especially once you make the binding channel. There's just not a whole lot of wood left sometimes. I'll post a picture as I'm just finishing one up now.

It's practically redundant to say this in one of your threads, but nice work.

[John Coloccia]

The reverse kerfed linings are neat. They leave a very cleaner appearance inside the guitar and I believe they support the top a bit better than regular kerfing also.



For those who don't have a clue what we're talking about. On the left is the regular lining (the kerf faces out). On the right is the reverse kerf (the kerf faces in).



Some people use a solid piece of wood, bent to fit. I never liked that because it seemed like just one more place where stress can build up and cause problems. Using individual blocks like George does really is a nice touch. If I had the patience to do that, I would steal that idea outright, by the way!

A shot of some spring clamps...these aren't nearly all of them by the way, and I routinely run out. That's why all the linings and braces aren't done yet. I stop gluing when I run out of clamps. LOL.

[george wilson]

The reverse linings would not be advantageous to making the edge of the guitar flexible for helping vibration,in my opinion. The best Spanish makers have used individual blocks for years. Often they are crude,though. They take rectangular blocks and split them diagonally with a chisel,leaving them that way.

John,did you read what I said about vertical wood pieces inside the sides? They can loosen over time. The side grain of the sides can move 16 times more than the lengthwise movement of those strips,plus the difference in species. The only real purpose they serve is to prevent cracks from spreading,and you can't beat cloth strips for that. The early makers knew that,and practiced it.

I say,be concerned about how things vibrate,not how they look.

My bench is so much more cluttered than yours,I refrain from showing it.

[John Coloccia]

The reverse linings would not be advantageous to making the edge of the guitar flexible for helping vibration,in my opinion. The best Spanish makers have used individual blocks for years. Often they are crude,though. They take rectangular blocks and split them diagonally with a chisel,leaving them that way.

John,did you read what I said about vertical wood pieces inside the sides? They can loosen over time. The side grain of the sides can move 16 times more than the lengthwise movement of those strips,plus the difference in species. The only real purpose they serve is to prevent cracks from spreading,and you can't beat cloth strips for that. The early makers knew that,and practiced it.

I say,be concerned about how things vibrate,not how they look.

Yep, I absolutely read it and was going to ask what exactly you were using for that. I've never really had a problem with the wood strips but that doesn't mean it can't be improved on.

[Paul Murphy]

I love seeing you guys make musical instruments, the photos of your work are beautiful. Some of the details are so fine I miss them at first. Interesting to consider doing all of that and still having to keep the sound quality as a priority!

Thanks for sharing your expertise.

[george wilson]

What I am using for it was some heavier woven tape from the fabric store. Now I can't recall what it was called. Seam Binding???

The reason I can't recall is that I got a BIG,HUGE roll of even larger woven tape that is some kind of surplus stuff. It is olive drab,and about 1" wide,and I have been using it for several years now. If you send me your address I'll send you some,because it only takes a few feet to do a guitar,and I'll die with this big roll.

PM me with your address, Martin Guitar used to use an olive drab material of similar nature to completely line shattered sides with.

I bought a D-18 in the 60's from a friend in a music shop for $40.00. It was broken,and not in real good shape. He broke it AGAIN putting it into my trunk,and insisted on sending it to Martin wholesale to me to get it fixed.

It came back some months later looking like new. They had put this cloth inside the sides. I could NOT find where any of the cracks had been. It was a great job. They refinished it. For some reason it was the greatest sounding Martin guitar I have yet heard!! The repairs were $150.00!!!!!!

I was making guitars for a living,and my best customer,who bought 5 guitars from me in 1 year,absolutely begged it off me. I wish I hadn't given in,but that was at a time when I felt I had to please him.

That is very neat work you are doing,John. The sides are quite perfectly bent. How are you bending them?? For 99% of my guitars,I bent them freehand around a hot pipe. A few years ago I made an improved version of the Fox bending machine. Mine isn't plywood,though,which can catch fire,I read. It is 3/4" aluminum. I'll have to post pictures of it. I make the shape templates out of 1/4" aluminum. It works great. 20 minutes,and I have a perfectly bent side,but I have to let it cool off before taking it out.

[Sam Takeuchi]

I normally use individual blocks for the top and for the back, I'm actually not that particular. Fitting individual blocks is a tedious and tiring chore. I use hide glue for most everything, so I have to press each one until glue gels, and they are set. But it takes about 40 minutes to do one side and it's one of more boring parts of guitar making I think.

Normally I use regular kerfed linings for the back, but sometimes solid linings. I prefer solid linings, though. It's easier to cut and fit back braces tight and clean into linings.

As for clamps, I don't use that many. I have 3 bar clamps, 7 C-clamps, 2 cam clamps, and 10 spring clamps, plus several dozens of clothpins. Clothpins work pretty well even though it has very little clamping pressure. I don't know how they'd do with other glue, but with hide glue, once you stick linings and hold them firm until glue cools, those will be sufficient. I use spring clamps for the waist and upperbout since there is too much spring back and clothpins can't hold them.

I have this thick rubber band I use for gluing back and purfling + binding. It's that stuff you see on the back of trucks. It's pretty handy and very flexible, more so than clamps for the most part. The only down side is that I can't use solid mold, but those (re)movable workboard blocks will do just fine.

Pic 1: That diagonal bar in the middle is not a part of that guitar. That's just a push stick to prod blocks.

Pic 2: Large block in the middle of the soundboard is just bridge caul. I normally keep a brick on top of it to keep soundboard domed during construction. I don't use bridge pad. Plus, I don't erase pencil lines. Gap in lining is to allow for linings to fit easier along the tapered part of the sides. Individual block will be glued there to make that transition seamless.

Pic 3: It's better to protect the surface with a piece of paper. This rubber tends to leave black marks and it smells like rubber.

[John Coloccia]

First, let me say how much of a gentleman George is to offer the tape.

re: bending

Shoot...any compliment is quite a complement from you, George!

I only use the hot pipe for touchup now. I bought John Hall's bender (Blues Creek Guitars). I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't just build the stupid thing, but he had it all figured out, the heating blankets, timers, etc. I just caved and bought it. It does do just a beautiful job bending sides, and I even use it for binding now. Sometimes I have to do a bit of touchup. They'll come out of the machine with just a touch too much spring back and I tweak it on the pipe. Usually, though, they come out pretty nicely as long as I'm awake and get everything lined up well. Like you, I let them cool down first. Actually, I cook them a little first at 250 - 300 to get as much moisture out as I can or the ends can cup like crazy (as I'm sure you know!).

I still enjoy using the pipe and I play with it every now and then just so I don't loose the feel, but the Fox bender was a godsend for me. I'm sorry to say that this is one of those cases where I personally can't do as well by hand as I can with the machine. Maybe in 20 years, but not now.

[Sam Takeuchi]

I have a bending jig but I gave up after about 3 times of use. I just didn't care for it all that much. With bending iron, I feel like I have more control over what's going on with wood. They all behaves differently, some are pretty well behaving while others like to twist, buckle, crack or split. It's probably one of the most satisfying parts of guitar making when you can overcome some mean twisty material and bend them into shape. But some materials are just plain mean. I think longest it took for me to complete one side was 8 hours. It was a mean and worst behaving piece of wood. Just standing there like an idiot for 8 hours bending, straightening here and there, untwisting here and there, fitting over the template, checking with square to make sure top side and back side are even, bend here and there again until all is done. In the end, I was happy with the result. I'm sure if I used bending jig, it'd been an easy task, but I wasn't going to let a piece of wood walk all over me. I just had to subdue it by hands to teach this piece a lesson.

Those pictures are just for people who are interested in seeing how sides are bent. Basically you don't need a lot. You need bending iron (it's that dirty pipe...I do clean it sometimes), spray bottle with water, rag, and template or form (I use a MDF template with clear kitchen wrap on top to avoid getting it wet). I normally start with waist, but it doesn't matter where to start first. It's the tightest bend and often the cause of failure due to split. Lowerbout is the easiest as it forms more graceful curve, upperbout can be tricky since it is tighter curve and spring back can exerts a lot of unnecessary tension on other parts of the guitar.

So you just keep at it until side is bent, stands freely on its own without rocking. I normally just place it on bench top and check how the bottom edge of the side. If bottom edge contacts the benchtop relatively evenly, it's a good sign. Using a square and bench top as a reference surface, check if side is relatively up right. If there is uneven bend, it'll identify where and how much. Go back to the bending iron as needed for touch up.

It doesn't have to be precise at this point. They get touched up before assembly, but fault should be fixed at this time. There might be slight burn marks or shiny spots that were burnished during bending, sanding and/or scraping will remove them so no worries.

[george wilson]

I used a copper pipe,horizontal,with a propane torch for years in the 50's and 60's. Then,in Williamsburg,I used an alcohol lamp burning up into a vertical brass chimney with little holes around its top. Finally,I got an electric German iron for home in the 80's(I think) I used to not have much money for such expensive gadgets. Finally,several years ago,I got some aluminum plate from the scrap yard and made a good bender.

The best part is,I have a light dimmer switch on it,and got it set just right so that I get no burns which took hours to scrape out.

[Pam Niedermayer]

...

I use individual liner blocks rather than kerfed strips. It is a little touch that makes the edge joint of the top and back vibrate a little bit more freely. Also less likely to come loose as a strip might for any reason. I borrowed it from the best Spanish makers,who use individual blocks under their tops....

Why do the Spanish split the blocks? Does it make a difference if wedges are used rather than small blocks?

Great looking stuff, love your forms; and that top is to kill for. Looking forward to seeing your bending forms.

Pam

[Sam Takeuchi]

Yes, electric bending iron is very good. I'm not too particular about heat setting. I set it pretty high, maybe it's about right for not burning, but I don't get much burn marks either (dark spots in the pictures are water stains that will dry out). I used to be cautious and used lower temp setting, but it took too long and more prone to splitting. Nowadays I just spritz water onto the iron and if water evaporate in an instant, that's good.

I had to use electric one. I started out in my bedroom, a whopping 86 ft² of generosity for bed, workbench, tool shelf and working space all in one. To think I used to sleep in wood dust is a scary thought. There was no way I could have open flame then. Too much flamable stuff in too little space. So this bending iron was with me from the beginning. But if I could, I would've gone with gas torch and a steel pipe probably. Those electric bending irons are expensive for sure. By now, I suppose it was justified and well invested.

I think Allied Lutherie was going to come out with aluminum Fox bender, but I don't think they ever did. They had a picture of it and some text saying they were going to start selling it some years back. I just checked now and they still have a greyed out picture but not clickable. Maybe it fell through. It was a cool looking jig.