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Thread: Building my first acoustic

  1. #1

    Building my first acoustic

    I've been playing guitar for a few years now and have been an avid woodworker for a long time. So naturally I want to take a shot at building my own acoustic guitar. I'm curious to hear about other people's first guitar build and how it turned out. One of the things that has concerned me, which is silly, is that I know I will put in a ton of effort and may very well get an instrument that sounds awful or is difficult to play. Of course this will not stop me from building an acoustic... I can only get better by practicing.

    What have your experiences been? Were you pleased with the outcome? Disappointed?

  2. #2
    Building a good acoustic guitar is not magical, it simply requires a good plan (readily available) and solid woodworking chops and proper materials. I don't know what "avid woodworker" means to you but you need to be quite good and have hand tool chops, serious chops. If you have the above you can make a guitar that sounds great. Oh yeah, the process has to be as important to you as the product. If it is you can't lose.

    "So, do you feel lucky punk?" Okay this is a good start but let's back up a moment. If you really want to build a great acoustic, I'd suggest that you build a great electric guitar first. Perfect prior practice perfects performance and all of that...

    You can make a killer acoustic. Stick to the classic materials and conventional builds and finishes.

    Do it!

  3. #3
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    When I was 13,I started to build guitars up in Alaska. There was no one to show me how to bend sides. There were no books.You could not even buy frets and tuners or pickups as there were no suppliers. This was in 1954.

    I tried several times to soak maple in hot water and bend it in a mold. It bent,but when it dried,it wrinkled across its width. I ended up making solid bodies for a while. My one and only pickup was a DeArmond,salvaged from the type that was sold to clamp in the sound hole of acoustics. I got some tuners somehow. I had no money at all,and got no encouragement or help from my parents,who thought it was foolishness. Ultimately,it turned into a career. As I made each guitar,I took the tuners and pickup from the last one and put them in the new one.Being hard headed,I kept on. Determination was the most important thing I ever had going for me,plus a natural artistic bent. I have no idea where that came from!! My grand mother had been a commercial artist,and drew the Maxwell House coffee label. It must have been from her. My mother certainly had no such talent. My father left when she was pregnant,so I've no idea about him.

    We did not even have a 1/4" electric drill. The garage was unheated and only had tools for working on cars,and a greasy workbench. We made the garage out of reclaimed lumber from a demolished building. There was 1 light hanging in the center of the rafters. I could use the school shop to saw out the bodies. I turned a hacksaw blade upside down in its frame,and ground scallops in it to make a crude fret saw. I had to walk to a friend's house to use his electric drill.

    Such was my state when trying to make guitars. But,even then I started to get pretty good at it. I worked sometimes at an out door furniture refinishing place(in the owner's back yard!),so I got access to spraying lacquer on the guitars,and learned how to rub the finishes. When I was a freshman in college,a friend had gotten a book about 1/8" thick,by the Clifford Essex music company in England. It showed how to bend the sides around a hot pipe. Then,I was able to start making acoustics. The book was not very good as their classical guitar had an odd shape,and a poor strutting pattern. But,it was a start. I had seen Theodore Bickell singing and playing folk music on a Clifford Essex guitar in Alaska years before. They used to send performers around Alaska when it was a territory,in an attempt to educate the kids and expose them to culture. We even had Annamaria Albergotti,a famous opera star at the time. I think the net result was that many young people got the heck out of Ketchikan as soon as they were out of school!! Fishing and logging was about it up there.

    Today,you have access to everything you need,with numerous books and good suppliers of all manner of guitar making supplies. Have a go!!
    Last edited by george wilson; 07-17-2014 at 8:11 AM.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Fournier View Post
    Building a good acoustic guitar is not magical, it simply requires a good plan (readily available) and solid woodworking chops and proper materials. I don't know what "avid woodworker" means to you but you need to be quite good and have hand tool chops, serious chops. If you have the above you can make a guitar that sounds great. Oh yeah, the process has to be as important to you as the product. If it is you can't lose.

    "So, do you feel lucky punk?" Okay this is a good start but let's back up a moment. If you really want to build a great acoustic, I'd suggest that you build a great electric guitar first. Perfect prior practice perfects performance and all of that...

    You can make a killer acoustic. Stick to the classic materials and conventional builds and finishes.

    Do it!
    Much thanks for the feedback Chris. I've been woodworking for over 15 years and within the last 5 years have really ramped up my game and dedicated more time to woodworking. So the woodworking part doesn't intimidate me at all (both power and hand tools). What does intimidate me is the variance between guitars, and even guitars that are the exact same models. If I can play two guitars side-by-side that are the exact same model, strings, etc... and one seems to have that magic sound while the other doesn't, what does that mean for what I'll build by hand?

    I've been doing a ton of reading to prepare for my first guitar (and have already built a set of 16 cam clamps) and one of the things I've really enjoyed is learning about what goes into producing the sound. I have a feeling that once I build a guitar, and if I really get into it and build more, I will eventually understand why one guitar sounds better than the next and how to really dial a guitar in to sound amazing.

    I agree on your advice to stick with classic materials, conventions, and finishes. The only "challenge" I've been tossing up in the air is whether I should try my hand at incorporating a cut-away into my first guitar body as I quite frequently find myself playing beyond the 12th fret and enjoy the cut-away in my Taylor. What are your thoughts on this? The wiser part of me says stick with a standard dreadnought or auditorium style body, but the guitar player in me wants that damn cut-away!

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by george wilson View Post
    When I was 13,I started to build guitars up in Alaska. There was no one to show me how to bend sides. There were no books.You could not even buy frets and tuners or pickups as there were no suppliers. This was in 1954.

    I tried several times to soak maple in hot water and bend it in a mold. It bent,but when it dried,it wrinkled across its width. I ended up making solid bodies for a while. My one and only pickup was a DeArmond,salvaged from the type that was sold to clamp in the sound hole of acoustics. I got some tuners somehow. I had no money at all,and got no encouragement or help from my parents,who thought it was foolishness. Ultimately,it turned into a career. As I made each guitar,I took the tuners and pickup from the last one and put them in the new one.Being hard headed,I kept on. Determination was the most important thing I ever had going for me,plus a natural artistic bent. I have no idea where that came from!! My grand mother had been a commercial artist,and drew the Maxwell House coffee label. It must have been from her. My mother certainly had no such talent. My father left when she was pregnant,so I've no idea about him.

    We did not even have a 1/4" electric drill. The garage was unheated and only had tools for working on cars,and a greasy workbench. We made the garage out of reclaimed lumber from a demolished building. There was 1 light hanging in the center of the rafters. I could use the school shop to saw out the bodies. I turned a hacksaw blade upside down in its frame,and ground scallops in it to make a crude fret saw. I had to walk to a friend's house to use his electric drill.

    Such was my state when trying to make guitars. But,even then I started to get pretty good at it. I worked sometimes at an out door furniture refinishing place(in the owner's back yard!),so I got access to spraying lacquer on the guitars,and learned how to rub the finishes. When I was a freshman in college,a friend had gotten a book about 1/8" thick,by the Clifford Essex music company in England. It showed how to bend the sides around a hot pipe. Then,I was able to start making acoustics. The book was not very good as their classical guitar had an odd shape,and a poor strutting pattern. But,it was a start. I had seen Theodore Bickell singing and playing folk music on a Clifford Essex guitar in Alaska years before. They used to send performers around Alaska when it was a territory,in an attempt to educate the kids and expose them to culture. We even had Annamaria Albergotti,a famous opera star at the time. I think the net result was that many young people got the heck out of Ketchikan as soon as they were out of school!! Fishing and logging was about it up there.

    Today,you have access to everything you need,with numerous books and good suppliers of all manner of guitar making supplies. Have a go!!
    George,

    It sounds like you've had quite the history with guitar making. Have you always been pretty happy with your results, despite access to the necessary methods and tools?

  6. #6
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    I use 24 clamps on a guitar when gluing on the top or back. I used to use cam clamps,and made up quite a bunch of them. But,they stick out so far from the sides of the mold,I have to hold the heavy mold with all those clamps at arm's length to turn it over. Now,though I don't like them aesthetically,I use those black plastic clamps that creep shut as you squeeze the big trigger. And,I use at least 24(maybe more) on a jumbo guitar. The mold isn't as difficult to turn over since the clamps aren't as long as cam clamps.

    I made 10" long jaw cam clamps so I can reach the bridge from inside the sound hole. Also,I made some very deep throat C clamps from 1/2" square mild steel for the same purpose. Stewart MacDonald sells similar clamps,but I just make most of the tools I need.

    When I make a cutaway on a jumbo guitar,I plane the wood down to 1/2 thickness where I have to bend the cutaway. I bend another 1/2 thickness piece to fit inside it,and glue them together to more easily form the cutaway,if it has sharper curves. I conceal the joint inside the body. Every 4" I glue a fabric strip to stop splits,should the guitar get whacked. One of those fabric strips conceals the joint.

    I do not use vertical wooden strips inside the guitar,as the sides are cross grained to them,and any movement in the height of the sides from humidity will possibly eventually loosen the strips. Fabric will never loosen,and glues a lot more firmly than any wooden strip. The strips have no affect upon tone.


    When I was young I was content enough,because I was too ignorant to KNOW any better!! That's the truth. I was a pretty good craftsman by the time I was about 17,making Fender style guitars. I had made an arch top ES 335 style guitar in school shop as a junior in high school.
    Last edited by george wilson; 07-17-2014 at 1:19 PM.

  7. #7
    My first was a rosewood Martin dreadnought kit. I bought the kit, Cumpiano's book and a blueprint from Stewmac.

    Was I happy with the results? Well, I sold my Taylor 214CE.

    I've only built 5 & I don't consider myself a luthier but I have accumulated some knowledge. If you get the neck angle correct, it will play well, after you do the setup. Using a bolt on neck design will make this a lot easier.

    Voicing the top has the biggest impact on how it will sound but it's also one of the most mysterious & I don't have a strong grasp on it. On my first, I used the Stewmac blueprint to scallop the braces which worked fine. If your top is decent (not too floppy) any blueprint should get you into the ballpark.

    You may want to start with a kit or just get a top from Martin. They sell rejects which are mainly cosmetic and have no effect on the tone. You can also download plans from Christophe Grellier.

    Kevin Looker
    Shenhui SH-G1290 w/80 Watt Reci

  8. #8
    Though I haven't yet ventured into the acoustic world, I do plan to sometime in the near future. In preparing for that day, I got a subscription to American Lutherie and purchased Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar by Jonathan Kinkead. The book includes full size plans for what Kinkead calls his Kingsdown guitar. I've also tried my hand at steam bending and found I have a lot to learn.

    I've read the AL magazines several times over and the book once and have gone back to it several times trying to retain what I've read. I'm concentrating most of those efforts on making the body. I've made several guitar necks for electrics and feel confident with my skills there. For me, it's the body that will require the most attention.

    So far, I'd say the biggest challenge I face is getting the soundboard right. You need the right wood with the right grain and the right thickness. You need to learn what a good soundboard sounds like when you tap it (before you even begin assembly) and what a bad one sounds like. Kinkead does a good job guiding you through the process of making the soundboard but, obviously, the book doesn't provide audio clips so you can actually hear that magical sound. I may be making a mountain out of a molehill but time and again I've read how important that sound coming from the soundboard is. I have yet to experiment with real wood though.

    For you who have made acoustics and been pleased with the results, how important would you say the soundboard is?

  9. #9
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    I've made one acoustic guitar. I turned out well. You need good skills and patience. Don't rush, and make sure that the previous step is completely and well done before moving to the next. I spent some serious time fiddling with the neck shape to get it "just right" before preping for the NC finish.

    It really helps if you can have a place where the guitar components can sit between work sessions. My shop is my garage and used for cars, so I was schlepping things around a lot.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  10. #10
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    I estimate the soundboard is the most critical component. But I think how you shape and thin the bracing as the critical step here. You want it as light and strong as possible but sufficient to not overly deform from string tension.

    The toughest fabication for me was the neck dovetail.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  11. #11
    The other thing I'm thinking would be critical is the placement of the bridge. You don't get adjustable saddles that allow you to perfectly intonate it, you have to get it right the first time or it will never play well.

  12. #12
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    Placement of the bridge is very critical,Julie. I generally allow 1/16" farther away from the 12th. fret for the 1st. string. Then,the saddle is angled to add more distance for the bass strings. On a classical guitar,the saddle is straight across. I still add an extra 1/16" to the distance from the 12th. fret.

  13. #13
    Although there's always the odd exception, best I can tell there are mostly two kinds of people...people that NEVER finish a guitar, and people that finish multiple guitars and can't seem to stop. The most important thing, IMHO, is whatever happens, FINISH that first guitar, at least to the point that it doesn't collapse when you string it up and it makes some sort of noise. I say that because you will undoubtedly make some mistakes, screw some things up, and maybe even make some "fatal" mistakes. Whatever. Keep at it and do whatever you need to do to get that very first one strung up.

    Too many people make mistakes and rebuild the part...or spend weeks trying to fix some mistake, usually cosmetic. If you do that, eventually you'll just give up having never actually gotten through all of the steps at least once. Once you actually make it through the entire process once, the next one (you know, the one that's supposed to be "perfect") will be significantly less funky and much easier, and so on and so on. By the 5th or 10th guitar or so, you'll get a good feel for what can be eyeballed, and what needs to be exact, and you'll start to see mistakes and whoopsies coming and will avoid them. You'll remember things like, "If I make that cut now, I'll blow away a really convenient straight edge that I need later", or "If I glue the headstock wings on now, they'll run into the fence for when I make the trussrod channel". You'll also start wondering why you stressed out so much about some of this stuff.

    Good luck

  14. #14
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    Late model Gibson J-200's had a tuneomatic bridge embedded in the wooden bridge. Worst thing for tone they could possibly have done. Unless they used some tricks from the horrid Gretsch Rancher jumbo guitar!!

  15. #15
    My steel string acoustics have all had cutaways, nylon strings as well. Florantine style. Certainly required more attention but no big deal. The sound board is a big deal indeed. Enjoy the process and use wood bindings! Let us see your build. This is a challenging project but not impossible by any means!

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