Handmadeguitarin a true"folk" shapeBy AJAY HAND

Join the guitar boom with

a quality instrument you

can make yourself

• WHAT MAKES THIS a good guitar? For onething, the materials. The top is fine-grain spruceand the other parts are Honduras mahogany—both "musical grade" woods. Cheap models mayuse gumwood, birch veneer, etc., usually coveredwith a heavy coat of finish that is too thick forgood sound.

Another quality feature is the large-size au-thentic "folk" shape. The size provides volume,

and the shape at the "waist" lets you string theinstrument "heavy" if you wish. In addition, theneck joins the body at the fourteenth fret insteadof the twelfth, allowing easier fingering low onthe neck.

A third feature is the construction. The top isbraced with special "fan" bracing instead of thesimpler symmetrical bracing. With fan bracing,you get extra strength where the "string loading"

GUIDE LINES FORBOTTOM BRACING

handmade guitar, continued

is heaviest. Without it, your guitar may be fine inthe treble or in the bass, but rarely in both.

Finally, the cost is kept down by eliminatingthe banding and purfling often used to orna-ment commercial guitars and which have no ef-fect on the musical quality.

In spite of the delicate-seeming nature of anystringed instrument, a guitar is not difficult tomake. The most critical aspect is the selection ofmaterials, and all the materials mentioned here

are available in "musical-instrument grade."Prices will vary between suppliers, and the costof the finished instrument will also depend onhow much you wish to pay for a fingerboard andtuning keys, plus the cost of a commercial bridgeif you decide to buy one rather than make yourown.

See complete step-by-step photographs below.STEP A. Glue up a 20 x 24-in. open rec-

tangle of pine 1 x 6s, six layers thick, and inter-lap the corners. From this thick assembly youwill cut the bending forms. Next, make up a 1-in.

1230

grid on a sheet of cardboard and enlarge the out-line of the guitar, picking it up from the drawings.Then cut out the grid pattern to form a full-sizedtemplate for making the forms.

STEP B. Trace the outline of the guitar onthe glued-up form. It takes three cuts on thebandsaw to produce the two bending forms.First, make a cut 1.5 in. outside the templateoutline. Next, make an entry cut at the center ofthe large end and run around 1.5 in. inside thetemplate line. Finally, make a cut precisely onthe template line. Screw a block of scrap wood to

the end of the outside form across the entry cutto hold it together. Cut the inside form into fourquarters. Using a rasp and block plane, smooththe surfaces of the form so they won't crease thesides during the bending operation.

STEP C. Although the top of the guitar isabsolutely flat, the bottom is bowed slightly. Toachieve the proper profile divide the outside forminto five equal vertical sections, and startingfrom the lower end, mark the depth at the end ofthe first section 4.625 in. At the second, the depthshould be 4-11/16- in.; the third is 4.5 i n ; a n d the

fourth, the one nearest the neck, is 4.25 in. Strikea curve through these depth location points, andplane down the bending form to the proper pro-file. At this point, cut the outside form into twopieces, and provide a screwed-on block at theneck end, as you did at the large end. Theseblocks are required because, from time to time,you will have to take the form apart, but it mustbe possible to put it back together in preciselythe same shape. With these blocks in place, nowcut a 3-in. section out of the outside form inthe exact center of each end. You'll work throughthese spaces when putting on the neck, endblocks, end knob, etc.

STEP D. Once the sides are bent, you willwant to keep the assembly in the form throughoutmost of the rest of construction. Therefore, theinside forms must be narrowed by about % in., sothey won't interfere with installation of the glue-block lining. An easy way to do this is to clamp

1232

a scrap of wood so that one end is 5/8 in. fromthe bandsaw blade, then run the four pieces ofthe inside form through. Be sure to allow for thetaper of the outside form. Notice in the photothat the ends of the form pieces have beenrounded. This is to reduce the chance of marringor splitting the sides while they are being bent.

STEP E. Although the bending form is, intheory, symmetrical, it's a good idea to key eachpart of the inside form to its location against theoutside form, as shown by the registry marks.If your materials came rough-sawed, as is likely,you must either plane them smooth by hand ortake them to a shop which has a planer. The jobis quite simple by hand. First, plane away all theobvious saw marks. Then mark over the entiresurface of the stock with a soft pencil, and planeaway the pencil marks (see photo G, showingplaning the top). Continue until the sides andbottom and top are all down to 1/8 in. maximum—preferably 3/32 in. for good playing quality. It'simportant that you plane both sides smooth. (Ifyou are working with rosewood, do not use apower planer. This wood has such a wild grainthat it might shatter, and you'll be safer taking itdown to thickness with a scraper.)

To prepare the sides for bending, make atank by bending up the four sides of a 5-ft. lengthof aluminum flashing, fill it with water and placeit across two burners of the kitchen stove. Theboiling water will permeate the wood quickly sothat it bends easily. Weight the side pieces downto hold them submerged. Then, working rapidly,take one side out of the water and place it in theoutside form. Press it down into the form and putthe inside form blocks against it, pressing themdown with your knees and hands until the clampswill reach. Once they are locked up, adjust theinside form blocks until the register-marks lineup, and set the locked form aside to dry for 48hrs.

STEP F. The spruce for the top and the ma-hogany for the back each come in two pieces,usually matched. They must be glued together toform the two wide sheets. To make this buttjoint, lay a layer of wax paper on a piece of ply-wood to avoid sticking, then apply glue along theedges, pull them tight together, and staple thetwo halves to the plywood. A tracing of thetemplate will show where you can safely staple—the waste around the edge plus the hole area inthe top. Important: If there is a difference in fine-ness of grain from one edge of a piece of spruceto the other, be sure to put the edge with thefiner grain in the center.

STEP G. Edge-grain spruce has a tendencyto chip when you plane it. For that reason, keepthe set of the blade thinner than paper-thin. Workthe spruce down to 3/32 in. thick, keeping it uni-form by the method mentioned for planing theside pieces. Be sure that both sides are smooth,since reverberation inside the box is encouragedby smooth surfaces.

STEP H. The lining is actually a successionof triangular glue blocks which form the joint be-tween the sides and the top and bottom. To makethem, fasten a wood facer to your miter gaugeand drive a brad into it about 1/2 in. from the kerf.Make the first cut almost through the depth of3/8 x 1/2-in. stock, then hook that cut over the bradto achieve the proper spacing and make anothercut. After cross-kerfing the lining strips, set theblade at an angle to rip the stock into triangularcross section. The mahogany for the glue-blocklining comes from the scrap left over after cuttingthe neck. Rip a sufficient number of strips forthe lining, but be sure you leave enough materialfor the end block and the neck block. To assem-ble the body, bring the two bent sides togetherwhile still clamped in the forms. Overlap the endsof the mahogany, then attach the end blocks thathold the sides of the form in place. Next, afterremoving the 4-part inner form, cut away thescrap that overlaps, and glue the end block andneck block in place. From now on, the assemblywill stay inside the outer form until the top is in-stalled.

STEP I. Fasten the lining to the side first,using ordinary clothespins to hold it. Noticethat the tiny corner blocks are handled in flexiblestrips, bending the thin remainder of stock aroundcurves. If the strip should break, no harm is doneas long as there is virtually continuous lining.Glue the bracing on both top and bottom beforesecuring these pieces to the body. Many guitarexperts consider the bracing of the top to be themost critical single phase of construction becauseof the "string-loading" variances, bass to treble.Follow the layout of the drawing exactly, makingsure that the top is absolutely flat throughout theprocess. Hold the bracing in place while the gluedries by means of weights and clamps. After theglue dries, use a small plane to taper the endsand round off the corners. Note that the heavybrace at the neck end is double thickness anddouble width. (The bracing is of spruce; endblock and neck block are of mahogany; bridgepad is maple.) Unlike the top, the bottom isbowed, and the bracing is symmetrical. Cut thethree braces and mark each with a center line.

1233

handmade guitar, continued

Put them together in a vise and plane the 3/16-in.bow into all three so that they will impart a uni-form bend to the bottom. To increase the glueline and to prevent the bottom braces frombuckling, use spruce corner blocks, as shown inthe drawing.

STEP J. Glue the top in place using weightsor clamps to hold it while the glue dries. Anothermethod of "clamping" is to tape the top downwith strips of masking tape (the bottom can't beadded until the neck is attached). To make surethat the lining is level with the sides, run a planealong the blocks after the glue is dried and planedown until a shaving of the side is removed. Sup-port the plane at both ends across a curve tokeep it at right angles to the sides. Plane the endblocks flush, also.

STEP K. Shaping the neck takes a little timeand should be worked on concurrently during theconstruction of the body. In order for it to seatproperly, the neck must be absolutely square atthe end. After squaring up, run a center linedown the top and lay out the plan symmetricallyto maintain the square end. The actual length ofthe neck is governed by the dimensions of thefingerboard you buy. Ninety-nine times out of ahundred, it will be the popular 25.625-in. scale andyou can follow the drawing exactly, leaving about13.75 in. of flat before you turn down for the head.Draw the profile of the neck on paper, cement itto the side of the mahogany block and run itthrough the bandsaw.

STEP L. With the plan of the neck laid outon the top, you can make the rest of the roughcuts on the bandsaw. Be especially careful whenthe supporting end goes off the saw table, andremember at all times to work symmetrically to acenter line which is precisely perpendicular to thesquared end.

STEP M. Rasp, coping saw, surface-formingtool, plane, spokeshave, drawshave and verycoarse sandpaper are some of the tools you canuse to shape the neck. Follow the cross sectionsin the section detail of the main drawing. Be sureto mark a center line down the "belly" of theneck as a guide. When the neck is roughed out,glue the fingerboard to it. It must be positionedwith the 14th fret exactly at the squared end.When the glue is dry, work the neck down toshape and smoothness, leaving only final sanding.

STEP N. Fasten the neck on with two 2-in.No. 12 steel screws, countersunk. This is a criticaljoint, so be careful. Drill through the neck blockwith a shank-size bit, and continue into the neck

with a core-size bit. Apply glue to both surfacesthen wax the screw and draw it up tight. Be surethe center line of the neck is in perfect alignmentwith the center line of the top. If you discoverthat it's slightly out of line, shim up one side orthe other with thin strips of mahogany, makingsure that both sides of the shim are coated withglue.

STEP O. There is only one really critical di-mension in the entire construction of the guitarthe distance from the 12th fret to the "saddle"must be exactly the same as that from the nut tothe 12th fret. Locate the bridge so that the centerof the slightly angled saddle meets this require-ment. Follow the clamping method shown, usingsmall blocks of wood on the top with anotherblock located inside the box between the bracing,so that clamping is hard between the bridge andthe bridge pad. To install the tuning keys, placethe nut in position and use a strong thread as aguide to notching the nut, lining up the stringingand positioning the holes for the pins in thebridge. Fasten the thread to the proper peg forthe top string, then stretch it tight over the nutand down along the finger board to the saddle.Keep it parallel to the edge of the fingerboard,about Vie in. in from the edge. Mark the pointwhere this thread hits the bridge. Next, followthe same procedure to position the bottom string.Then determine the locations for four remainingstrings spaced equally between the top and bot-tom. File shallow string notches in the nut anddrill the holes for the pins in the bridge. (Sincethe pins are tapered, you may want to fit themto the holes with a tapered reamer.)

STEP P. The banding is inset into the rimof the body. A router is the best tool for cuttingthe rabbet for the banding, but if you work care-fully you can do the job with hand cutting tools.Use plastic, black-dyed maple or ebony for thebanding. Cut it a little bit oversize, then boil it topermit easy bending and seat it with glue. Stripsof masking tape will hold the banding in placewhile the glue dries. Sand the banding flush, thenturn the tiny wooden knob and glue it in placeat the exact center of the end.

The finish you put on your guitar is a matterof personal taste. Commercially made instru-ments usually have stain, wood filler and manycoats of rubbed lacquer. If you love the textureof wood, however, you may prefer clear pene-trating resin sealer—the sort of thing they use tofinish flooring. The latter was used on the guitarshown in the photographs. After finishing, applythe thin plastic scratch plate with contact cement.

1234