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With all the linings in place and sanded level I glued the sides onto the front. I glued one side at a time to make things a little less hectic. |
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| With the sides on it starts to look like a guitar (here I placed the fingerboard on to see how it looks- I'll glue it on later.) |
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| After levelling the sides its time to glue the linings on for the bottom. I placed the headstock in position to see how far to go. On the neck section I glued in thicker pieces of solid timber than the kerfed linings to give it additional strength. |
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| After planing the linings flush and then giving them a final
sand smooth I glued in the headstock. Once the glue was cured I
levelled the remaining face of the tenon ready to accept the back.
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| Check the position of the braces non the back and trim them to fit inside the linings. Do a dry run of fitting the back in place - there's a lot of clamps to be used so a dry run really helps focus the mind! |
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| Told you there were a lot of clamps involved! Set aside to dry overnight. |
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| With the guitar out of the clamps clean up the overhanging areas of the the back with a paring chisel and scraper. Then its time to glue the fingerboard on. |
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| The bridge is next - I had to make a custom clamp arm that would fit through the soundhole without fouling on the braces. Carefully measure the position of the bridge then clamp securely in place. |
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| Almost there - next I scraped and sanded out any glue stains and marks. |
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| And on goes a coat of oil - it really brings out the colour of the top. |
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| Next six coats of shellac to seal and protect the guitar. |
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| Finally fix the tuning pegs (remembering to pre-drill for the screws!) and make a nut from 1/8 thick brass. |
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| On go the strings and I tentatively bring them up to tension.
Expecting the guitar to explode at any second, I am pleasantly
pleased with its tone!
I am amazed I managed to build a guitar - the pleasure at having made an instrument I can make music on is quite something. The sound of the instrument is subtly changing as it beds in and it has a rich, full tone. I can't stop playing it :) Update - here's a quick audio recording I made. Please ignore the bad playing and timing - hopefully you can hear the tone of the instrument.
Completed 15th April 2009 |
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