Thread: 37 Hauser Classical Plans and Template NOT symmetrical?? weird

Not particularly alarming in itself. In the advent of the Industrial age, artisans occasionally introduced "mistakes" to demonstrate the work was produced by hand. From The Craftsman, by Richard Sennett, "Now, against the rigorous perfection of the machine, the craftsman became an emblem of human individuality, this emblem compared concretely by the positive value placed on variations, flaws, and irregularities in handwork."

In spite of all that, you still have the liberty of interpreting the plans in your own way, including symmetry and correction of "mistakes."

Cheers,
Joe

I see that you are from Tallahassee? I m from Florida originally the DeLand area to be exact...I have since located to Argentina where I live with my argentine wife

Anyways...that makes sense...these guys obviously didnt have lasers and computers...so it certainly makes sense

The process of building on a solera with hand bent sides does not always give perfect symetry anyhow. The plans are measured from an actual instrument rather than being cleaned up to make them "perfect"
If you want your instrument to be closer to symetrical in outline, just choose one half of the pattern and flip it to produce the other side.

Originally Posted by guitarrasep36

In an email today the sales rep at LMI told me that the Hauser plan is not symmetrical? I thought he was re´fering to the bracing pattern, but then he said "Dont be alarmed if one of the sides is a bit off, Segovia didnt mind" i seriouslydoubt he would have liked a lop-sided instrument

I thought that was weird...I dont want to build a guitar that is not symmetrical

Hauser's 1937 instrument may not have been built perfectly symetrical as is the case for alot of guitars where the sides have been hand bent but you should aim to build an instrument that is symetrical.

BTW you shouldn't be using the full back/top profile directly off the plan. Normally you make up a half template and use that to lay out top and back....I make mine from 2-3mm MDF. Lay out the half profile on the top/back and draw around same. Flip the template over (centreline is the axis) and repeat.

Cheers Martin