Thread: Acoustic guitar course - my first build

So starting with the neck:
Guitar building course - January 2011 :: Neck and spanish heel construction slideshow by yozski - Photobucket

The method being taught is the traditional spanish (or integrated) heel method. In hindsight in my opinion it has some advantages and disadvantages to other styles (dovetails, bolt-ons etc). Neck is honduran mahogany. East Indian rosewood veneer on the headstock.

I really enjoyed the way this method builds a quite complex 3D object (headstock, neck, heel & toe) from a single mahogany board. Quite involving and very rewarding.

And now the soundboatrd and bracing - lots of fun.
Guitar building course - January 2011 :: Soundboard and bracing slideshow by yozski - Photobucket

Soundboard is Engelmann spruce with Sitka spruce braces. Board is .110 inches thick in the middle tapering to .095 inches around the perimeter. Was an experience making this happen with a cabinets scraper (my new best friend!). I can see why the bracing is such a source of discussion. Can't wait to play with it some more on future builds.

Looks fantastic Yoz!

Top effort.

Excellent build Yoz,
The price of the course would be worth it just for that guitar you have got there, it is beautiful. I have spoke with Paddy Burgin a few times by phone in fact he has just finished a Weissenborn build from figured fiddleback blackwood I sent him, and as you say as well as been a great luthier he is also a good teacher,
Cheers, Bob

Nice job there Yoz, sounds intense, but finished in three weeks would be good, good to see you like cabinet scrapers to. Rob

Thanks guys. Yeah, the main selling point to the wife was that, for the price of the course I'd leave with new skills and knowledge AND a beautiful new handcrafted guitar.

And Bob, I might need to talk to you about some good Tassie timbers for future builds. I'm an Aussie living in Wellington and would like to incorporate a little piece of home in future instruments.

Here's a few pics of the slotted headstock coming together. I'm a bit of a fan of instruments with some vintage vibe so decided to try a slotted headstock on this one. I also seem to work a bit quicker than most so had time to play with some inlay. The inlay here is mother of pearl and green abalone with green abalone diamonds on the heastock (front and back) and the fingerboard.

Guitar building course - January 2011 :: The slotted headstock slideshow by yozski - Photobucket

Was really stoked with the result! The sharp lines of the slotted design look great with the rosewood veneer. The thin white line is a 0.75mm maple veneer under the rosewood. Only tiny issue was that I managed to sand through the colour in the dragonfly's tail which ruined the figure in that piece a bit, but no one else seems to notice.

This section shows the back being prepared, the sides being glued to the top using tentilonis and then the back radius marked, trimmed, reverse kerfing glues in place and the back join sanded to radius (15' I think... will check my notes). Before the back being fitted and glued. Clamped using traditional roping method.

Back and sides are East Inadian rosewood, braces are douglas fir, tentilonis in cedar and kerfing in basswood.

Guitar building course - January 2011 :: Back and sides slideshow by yozski - Photobucket

Starting to look like a guitar!

Originally Posted by Yoz

Hi all, another first acoustic build. This time a little different to the excellent threads and pics from stevemc32 and auscab as I've just completed a 3 week course in Wellington, run by David Freeman and Paddy Burgin. The course was excellent. I know at least one other regular on here who has done the course so please feel free to add your thoughts and comments.

Hey there Yoz,

A nice looking guitar and the inlay is especially nice. I did Paddy and Dave's course back in 2005 and came away with a half decent OM. The course is intensive and you work your a**e off but alot of what you learn from Dave and Paddy you couldnt find in any book or on any website.

LOL....I see Dave's had a haircut. He used to turn up for my sessions in a pony tail and a tie-dye T shirt!

Cheers Martin

excelent work!
i am following on photobucket

Hi Martin,

Don't worry, Dave still has a wardrobe full of tie dyed T's! LOL

Here is the binding going on the body: Guitar building course - January 2011 :: Binding the body slideshow by yozski - Photobucket

And the bridge and fingerboard: Guitar building course - January 2011 :: Bridge and fingerboard slideshow by yozski - Photobucket

My biggest error was counting to 13 when I should only have been counting to 12 . When you're cutting fret slots that's not a good thing to do it seems.... luckily one of the guys on the course had a replacement fretboard (and matching bridge) in his workshop and was kind enough to loan it to me to get me out of a pickle. It all ended well as the fretboards provided were Madagascar rosewood... my new one was ebony, so I ended up with a good deal . Loved working with the ebony! Polish it to 2000 grit and it looks like marble. Beautiful!

Nice pictures Yoz, I like the look of that E I Roeswood,I want to get some of that,

What was the reason for Cedar tentilonis for the front and reverse Basswood kerfing for the back ?

The only reason I can guess at is the Basswood being reversed was a bit stronger and was better for the pressure that was applied by the radius dish

or being a course ,were they showing two ways it could be done ?

Rob

Originally Posted by auscab

Nice pictures Yoz, I like the look of that E I Roeswood,I want to get some of that,

What was the reason for Cedar tentilonis for the front and reverse Basswood kerfing for the back ?

The only reason I can guess at is the Basswood being reversed was a bit stronger and was better for the pressure that was applied by the radius dish

or being a course ,were they showing two ways it could be done ?

Rob

Rob,

On Paddy and Dave's course construction is via the Spanish Method....ie you start with neck and top as an integral unit face down on a workboard and build up side and top on same. This is the reason tentalones are used under the top and a lining under the back. The method is the basis of Jim William's book on building a steel string.

Thanks Martin, I see, I just pulled the Jim Williams book and had a look as well, I was thinking why not use the same top and bottom like I saw in pictures of an old 1867 Martin guitar ,all separate tentalones on that one. btw ,that lute soundhole you are doing is incredible.

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

Rob,

On Paddy and Dave's course construction is via the Spanish Method....ie you start with neck and top as an integral unit face down on a workboard and build up side and top on same. This is the reason tentalones are used under the top and a lining under the back. The method is the basis of Jim William's book on building a steel string.

Thanks Martin. Yep, that's it. Not sure if there was any reason for using cedar for the Tentalones rather than cutting up basswood kerfing, could have just been to do with availability of materials.

Here is the next installment. Shaping the neck:
Guitar building course - January 2011 :: Shaping the neck slideshow by yozski - Photobucket

I was truly amazed how quickly and accurately the neck could be carved using only a chisel, a spokeshave and a cabinet scraper. I expected it to be a lot more difficult than it was. In hindsight, I left the neck a little thick around the first 5 frets and will modify the shape in future builds, but I was happy with the outcome.