Acoustic Guitar Construction

TonyinNYC wrote:When you cut out the back profile, you can that the sections from the waist area and join them to the lower bout to ensure you have enough width. I have done that with tops and backs. Works great and its extra insurance against the missing width being wider than the binding.

Thanks Tony, good idea.

Thanks for the info, Ken. I was looking at the plans here ultimate-guitar-building.com/j45-acoustic-guitar-plans I knew they weren't a great representation of the J-45, partially because they have the long scale rather then the short. But since what I really want is an AJ, which does have the long s...

I am planning to build a guitar based around the Gibson AJ using J-45 plans (can't seem to find any AJ plans). The plans state that the lower bout is 16 3/32" wide. Could I use a back set that is listed at 8" wide? The 16" total width (less a little bit for jointing?) is obviously sma...

Good question. But I'm afraid I have a lame answer: cheap. I've tried to make a tally of everything I need to build my first guitar, and it really adds up quickly. So I would like to get a basic bandsaw that will do most of the tasks a luthier would be interested in using such a machine for. Also, i...

I guess the first question is what should I look for in a saw for lutherie. I am not expecting to resaw, so is 6" vertical capacity enough? What about horizontal, is 9 or 10" enough? Also, what should I look for to make sure I'm not buying a piece of junk? Do I need to verify that the tabl...

Thank you very much for that procedure on the bender. I have seen many plans for how to build one, but never a description of how to use it! Fairly obvious how to use it generally, but those specifics help. Thanks!

Thanks again for all of the replies, very helpful. Peter - Yes, I noticed those safe-T-planer knock-offs. Sounds like I should grab one while I can. Just need to check that my drill press will take a 1/2" bit. Dave - When I take on new projects, I tend to jump in with both feet. Not always a sm...