Acoustic Guitar Construction

Hey Ken - Yes I understand they are separate processes. I will sand the top flat first just to even out any minor discrepancies with the kerfing / blocks, and then setup the rim to slope the upper bout. Reading my post back I see why you might think I was about to sand a chunk off the entire rim!

I have finished the kerfing and glued in the side reinforcements. I did 5 per side and used the slats on the mold as reference points for positioning them.



I am blogging my progress here as well, there are a few more photos - http://kozlikguitars.tumblr.com/

Over the weekend I got quite a bit done-

1) Sanded the top side of the rim flat, and then sanded in the upper bout slope (quick question regarding this: is it correct that the slope tapers off towards the waist, so it is most dramatic at the head block, and eases off as the upper bout merges into the waist? This is how mine was)

2) Sanded the back with the radiused sanding stick. I had a lot of wood to take off from the tail and head block so started with a saw, then chisels, and finally a block plane. Rubbing the plane sole with a bit of candle wax really got the thing moving and helped with the big mahogany neck block.

3) Cleaned the inside a bit, chamfered the tail block and softened the corners of the head block. I have quite a bit of dried glue that has soaked into the wood. Is the best way to get rid of the stain just increasing grades of sandpaper?

4) Started bracing the back! Got the centre reinforcement strip down, and the notches cut (didn't stop to double check here and cut some a bit too big). Then I prepared the braces for gluing. I opted to give them a general taper before gluing. I got this all stuck down one after the other using the card stack method (what a great idea!). All four are now done, ready to be shaped properly. I am away all next week so this will have to wait until next weekend. After gluing the back braces I now understand why people get a go-bar setup. Positioning clamps is a nuisance, and doing them one at a time is a bit frustrating. In the future I might make a setup under my desk. Use the card stack method and some bamboo sticks and use the underneath of the desk as the "roof". Not much room to move about but worth a go (bar).

Here are the pictures!

Why did you opt out of the instructions and not place a side reinforcement every 3" ?

Vacuum clamp yes --- go bar deck not so much -- buts seems you'll finding out for yourself what a great lubricant glue can be.

I laid them out with the 3" guideline and it looked too cramped to me, so I used the slats of the mold as reference points and put them where I felt looked ok. I had a look in some other guitars (a yamaha dreadnought and a loef acoustic) and noticed that the reinforcements were not evenly spaced. I realise you wouldn't have written the instructions with the 3" guideline unless you felt that was the best method, but is this a 'grey area' in terms of what works best, or is there a specific reason that 3" is optimal?

Yep -- the instructions do have purpose nothing gray about something so specific 3" apart -- close spacing unifies the rim (maybe even makes it stiffer?) most importantly the reinforcements are split and "car key crack" preventers.

Its best if you wait and experiment on a future build, but its really important to follow the KMG instruction set -- we will be happy to clarify, we want this guitar to be real nice too.

Not picking on Oli he's doing a great job -- but since this side reinforcement issue came up, its worth pointing something out since virtually every guitar (except plywood guitars) have some sort of side reinforcements. So its agreed there is value, be it split/crack resistance, cup resistance or stiffening or all. My observation is that the placement is sometimes strictly random or as mentioned placed in aesthetically pleasing patterns. Lets think about this -- When building a house as an example -- do we just put the studs, joists, and rafters in a cool looking pattern? Of course not -- we want the benefits of those components along an entire run and throughout the structure not just in certain random areas. Plus when organized in a more or less scientific manner --- the walls --- floors ---- roof come together forming an object that has predictable flexibility and durability. I know its guitar making 101 but why would I want to skimp on side reinforcements?