Acoustic Guitar Construction

I'm very interested in how it will sound with fewer braces. Also John, why so thick on the tail block?

John J wrote:I'm very interested in how it will sound with fewer braces. Also John, why so thick on the tail block?

The tail block is thicker than it need be. it is 3/4 but 1/2" would be fine. I had some 3/4"birch plywood awhile back when I made a few blocks. I figured it would not hurt anything.

The one time I used Cocobolo on my #3 Dreadnaught, it was HEAVY! But it does have a nice sound.
I've never played on of these small body guitars. I'll have to make one some day.

John,
What size braces did you make, 6 or 8 mm?

Herman

Herman wrote:John,
What size braces did you make, 6 or 8 mm?

Herman

For width 6mm for the top and 10 mm for the back and UTB.

I closed the box and have the bindings on. This is one of a number of guitars I have built for family members. I have 24 nieces and nephews so I keep them relatively simple. So I have curly maple bindings on this guitars with no purflings. A thin black purfling would have been good for the top but too late now.

I think the only note of interest, and I hesitate to bring it up as it is so obvious but I have missed it on all my other guitars: I use a scarf joint to join the bindings, this time I put the binding down where the scarf joint made a pocket for the second binding to fit in. I had always done it so the second binding went on top of the first. But that is so prone to slipping. Here is a picture that will show it better.





With the first glued on I can push the second binding into the scarf joint with some pressure before taping making a really tight joint. I felt like an idiot a luthier showed me this.

Here are some pictures taken through the process.

Just for fun I used the gobar deck to glue on the top, also I glued on the top first a reverse of my normal order. I wanted to see what a top spectrum looked like before the back was glued on



I just used clamps for the back.





I have an LMI neck for this guitar. I want to see if I can get it out by christmas



I leveled the sides by marking them with a pencil and using my drill handheld drum sander. One really needs to be careful with this it removes wood quickly







I bent some bindings in my bending jig and set my router and routed the channels









I for the most part just taped in the bindings. I did make sure that the waist was tight





I am ready for the neck. But I forgot to order the inlays and I want to inlay the fret board off the neck. Oh well I will still start getting the neck ready tomorrow.

beauty John