Acoustic Guitar Construction

I've just gotten started on this OM for Micah. He will be turning 11 in 2018 when they come for a visit from India. That is when he will receive this guitar so I have lots of time to build it.

It is Cherry back & sides. The top will be a 4 piece top from reclaimed redwood. The bindings and headplate will be walnut. Neck block is honduran mahogany, the end block is luan mahogany. The neck is Sapele with a stacked heel. I am doing this one with a neck block made with a mortise to fit the neck tenon before gluing it to the sides. I use two pieces laminated together to do this. In this way I can cut out the mortise on my bandsaw, then glue it up. I've done this a few times before and thought I'd revisit the process. I also cut the tenon on the bandsaw, and cut the cheeks using a simple jig and a handsaw to get the compound angles. The first side I cut went flawlessly. The second side the dang jig slipped a little and my cut did not match the other side. I caught it part of the way through the cut, but it was too late to correct. So I will have a little more hand work to do on fitting the cheeks to the body when that time comes, but all in all it went pretty well. That truss rod is the Gotoh 2 way rod. They are a little longer than we usually use, but I've used them a couple of times before and the adjusting nut will come right behind the hole in the transverse brace above the sound hole. It works out fine.

I thinned down my solid redwood linings to .100" and they bent great. They will be glued in doubled up, but glue one at a time, then another stacked on. First time to do this but I think it is going to work out great. I have them clipped to the outside of the rims as they came out of the bender until I'm ready to glue them in.

I have an olive bridge blank I'm pretty sure to use, and the fretboard will be Indian Ebony. No rosewood of any kind on this guitar as it is going to India and I don't want to fiddle with any CITES stuff.

I will try and post more as I go along, but you've all seen it before, right? :)

Kevin

Some of us have seen it before and some haven't. I still very much enjoy following a build. And I know when I was starting they we incredibly valuable. Detail is especially helpful to a newbie. Thanks for posting.

Granddaddy, you're doing at nice job again. Grandkids are great, aren't they? You will have fun along this project.
Herman

This looks like a fun project. What could be better than giving a grandchild an heirloom.

I like the multipiece heel block. I do hate routing the mortise on a nearly finished body. I always been concerned with a truss rod being too long. My fear was an adjustment could pull the nut end out of alignment with the brace hole for the adjustment. I am not sure my concern was at all warranted. Looking at your neck, truss rod and block combination I can see my concern some what answered as I was not taking the additional length of the heel block into consideration.

I have laminated linings on the rims a few times. I glue the whole stack of laminates at the same time. My use three thinner laminates.

Solid redwood linings installed. I layed two strips .100" each, glued them one at a time. It went pretty well, but I think next time I will take them down to about .080" before I bend them so they are more flexible. The resulting width with the sides will give plenty of surface for gluing. They look nice, stiff but light weight. I like that.

I also glued up the back plates with a strip of walnut down the middle. The bindings and end wedge will be walnut also, or I might do an olivewood end wedge. Not sure yet.

I like those solid innings too. Never thought of redwood, but it seems very worthy, being both light and stiff. They should stabilize the sides, so that string energy must use the top to escape.

Slow progress on this one,

I have reinforcement bars glued to the inside of the rims, the back is braced and fit to the rims. The top has the rosette installed; birdseye maple ringed with BWB purfling.

I am now cutting out sitka brace stock for the top, should have the top braced by the end of this weekend.