Acoustic Guitar Construction

This one was made together with my grandson, 8 years old. What a fun project. Him doing the sawing, planing and glueing.
Me doing the boring part, sanding.
All was made of left-over wood. The back is from salvaged church benches. I think over a few hundred years old. All those years of burden, holding heavy buttocks, now moving free for sound. Imagine that.



Dave pressed me to use a ladder bracing. It works, but I doubt if this is my favourite design. But who knows. This is a very little guitar with nylon strings. Hard to tell.

The neck is made for small hands with a nut of 40 mm. A 21"scale and nylon 3/4 strings for easy playing.
The tuners are cheapo's, Boston 155. (BTW, Don't buy those, crappy!).

For more details, specs and pictures look Here
There you can see also a video, showing him bending a rosewood binding.

A very cute guitar! I bet it was a fun experience building with your grandson. I helped a niece make a ukulele and found the experience a highlight in my luthier experiences. I like the idea of going with nylon strings, the grandson has a great instrument to learn on.

Herman
What a great project to share with your grandson and a fine looking guitar too.
Thanks for sharing.

I love the wood history!

Yes Karl, I find it a good story too. I got the wood from a coworker, who was with his camper in northern Holland. He camped at a camping farm. The owner made a large table from this wood, salvaged from a church being dismanteled. My coworker thought it was mahogany (it is not) and convinced the owner it was suitable for a guitar and some of it should be sold. So he bought some for me. In the end it is no Mahogany, it is heavy, not quatered and has some runout. But in in my view it was usable for a small guitar back. The result is obvious. Happy history.
Herman

Here we are. He is a bit blurred, 'cause I don't want him to be exposed too much at his age.

Great photo the guitar fits him perfectly.