I haven’t been to my shop in a few weeks. To me (and probably most of us woodworkers), that’s just sad. The problem, though, may be self inflicted. Those of you who have read this blog on a regular basis know that I’m working on building 3 acoustic guitars. If you really remember a while [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Luthier’
Purfling…what a funny word!
Purfling is a word that defines material between the binding and the top or back wood on a string instrument. Binding is a word that defines the outer most material surround the top and back wood on a string instrument. The purfling is decorative but the binding actually provides some function. First the binding provides [...]
Guitar Building – Back at it!
It’s been a while since I worked on my guitars. Now it’s time to get back to it (not that I’ve exhausted all my distractions but really…I need to finish these babies!). On the right you see my second guitar body. I had already finished the purfling and binding though I don’t consider it a [...]
Bending Bindings
Today, I turned to Guitar #3. This guitar is a full body (no cutaway) OM sized guitar. My intention for this guitar is to give it to my youngest son, Mitchell. Mitchell is currently 10 and is learning piano. I have offered him the choice to change to guitar when he is 12 and he [...]
Hobby vs Job
As a full time Dad, many might think that I have ample time for woodworking (my greatest passion outside of my wife and kids)…but they are just wrong. Yes, it would probably be possible to carve out time with some rules for the family – much like work at home parents… but that would be [...]
Mitchell as a Luthier
In my last post, I talked about my experience with Mitchell, 10 and Xander, 12 helping me install my bindings and purflings on the top of my second guitar build. I was very happy with both their help and focus. Anyone who has children knows that when you get your kids to help you, you [...]
A True Luthier Experience
Today I wanted to tackle the other half of my 2nd Guitar build, specifically the binding and purfling. The first side/back side went fairly well and lessons were learned. I was very hopeful on tacking the second side/top side. As I was going out to my shop, I asked my oldest (Xander, 12 years old) [...]
Guitar 2 – More binding and purfling install
Now continuing the efforts to install the binding and purfling on the second guitar build, I found that using a rubber hose to add additional clamping pressure beyond the tape gives a better result especially at any tight curves like the waist or cutaway. In addition, I add clamps to those key areas. I may [...]
Guitar 2 – Binding and Purfling repair
My first attempt at the binding and purfling went fairly well though I had some issues at the waist (the skinny part of the guitar body). The purfling twisted and the binding and purfling didn’t glue tightly against the body. I had to carve out a small section and remove the bad piece around the [...]
Guitar 1 – Year 2
You might remember that my first guitar project was from a kit from US Guitar Kits. I was happy with the resulting guitar so I gave it to my Mom. Let me explain though cause that sounds a bit weird. I grew up around musicians and the primary reason was my Mom. My mom decided [...]
And the results are…
And the results are…mixed. Just a quick reminder, this is my first (Solo because I worked with 1 classmate and 1 teacher on my first guitar, which was a kit and used man made materials) attempt at installing binding and purfling. As I discussed in the previous post, the process went well…at least on the [...]
Tomorrow, I’ll know…
Tomorrow, I’ll know how my initial try and binding and purfling turned out. Using a trim router, did a lot of test channels. My trim router is a Festool MFK 700 and I chose a trim router instead of a full size because I felt it gave me more balance and control over the process. [...]
Progress Check Up
Today, I shaped the 4th Guitar’s neck. As you can see, I’m using my Shaving Pony to shape the neck. The critical elements include the thickness of the neck, the smoothness (how if feels sliding up and down), comfort of the shape (roundness or radius of the back of the neck). I obtain the thickness [...]
4th Guitar Neck
When making a guitar, there are some elements that are put together a bit like a puzzle. For instance, the Neck. The first step in making a guitar neck is to take a long piece of the desired wood and make an angled cut. The angle is determined based on the angle that you want [...]
Not a pain in the Neck – jig for attaching a neck
A few days ago, I received a new jig from LMII. This is the Neck Jig which allows creating the mortise in the body of the guitar and the tenon in the neck of the guitar for attaching the neck to the body. The jig actually required providing the wood (plywood) but all the hardware [...]
