Jim's Guitar Building

Good day today......

2009-05-28T22:43:00.005-04:00

Hey I hooked up with my friend Chris Paulick today. In case you don't know Chris, he is the
Mc giver of luthiery. He has all kinds of information and inventions on You Tube you should check out his stuff. Anyway, it was great to see him and catch up I had a chance to play his first guitar and man it was awesome. Really great job Chris .

After that I had to get back in the shop and get back at it..... Saturday is going to be here before I know it and Angel tells me that a lot of our friends are coming to the market to see what we have been up to. Of course the answer is pretty simple, building and more building. I have to say these CBG's are really a notch up from what I started out making. I hope they are well received and am looking forward to hearing some responses from people that I don't know. Mean while the internet interest continues to come in largely from the efforts of my friend Keni Lee's following and his outstanding videos with my CBG. Thank you Keni.... I know it's redundant
but I hope to see you at the Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Pete. We will be there from 9 till 2.....

Saturday Morning Market / Keni Lee Burgess update

2009-05-25T10:08:00.003-04:00

Well this coming weekend we will be at the Saturday Morning Market with the recent builds. Angel and I love this market and thought it would be fun to join in and show off some of the CBG's (who knows maybe even find a new home for one or two of them)

The band is going to be our new local favorite's the Urban Gypsies and I know we are in for a fun time. Hey come see us bring you green bags for the produce save a couple of bucks for lunch and don't forget your dancing shoes....

My friend Keni Lee Burgess has been pretty busy he has a couple of new videos out in as many weeks, this one was a nice holiday surprise (hey I wonder who made that CBG?)

I sure hope Keni finds some time to get back in the studio, you wont hear these old songs on the radio and it's pretty hard to get you tube in the car. If you haven't heard his first CD you can find it on E-bay under Keni Lee Burgess or let me know and I'll help you get a copy. Yes this is a plug for a friend of mind that is trying to keep a part of our cultural history alive.

Hey if you make it to the market come by and say hi....

Check out Keni Lee Burgess playing new CBG

2009-05-04T20:54:00.003-04:00

Hey - check out Keni lee Burgess playing his CIGAR City CBG on youtube.... Keni does a great job proving these are in fact instruments..... Enjoy....

You'll see the guitar from the front on the video, I thought you might be interested in seeing the back.

Come see my work

2009-05-01T09:46:00.002-04:00

Hey now have you been to the Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Petersburg? What a cool event that Gail and the team put on. It's really a great way to spend a couple of fun hours. To call it a market runs the risk of not explaining that it is an event to be enjoyed. Produce, Food, Jewelry, Craftsman and Eco-friendly products all in an open air art show kind of environment. Don't let me forget to mention they always have some hip and very cool live music as well. Angel and I went last week and stayed for a couple of hours enjoying it all.

Mark your callendars for May 16th. Come to the market to get up close and personal with some of the Cigar Box Guitars that I have been building. I will also have wine bottle slides, Cigar Box Amps and Bottle neck guitar instructional cds from Keni Lee Burgess.... Should be a lot of fun come by and say hello....

New 3 String Resonator

2009-04-29T11:57:00.002-04:00

I just finished a 3 string resonator guitar with an actual spun cone (designed for use in a ukulele). Looks great with Bocote fingerboard and 3 piece maple neck. I really took a lot of time when I carved this one, it kind of has a banjo feel very slim. Thanks to Pat Cook for mentoring me on this build. More information will be posted on the web site www.cigarcitycbgs.com

2009-04-21T11:40:00.004-04:00

Well Cigar City CBGs is out of the box and up and running. Turns out that I have had hits from Germany and Brazil... Who knew! Must be because of Cigar Box Nation. Stop by and check out the information at www.cigarcitycbgs.com or the blog for cigar box guitars at www.cigarcitycbgs.blogspot.com.

Todd just found some great boxes that I picked up from him yesterday. I can't wait to hear how they turn out I really need to get on Martin's CBG. Should be fun to hear the mountain music he comes up with.... Take care

Cigar City CBG's

2009-03-24T21:12:00.004-04:00

Well thanks to Keni Lee pushing me, I now have a new Web page dedicated to the sale of my Cigar Box Guitars. I like them, I enjoy playing them and the feedback has been very positive....
If you would like more information, check out Cigar City CBS's at www.cigarcitycbgs.com. You can also email me at J.Mitchell@cigarcitycbgs.com.

More to follow....

2009-03-21T15:12:00.010-04:00

Okay the fun continues..... Kathy Jackson and I headed down to Ybor City to get some photos for the upcoming web site Cigar City CBG's and check out the Farmers market... Had a great time making new friends and doing our little part for the economy.. If you are in the market for some realy great fashion or decorating accessories you need to check out our new friend Barbara's great stuff..... bien50.com

It's a mail box, no wait it's a bread box.... no it's a trash can....

Hey man I don't know I just think it's very cool.... Did I mention that this graphic artist also paint cars...

next I had a chance to meet and speak with a Grand Master Cigar Maker. Wallace Reyes

So what does all of this have to do with building guitars? I have developed a strong interest in Cigar Box Guitars. These little works of art have significant historical importance, they are fun to build, more fun to play and within the reach of anyone that wants to play a guitar...It is much easier to keep track of there strings than six. They are like a Dulcimer except these have a cool factor... I mean come on Jimi Hendrix started playing on one of these and Buddy Guy stole some of his mom's screen wire to make a stick and can into his first guitar. So I am in the mind to start making some of these and selling them... Last point on the subject building CBG's is also allowing me to get my fretting and set up techniques down.... I'll keep you posted on the new web site and upcoming events to promote the sales of my CBG's. Here is a shot of No 6 it's just about ready to harvest.... As one of my gutiar nation friends says "it's almost right for the picking"....
Sorry I had to share that one...

A little distracted

2009-03-16T08:02:00.003-04:00

Okay so this is what we're working with here.... Not long ago I had a cold and I was unable to sleep due to a cough.... So I was on the web looking for tuners for the OM and stumbled across a video on cigar box guitars... Tune them to an open cord and you're a slide playing blues man.... How cool is that? I think most of you know that I built one that day and now I'm going to be starting No. 8.... Back in that mix I was on the phone telling a couple of friends (Derek &Howard) about them and each of them wanted one so they became my first customers. Next my sister Kathy is telling me about this farmers market in St.Pete that is a very cool mix of farmers market - art show - party. We went and go checked it out over the weekend and now I am trying to get accepted as a vendor (for at least a couple of months). So the OM guitar building is on hold, but with good reason I am really working on my neck building, fretting skills and set up skills. Not to mention that I have to put together a brochure and website....

I have made friends with a guitar player teacher on youtube named Keni Lee Burgess. He is a fantastic player of old time music and delta blues. You need to check him out his CD is very nicely done and one of my new favorites. He sells his Cd's on Ebay just search Keni Lee. You can also check out some of his videos on You Tube. I should also tell you on his second video in his seres 4 CBG lessons he has a plug for my guitars. I am including one of his instructional videos with each on my guitars. Well that's my story for now and I am sticking to it.

These are great little instruments they are fun to make, sound cool and are really fun to play. If I can make a few of these to sell along the way that's even better.

Here is a shot of No. 7 it has 18 frets 22" scale oak neck with paduak fingerboard. It is a cake pan resonator model this picture was taken when I was setting it up the plastic is still on the drain cover. This is really a nice little instrument ( Hey I feel that way about all of them)...

CBG?????

2009-02-12T10:52:00.002-05:00

Okay I am not gonna lie to you it's going to get a little strange (two dragons)..... Well it started out as a darn cold and a couple of Saturdays ago I woke up with the worst cough... I couldn't go back to bed so there I am 6 am and I am on Ebay looking for guitar tuners and I come across this video on CBG's (cigar box guitars) and hour or so later I know I want one.... This is a picture of the 2nd build... A lot of fun to make and play....

I love building guitars- It's so relaxing

2009-01-05T22:20:00.004-05:00

Now that's a good looking fingerboard.... Oh, the binding looks good and the neck dots look nice, yep, let's see now 3,5,7,9,11 @#*&@^#!^ 11??????? What happened to 12? Bummer!

Neck and Fingerboard work

2009-01-01T22:55:00.005-05:00

Well after repairing the cracked brace back to work on the neck. The following pictures clearly detail the significant influence John Mayes video on neck making and JJ Donohue's tutorial
http://luthiercom.org/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=93&t=459&sid=cf563bf1dfd228f95401f06b6f51bb18#p7458 on volute neck making have had on my process.

Maple binding .25" x .06" glued and taped to the fingerboard working towards the outer edge.

Detail showing what John calls his crossbow. (the binding was actually longer to ensure go contact at edge).

Pretty straight forward shot detailing taped binding.

Close up of binding on fingerboard.

Fiber headstock next step is to route channel for nut.

2008-12-28T19:04:00.002-05:00

The dark line on the right side of the brace is a pretty nasty crack that I caused by over tightening the vise I used to hold the guitar while fitting the neck..... Bummer!

After a quick trip to ACE hardware where I was able to find compression springs I was able to modify the pictured syringes into service to glue the brace back together.

Here you can see the process I am going to leave these in place for 24 hours.

Woolson Jig

2008-12-15T19:31:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture of the Woolson jig that I made to route the tenon on the neck....

2008-12-10T14:38:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of quick shots of the new Neck. Five piece lamination from Mahogany, Black fiber and Maple. It's still pretty chunky but the volute is starting to come along and it shouldn't be that much longer before I have it down to size.

Still need to look for something for the head plate and I am thinking about binding the finger board. I'll try to post more of the pictures of the glue up and my new jig that I used for routing the tenon in a later post.

2008-11-24T14:11:00.002-05:00

Well the new band saw blade arrived and it's new neck time. Thanks to JJ Donahue from www.luthiercom.org for the excellent tutorial and pictures on his process. I should be back in business soon.

2008-11-20T13:34:00.004-05:00

Back in the beginning I had trouble with the threaded insert for this neck.... It kept popping loose, I really made matters worse over the weekend when I attempted to replace the old one with a new slightly larger insert. The picture says it all. Oh well it really is the journey I have resigned myself to the fact that I need start over.

While I get new material for the next neck, I started working out the details for making the bridge so many processes for one small piece of wood. First I started by making a template in plastic for shaping the bridge.

The next step was to mock up jigs to hold the material for shaping and slotting

The final jig is to line up the holes for the strings.

As I said these are working mock ups if you will for the jigs to make this part. Not only do I have the ability to make the bridge - I have worked out the details to making functional jigs.

Thanks for looking.

2008-11-06T15:03:00.002-05:00

No I have not stopped building - I am working on the bridge and the jigs needed to complete the task. (I will have pictures soon). One other note worthy event is that many of the Florida guitar builders have been talking about getting together. That actually happened last weekend. It was a fun day with 10 or so builders showing up. Lots of exchange of ideas with good demonstrations and many fine examples of their current work. I'll try to post more in that as well later.

Moving along

2008-10-16T12:48:00.006-04:00

Okay this is starting to get interesting...... I have found a new forum of mostly guitar builders that are talented and willing to help out in immeasurable ways. www.luthiercom.org very cool.... I am also documenting this build on the forum under the heading of "Here's where I am at so far".

Meanwhile - I really like the additions to the neck one of the members at the Luthier's community was nice enough to send me a generous sample of fiber material for purfling and headstock material. I used it in the heal plate lamination - black, walnut, black, spalted maple..

I really do like the look. The fiber seems to be the same material that I bought for the headstock on the Archtop.
I didn't like the maple binding with walnut purfling. I also had an issue with the results of my attempts to fill the gaps in the purfling and binding... So I decided to start from scratch - routed everything off and repalce it with maple binding and black fiber.... I like this look much better also I found a tutorial on gap filling that worked much better.... The end result isn't perfect but I am on my way and know what to watch for next time....

A little more fitting on the neck joint and I'll be on to the fingerboard and neck.

Neck 2.0

2008-10-07T13:11:00.002-04:00

Here is version 2.0 after carving and fitting to the body. Again thanks to Ken Hodges for his expert instruction on fitting necks. Also not a bad shot of the guitar vise I built after my last trip to his shop

Next I will need to get the cap on the back still need to come up with something special..... Might try something in Walnut and Spalted Maple..

The neck - version 2.0

2008-09-21T08:46:00.004-04:00

Someone who has traveled before me wrote "that building the first guitar is really about learning what not to do". Well, I find myself there one more time - I strayed into the land of over-sized and lost track of the fact that the 14th fret lines up at the body joint. Version 1.0 would join the body somewhere around the 16th fret.....
(There is a lesson in grafting a headstock in my future). I gained valuable experience in layout, glue up, (preparing the blank) and carving the neck. While I am not done, I am more confident with what is ahead and I'm looking forward to this version 2.0 working out fine. The original version was a walnut and black fiber 5 piece laminate. This neck is a mahogany, walnut and maple 5 ply-lam. With mahogany as the main wood. When it's done I'll have to see how well it matches the guitar to see if it makes it on this guitar.....

I also have settled on the headstock design and have the half template made. I need to get some material to make the full template so that I can route the headstock. I also need to decide on the lamination for the headstock and if I want to try something cool with the back of the headstock...

Work begins on the neck....

2008-09-16T21:01:00.004-04:00

I have started working on the neck - Pretty straight forward five piece laminated glue up.
The heal is still chunky..... I am om my way out of town so I'll get on when I get back.....
I still need a design for the headstock and to slot the finger board. Then it's on to fitting the neck.........

A day with Ken Hodges (can it get any better?)

2008-09-16T20:44:00.009-04:00

I spent the day at Hodges Handcrafted guitars learning from an expert on how to set necks....
Ken is a great guy that is working night and day getting ready for the Nashville show. He is taking nine guitars and a banjo. I can't tell you how much fun I had.......

Thank you Ken for taking the mystery out of setting necks.....

Okay here is the picture I forgot.

2008-09-10T22:22:00.006-04:00

Okay here is the top in the clamps. As I said earlier I was playing around with the positions of the clamps both are fine. I really the finger holes, also once the wedges are in place the entire unit is portable. I really like this system....

Here I am using a router to excavate the cavity for the rosette ...

Spanish Luthier's Clamps and Resaw jig

2008-09-10T17:08:00.012-04:00

Since I have the wood for another body I thought I would start the next guitar. Sort of the Irish twins method of building two guitars at the same time. This is my set up for re-sawing. The use of a toggle clamp has been a very quick solution for adding the taller fence….

Here is a shot of my shooting board and the new redwood top. Getting ready for glue up.

I have been reading about the use of Spanish luthier’s clamps. Here is what I came up with I am very happy with the results. I would suggest you do a couple of dry runs, just to get your process down, but the end results are worth the effort. (And you can’t beat the price compared to clamps).

Sorry the first shot is blurry because I am trying to show the glue. My workspace was dark and I can’t go back now for a retake (you get the idea) You can also see the braces that are the platform of the system.

The next step is to position the rope. As you start to wrap the figure eights you can adjust the tension. You will also need to compensate for pull as you move to the next bar. Nothing complicated.

Next install the wedges. I was playing around with positions. I did find the finger holes of value. You can make up your own mind. Note I did apply tape to the bottom of the wedges to keep them from being glued to the top. I also forgot to mention that I used a strip of tape along the back seem to help in the glue up. Tape on the flat stock also keeps from glue the work to the jig.

2008-08-28T11:10:00.000-04:00

Work continues on the binding - I really need to improve my process and try to limit the amount of spring back from the bending process.
I plan on going back and looking over all of my material and links on the process as a hole, Spring back can cause significant challenges when using wood as a binding material - it's just not that flexible in the cutaway...... I was able to make it work but there has to be an easier way...

Detail of the cut

2008-08-28T10:51:00.001-04:00

Here is a pretty good detail of the cut the machine helps achieve...

Binding Machine part two.....

2008-08-27T16:58:00.005-04:00

Everyone knows that I am no expert but I have to report that the binding machine worked great for me.... I liked feeding the guitar and the router being stationary.....

On to the fun part, wood binding.........

Binding Machine

2008-08-19T13:16:00.004-04:00

Based on my limited shop space and the fact that I already purchased the plans I built the LMI binding jig. I know the debate continues between jigs the move the cutter or the actual guitar.... I can say that this design is well thought out , seems to operate smoothly and certainly wins in the storage department. I expect I will have first hand knowledge very soon regarding how well it does the actual job..... (Film at 11).

Ready for binding.....

2008-08-15T12:18:00.003-04:00

The Body is one......

2008-08-14T22:11:00.005-04:00

Just playing around with the top back and sides in the clamps. So far so good. Of course everything gets very serious when you start to actually glue everything together.... It has been so darn hot,Angel has been a very good sport and put up with a lot of the assembly process in the house.

I used the go-bar deck to glue the top on the body...... I can honestly say this is a real learning experience.... As I move from step to step I have learned there are certain key points to watch for. As the back sides and top become one you really understand the importance of the center line......

OM build continues with the body

2008-08-11T14:54:00.004-04:00

Bracing the top on the 25' radius dish.

Installing the kerf-linings in the cutaway.

Here is a good shot of the radius dish used to profile the top.

Pretty busy weekend the goal is to get the box closed up this week.... I would like to start on binding the body, and then build the neck....

Neck, Tail Block and sides in the mold

2008-08-04T13:18:00.009-04:00

I worked on the sides, neck and tail block (Sapele) Still not certain if I am going to use the mold method or solera to build the guitar on/in. I bent up enough sides for a couple of guitars so either way I am going to use both methods somewhere down the line....

Here is a shot of the walnut sides in the mold (I ended up making new spreaders bars). Jeff, I used the Drum sander you gave me, it did a real nice job... Everyone could use a friend like you... Thanks again Jeff....

2008-08-04T12:56:00.005-04:00

Dean has been very busy on his guitar the far left shows his carving cradle used to graduate the top and back here is a nice shot of the back hope you can see the flames , they are pretty spectacular. There is a really nice tap tone. The lower shot is of the top and the components for the neck and tailpiece.

2008-08-02T09:50:00.005-04:00

Here are some shots of the sides I bent with the heating blanket...... A little bit of a learning curve for sure..... I cracked the first cutaway - not enough heat! I have to say that I had plenty of help and moral support from Ken Hodges, John at Blues Creek and from Greg's video on Luthier Tube see Nelson side bending video.

I used a nice tip I found on Kathy Kathy Matsushita site for profiling the sides http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=8117&hilit=+side

Anyway here they are in the Solera that I built from Step -by - Step Guitar Making Alex Willis. I might actually try the entire build using this method.

Okay I am back

2008-07-29T07:17:00.014-04:00

Sorry for falling off the planet -

As most of you know, Mom became ill and went home to the Father..... john 14: 1-4 Sad for me/us, good for her......

That being said the building goes on and while I may not have been posting, I have been doing some work. Since the archtop is my first attempt and is coming along, I didn't feel like the idea of working out some of the building process on it...... So I started a OM style acoustic using the book Step by step Guitar making - Alex Willis as my primary guide. I expect to change how I attach the neck and may or may not use the solera (although I did build it as well as a mold).

I am using the sinker redwood I bought from Rick Micheletti for the top. I have also added a heating blanket to my tool list that I purchased from Blues Creek guitars. John and Brenda are very helpful and very nice. http://www.bluescreekguitars.com/

I have also built a go-bar deck I soon gave up on using wood for the rods and purchased some made out of fiberglass used in kite making from

GoodwindsKites http://www.goodwindskites.com/
I purchased 24 (you only needed 18, I bought a few extra for a friend) Fiberglass solid white (.182) 3/16 x 48 and the .172 vinyl endcaps. Leland is the man he cut the rods and had them to me in two days.

Dean is back in town, he has the top finished and looking good. We are going to try to have his neck rough shaped before he heads back to the mountains for the rest of the summer.

On a very positive note I had a chance to meet Ken Hodges. Turns out this gifted luthier lives here in Florida. He is very talented and has been a very helpful to me as I progress along this journey. I must say that I have played three of his guitars and they all were truly amazing works of art. Ken says that he is "Allowing God's trees to sing" and I couldn't agree more. Check his site out and if you get a chance to play one of his guitars, you need to do it..... Like the guys on the PGA They are that good... http://www.hodgesguitars.com/ While you are there take a look at his information regarding Guitar myths.

I have also updated the links to include Luthier forum I have found these guys very informative and helpful. You need to check them out. http://www.luthierforum.com/

work continues on headstock jigs

2008-05-28T22:52:00.008-04:00

headstock template the two screws are fastened into the area that will be drilled to receive tuners.

This jig is used to position the headstock to receive

holes for the tuning machines

here is a shot of the trial run on scrap- the jig presents the headstock in the proper

position to drill the holes for the tuners thanks to a 1/4 inch alignment

pin on the drill press table.

excuses, excuses all play no work.....

2008-05-28T10:53:00.003-04:00

No woodworking over the weekend spent the holiday at the beach with the family. I did get my slotting template for the fingerboard yesterday. So there should be a new jig on the way soon.....

Trimming the top

2008-05-23T17:11:00.006-04:00

The top sanded to a thickness of one inch.

Here Dean is using a pencil that has

been sanded to half thickness and the

mold to outline the shape of the top.

Carefully trimming the

top a little over sized.

Just off the band saw,

it has a nice clear tap tone.

Work on Dean's top

2008-05-22T18:44:00.010-04:00

Deans top arrived - here's a shot of sweetening up the edge prior to joining the top. Nice piece of select spruce.

A little 220 grit

just to knock the

fuzz off.

I like it. Can't wait to hear how it sounds.

Work on template for headstock

2008-05-21T20:54:00.006-04:00

Start out with a half template - then line it up on the center line to make the other side.

Smoothing is done on the spindle sander. I used a triangular file for the center section. Had I used solid wood I could have used chisels.

Next I need to finish the transition from the headstock into the neck. Then I will have to shape the template to match the curve at the transition so that I can attach the template to shape the headstock with a pattern bit on the router table. Of course before I can attempt that step - I will need to put the veneers on the front and back of the head stock. Of course there is another caul to make that will allow me to clamp the veneers to the curved shape matching the transition. With all the jigs and fixtures I have made - I really need to make more than just one of these guitars.

2008-05-18T21:59:00.002-04:00

Dean smoothing out the rough edges on what will be the cradle used to carve the sound plates on his guitar.

Work continues

2008-05-17T22:42:00.015-04:00

Local guitar builder Dean Harden came by to work on the cradle for the Archtop he is making. Dean has been building guitars most of his life and plans to make a show piece. Quilted Maple sides and back, select Spruce top and Tiger striped maple neck. Unfortunately, the wood has been back ordered and so the only thing to do is play around with the prep work. We had a nice time together, he knows his way around a shop and I had no worries with him around the machines. It's nice to have someone to ask questions. I'll try to post Dean's progress.

A few pieces of hardware from Lowes some plastic from my friend Dean, and I have a fret bender. The base is a drill press vise from Harbor freight. I use a 1/4 inch allen wrench in place of a crank. I found the details for this at; http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=14027

Adding the neck extension requires another jig; following the book's method, I built the Jig shown below. For the actual glue up I place another clamp on the heal of the neck. The bar clamps were inexpensive clamps that I purchased from Harbor freight as part of my you can never have "too many" clamps philosophy. These clamps however can only be used for the lightest duty situations. This is not a power clamping situation, however I am going to look for F-type clamps to replace these for the next glue up.

The long view.

Back tracking - jigs and some tools used so far.

2008-05-14T08:28:00.014-04:00

My Hi-tech caliper.

Caliper in use. (not my hand)

Hand Plane used for graduating the top and back.

Picture of the neck dovetail.

Set up for clamping back to body.
See picture with all of the clamps in earlier post.

Back on body in mold.

Mold on platform.

Mold on platform

Top in cradle.

Cradle for carving top.

2008-05-11T10:48:00.003-04:00

Check out the new link to Micheletti Guitars. Really nice work from a really nice guy. He has some very interesting and well designed plans for "cool tools"..... As well as some tone wood.

Now if I can just sell some of the guitars I own ....maybe just maybe.

2008-05-11T10:29:00.007-04:00

Good day working on the neck joint and fitting the truss rod.

View of the cutter in position.

Spent most of the day making this jig to route the dovetail for the neck.

This is the complete set up, the vise is a real workhorse.

Shipment from LMI - Truss Rod and Fiber faceplate material

2008-05-07T08:43:00.004-04:00

Work on the neck continues.... Here is a shot of the tapering jig with the safe-t- planner on the drill press.

Not very pretty at this point.... next step will be to build a fixture for routing the dove tail to join the neck to the body..... Really like this vise it allows you to position the work where you need it.

Should get my truss rod, plans for the binding jig and headstock face material today from LMI.

2008-05-05T08:38:00.000-04:00

Set up for routing truss rod channel.

2008-05-05T08:02:00.011-04:00

Fun weekend - finished up the clamps that I am going to need for the bracing. Routed the channel for the truss rod.... I am scratching my head though, somehow I went 1/16 too deep...... I need to make some material for the jig to taper the neck that will work to build the channel back up. I am still not where I want to be with the bracing yet, the fitting continues..... I ordered the plans and DVD for the LMI binding jig as well as the truss rod and headstock material (should have them Wednesday).

2008-05-03T22:18:00.003-04:00

12" radius sanding block

2008-05-03T21:33:00.006-04:00

This is the set up to make a 12" radius sanding block for the finger board. Really pretty simple set the table to 5 degrees and take very light passes with the safe T planner. The idea came from http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=25182

Great site with lot's of information

2008-05-02T18:31:00.003-04:00

Shot of the back on the cradle (for graduating top and Back)

2008-05-01T07:47:00.003-04:00

Preview of the top sitting on the guitar body

Inside view with back attached

Fitting brace to the top (this takes time)

Cauls for gluing the top and bottom to the sides...

Dry run gluing the bottom to the sides.

My version of the Universal bender - Works well.

2008-04-30T23:48:00.002-04:00

As I said, I am getting stated a little late in the process documenting the building of my first guitar. I have always wanted to build a guitar(I have acquired quite a few guitars over the years) I have been a woodworker for most of my adult life, and I had a chance to meet the worlds preeminent archtop guitar builder (Bob Benendetto) on more then one occasion back when he lived and worked in Clearwater Florida. Later in his career he documented his procedures for building his remarkable guitars. Along with a written manual he also filmed a five tape video series. I have always admired these guitars and chose to use this information to guide my journey into the world of lutherie.

I expect to document most of my equipment and tools ( While I do own some very serious machines, they are not a requirement for this project. However, my Laguna 16 inch bandsaw and Delta 18 sander have proven their worth on this project). I was able to book match the lumber used for the sides and make my own veneers for the laminated neck.
The following pictures show the work thus far.

2008-04-30T23:40:00.000-04:00

So I am getting started a little late in the process as far as documenting the building of my archtop. But hey here goes anyway..... I'll start posting what I have and see where it goes..
Pictures and descriptions to follow. Jeff did you order your plans yet?

The picture is of the sides in the mold (pretty far along in the process. The sides are bent, the neckblock and tailblock are in place, the linings and side braces have been installed and everything has been leveled with a sanding paddle).