Applying the binding on a walnut and cedar acoustic guitar

The binding on the back after the tape and rubber bands are removed.
The neck for this guitar is in the foreground.



The top side binding glued on with white glue, taped down with rubber bands in places where a little more pressure is needed.

Install binding on an acoustic guitar

The body is now trimmed, sanded, and the edges have been routed out for binding.

Acoustic guitar body

Kerfed lining for attaching the back of an acoustic guitar

Hand cutting the kerfing in the lining material with a fret slot cutting jig.







Hand cut fries.

Attaching the top of a steel string acoustic guitar

Tentallones cut on a slight bevel glued one at a time.

Short scale (613mm) flamenco negro

Construction is completed.  The instrument will remain unfinished during an initial break-in period.

Attaching the top of a steel string acoustic guitar

The top & sides are clamped onto the workboard ready to be attached.

Acoustic guitar bridge

the bridge

The bridge blank is laid on the body at the spot where it goes.  Looks OK.

Then lay it out and shape it.

Fretting the fingerboard

The frets are attached to the fingerboard, all except for the 1st and the 11th.  Index holes are drilled in these fret slots to hold the fingerboard in place during clamping.

Bracing on a cedar top for acoustic guitar

Front and back of the completed top.

Cedar top OM acoustic guitar bracing

The soundhole is reinforced by waste from the top board grain positioned perpendicular to the top orientation.

The X-brace design is a variation of the brilliant L'Arrivee design that solves the bubble behind the bridge and makes it easy to change the guitar from left-handed to right-handed with only a saddle slot recut and a new nut with no change in the top acoustics.

Rosette completed

Rosette finished.

Rosette building for acoustic guitar

A color check for the pieces.
The final will be bound inside and outside in ebony with a smaller circle of ebony and maple purfling.

Designing a unique soundhole rosette

Combining green abalone shell with tiger stripe claro walnut surrounded by ebony for this rosette.

Playing around with rosette designs on a cedar top OM acoustic guitar

Abalone rosette on a cedar top acoustic guitar

The iridescent blues and greens of abalone from Taiwan will look good on this red cedar top.

Yellow Cedar classical guitar

What came in the mail today;  two old rosewood fretboard blanks and a billet of Alaskan yellow cedar.
Because of a series of warm spells in late winter up in Alaska in the past decade or so, large areas of yellow cedar have died out.  This makes this wood possibly rare once the dead trees have been all harvested.

Walnut and cedar OM acoustic guitar

The tail block on this guitar is showing.
I cut rabbets to match the curve of the end of the billet that the sides were cut from and trimmed it with some ebony and maple.