This Drawing or Drawings Are To Used For One

Use Only And Not Reproduced For Any Other

Purpose Than Construction Of This Particular
Instrument.
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Use Is Strictly Prohibitied And Falls Under U.S
Copyright Laws For Ultimate Guitar OnLine 2010
Sheet Number
Revisions:
Date: Feb 15, 2010
Note: These Plans Are
Drawn Full Scale Are Are
Labeled in mm & Fractional
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R 4,686.3
R 140.5
R 48.3
15.11
10mm x 16mm L Brass Cross
Dowels.
2" Brass Connector Bolts
Brace Key Numbers. Refer To
Brace Diagram Plan For
Bracing Layouts
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Neck Width At The Nut Is Another Dimension That Varies
Per Each Players Specifications. Standard Nut Width Is
1-3/4" or 44.4 mm As Shown Here. Fingerstyle Guitarist's
Prefer A Nut Width Of 1-7/8" Or 47.6 mm. There Will Be
Instances Where The Player May Require Even Wider
Widths. By The Way A Classical Guitar Nut Width Is
2-1/8" or 54 mm.
Re-Constituted Ivory Or Excellent Quality
Bone For the Nut.
String Slots Should Be Filed Out With
Gaged Nut Files To Precisely Match The
String Gages.
Fret Wire Detail
The Top Trim For The Headstock Is Traditionally Made From
The Same Wood As The Back And Sides. It is Usually
Leftover Stock And Is About 2.2mm Thick. Glue Maple Or
Maple/Ebony Veneer Beneath For Additional Detail - This Is
A Personal Preference. Glue These Pieces Before Any
Headstock Work Is Started.
Rosette Reinforcing Beneath
The Concentric Rossette
Inlays To Strengthen The Top
Plate. Round Edges Where
They Join The Top.
Back Block or Butt Block. Vertical Grain Cedar Or Spruce
Minimum 20 Grains/In. Some Luthiers Shave This Block or
Angle It Away From The Top As This Block Often Gives A
Guitar A "Hump" In The Top And Can Cause Cracking.
Note: Most Luthiers Make A Template From Either Wood Or
Plastic With The Neck Profile, Heal Shape And Interior Neck
Block And Foot Profile - All In One Template. Make Another Copy
Of This Plan To Make Your Own. Just Use Spray Adhesive To
Attach The Pattern And Cut It Out With Your Band Sand. Cut A
Little Big (Away From The Line) And Finish Sand With A Spindle
Sander Right Down To The Line
Longitudinal Section
Back Block or Butt Block. Vertical
Grain Cedar Or Spruce Minimum
20 Grains/In. Some Luthiers Shave
This Block or Angle It Away From
The Top As This Block Often Gives
A Guitar A "Hump" In The Top And
Can Cause Cracking.
Guitar Top Plate. Usually Braced Dead Level (No Arch) Use Only #1 or AAA Top Materials -
This Is The Single Most Important Piece Of Wood Used In A Guitar.
Materials Vary Quite A Bit, But Usually Consist Of Spruce Or Cedar From Many Different
Regions. Spanish Cedar, Canadian Red Cedar And Many Others. Must Be Vertical Grain
Wood With No Run-out, Even Grain Across The Top And 20 Grain/In Minimum. Spruces Can
Be Englemann, Sitka Or European.
Top Thickness Varies As Well And Is A Function Of Top Stiffness And Wood Density. For
Instance Cedar Will Usually Need To Be Slightly Thicker Than Spruce Because The Specific
Density Of Cedar Is Less Than That Of Cedar. A Good Starting Place If About 3.2 mm Or
About 1/8" Thickness.
Quite Often It Looks Great To Use A Contrasting Wood On The
Peghead For Some Extra Detail, Such A Burled Wood, Bird's
Eye Wood Or Pleated Grain. Most Luthier Supply Houses Have
A Wide Variety Of Wood You Can Select From
If You Decide To Place Binding On The Edge Of
The Fingerboard, Make Sure You Follow The
Direction On UGOL Website On Fret Repair.
www.ultimate-guitar-online.com/fret-repair-
part1.html Where There Are Extensive Fret Repair
And Installation Articles, Tools Required And
Methods For Installing Frets On Fingerboards With
Binding.
Mother Of Pearl Position Dots Are A Matter Of Each Guitar
Players Taste And Varies From No Position Dots At All To
Position Dots At The 3rd, 5th, 7th, 12th and 15th Frets To Very
Elaborate Vines And Other Inlays.
To Install Round Position Dots, Mark The Center Of Each Dot
With A sharp-Pointed Scratch Awl.
Chuck -Up A Brad Point Drill Bit In Your Drill Press And Drill
Holes For The Dots As Close To The Depth Of The Dot As
Possible. Usually Try To Have The Dot Just A Bit Above The
Fretboard Surface.
Mixup Some Ebony Sawdust With 2-part Epoxy Into A
Toothpaste Consistency. Take A Bit On The Tip Of Your Finger
And Work It Into Each Dot Hole. Now Take Each Position Dot
And Work It Down Into Each Filled Hole. Wipe Away The Excess
With Your Finger, But Make Sure You Don't Scoop It Out Of The
Position Dot Cavity.
Let Dry Thoroughly And Sand Smooth With A Power Sander Or
Sanding Sticks, Until The Dot And Fretboard Are Level.
Special Precaution: Do Not Inhale Any Of The MOP Dust. Wear
A Good Dust Mask. The Dust In A Carcynogyn And Is Very A
Very Dangerous Health Risk.
Inlay Position Dot Tutorial
Certain Luthiers Tune The Top By Making The Top
Progressively Thinner As It Reaches The Guitar Edge
And Remain Full Thickness At The Top. If You Do
This Do Not Reduce The Edges More Than .5 mm.
D
Acoustic Guitar Rosettes
Are Usually Handmade By
The Luthier. Form Them
Around Small Wooden
Drums And Glue With Push
Pins Holding The Layers
Together.
A Lot Of Acoustic Guitar Makers Reinforce The
Guitar Sides With Cloth Tape, Dipped In Glue And
Aheared The The Guitar Sides. This Will Help
Reduce Cracking. I Prefer To Use Small Mahogany
Side Braces, 6mm Wide x 3.2 mm Thick. Chamfer
All Edges And Space Around The Top. I've Never
Had A Side Crack To Contend With - Besides They
Look Really Cool!
3mm Thick Top Reinforcement To
Prevent Top Cracking Alongside
Fretboard. Typical Each Side Of
Fretboard.
Drill These Holes Only After You Have
Purchased Your Tuning Machines. Make
Holes About 1mm Larger Than The Roller.
Drill These Holes First To Minimize Tear-Out
Of The Tuner Slots.
#1 Quality Hondurous Mahogany Neck
Select Only Vertical Grain Wood For Your
Neck.
Drill Holes In Head With Drill Press. To Prevent
Tear-Out Place A Scrap Piece Of Wood Beneath
Exit Hold Of Drill. Make Sure To Pre-purchase
Your Machine Heads To Get The Hole Diameter
Exact.
Many Luthiers Trim The Perimeter Of The
Peghead With Multi-layer Purfling of Wood Or
Plastic. I Prefer Wood.
Make Sure To Use High Quality Tuning Machines
Such As Grover or Schaller. Good Plating Is
Essential To Resist Weather And Perspiration
A Nice Touch Is To Counter-Sink The
Washer Portion Of The Machine
Heads Slightly Into The Guitar Head.
Use A Forstner Flat-Bottom Bit For
This Operation and Chuck It In A Drill
Press. Be Sure To Drill The
Countersink Before The Hole For The
Machine Head Posts.
Typical Acoustic Guitar "Belly Bridge" With Saddle,
Saddle Channel, And Bridge Pins. This Shows An
Option Of Countersinking The Bridge Pins Into The
Bridge For Addtional Detail. The Amount You
Countersink Is A Person Preference.
Try To Keep Your String Angle From The Pin To The
Saddle At About 20 Degrees Or So.
The Bridge Plate Is One Of The More Important Pieces
Of The Guitar Top Plate To Get Right. First Glue All The
Top Braces To The Top, Cleanup The Glue And Shape
And Sand The Braces. Then Fit The Bridge Plate In
Very Carefully. It Should Be A Hardwood Plate, Approx
3mm Thick. Grain Should Run 90 Degrees To The Top.
Back Braces - Vertical Grain Minimum 20 Grain/In.
Cedar Or Spruce #1 Quality. Cope Out Ends Of
Bracing.
Side And Back Material: Many Different Woods Can Be
Used. For Bright Tones Go With One Of The
Rosewoods Such As Indian Rosewood or Brazilian
Rosewood. Koa Is Bright As Is Zircote And Madagascar
Rosewood. For Warm Tone Use Walnut. Most
Traditional Acoustic Guitars Are Constructed From
Indian Rosewood Or Mahogany.
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Heavy Dashed Lines Indicate Single Cutaway
Used By Many Luithers. This Allows The Guitar
Player To Reach Approximately 3 to 4 Frets Higher
On The Fretboard Without The Guitar Body
Blocking Their Left Hand
Optional Fretboard Support. See
Section Below For Detail
F
G
Neck Block. This Is A Very
Important Structural Element.
Construct From Vertical Grain
Honduras Mahogany
Typically Acoustic Guitars Have A Radius On The
Top Of The Fretboard. This Is Optional. Fingerstyle
Guitar Players May Prefer A Flat Fretboard And
Flatpickers May Prefer A Radius Fretboard. I Build
All Of My Guitars With A Flat Fretboard, Unless
The Guitar Cliet Wishes Otherwise.
The Intersection Joint Of The Major Structural Braces or The "X" Brace
Is Usually Constructed By Running One Of The Braces Through And
Butting The Other Brace On Either Side And Glueing. Then Cloth Dipped
In Glue Is Wrapped Around The Joint. I Feel This Is An Inferior Structural
Joint For Such An Important Brace. I Prefer To Cope Out One Brace And
Provide A Tongue And Groove Joint Here This Allows Both Braces To
Run Though And Gives A Large Glueing Area For The Braces. Refer To
The Bracing Diagrams For This Technique.
B
G
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There Are Two Basic Ways To Introduce Reinforcement To
The Guitar Neck. The First Is With A Hardened Aluminum
Bar Of Aircraft Quality - See The Neck Detail For That.
The Second Method Is With An Adjustable Truss Rod. I
Would Recommend A 2-Way Adjustable Rod. The
Installation Instructions Will Come With The Rod Assembly
Re-Constituted Ivory Or Excellent Quality
Bone For the Nut.
Acoustic Guitar Bridges Are Usually
Called A Belly Bridge Because They
Have A Rounded Belly Shape On The
Bottom Of The Bridge. Try To Match
The Bridge Wood To The Fretboard
Wood - Usually Ebony. Refer To 2
Style Included Here Under The
Templates Page Of This Document.
Laminate Honduras Mahogany Left Overs From
The Neck Blank (Before You Rip The Blank Down
The Middle). If you like you can provide a
decorative centerstripe down the center of the
neck (a classical guitar technique) for a unique
look for your acoustic guitar.
Heel trip cap wood is usually ebony. Thickness
can vary and you can add multi-layer maple and
rosewood/ebony veneer to add some detail.
The Neck Thickness Varies Quite A Bit From
Guitar To Guitar. Typically A Thinner Neck Is
Faster, In That It Plays Easier - The Tradeoff Is
That A Thin Neck Is Weaker And Is More Likely To
Give You Neck Warpage Issues Than A Thicker
Neck.
Position Dots In The Side Of The Fretboard. The
Material If Available From Luthier Supply Houses
In Long Sticks. Just Drill The Proper Sized Hole
And Trim and Sand The Dots Flush.
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Neck Section At Narrow
Point Of Heal
Neck Section At 7th
Fret
Solid Ebony Fretboard or Indian
Rosewood.
If The Fretboard Is To Be Bound With
Purfling, Use Wood Veneer With
Multi-Layer Colored Banding Such As
Rosewood, Maple, Ebony Etc.
This Neck Shows A 6mm x 12mm Bar
Of Aircraft Aluminum In The Center
Of The Neck. You Can Also Choose
To Use An Adjustable Truss Rod.
When Fretting An Bound Fingerboard Cut Back
Tang Of Frets To Back Side Of Purfling. See The
Following Article:
www.ultimate-guitar-online.com/fret-repair-
part7.html
If Using The Aluminum Bar, Epoxy The Bar In
Place At Put An Aluminum Stop At Each End Of
The Bar To Prevent The Bar From Moving
Methods - Continued:
Now you should assemble the guitar neck. I recommed Honduras Mahogany because it is light and
strong. Cut the portion to be used for the neck right down the center and flip the pieces so the grain
is opposed on each half. Add your center strip if desired and glue up. Cut the neck shape utilizing
the template provide in these documents with a band saw first. Prepare this joint so it is perfectly
tight. Next, cut the blank to size and capture any blocks you can to glue to the heel/foot assembly.
Gule the stacked Mahogany pieces to the neck for the guitar heel. Be sure to allow enough for the
dovetail or tongue of the neck.
Glue Your Headstock trim to the head of the guitar, including any wood laminate banding beneath
the trim.
Next rough-cut the heel and dovetail/or tongue/endblock shape of the neck on the bandsaw,
keeping things true and plumb. Remember to always cut a bit outside the lines to allow for slight
error. Now rough cut the head after tracing with your headstock template. Sand the sides to final
shape and size and drill you machinehead holes in the head. Now countersink the top of the head
for the machine head washers.
If you wish to trim out your headstock with purfling, now is the time to rout that channel and install
your wood purfling trims. Glue up with rubber bands or elastic upholstery tape. After it is dry
carefully sand or scrape the edges.
Next rough-shape the neck with a 4-way rasp, using the rough cut blade. Get the neck to within
about 1/16" of final thickness and width. Carefully shape the heel, constantly checking your
progress against the template you made.
Once the neck fits in the sides precisely, trim the butt joint of the sides and glue the butt block on
the bottom of the sides. Make sure to carefully fit the butt and neck block to the contour of the sides
and make sure the blocks are vertical grain. Once the blocks are in place, cut your kerfing for the
top and back and glue them in place with small clamps or wooden clothes pins with rubber bands.
Sand the top of the kerfing dead level with a large sandpaper block. Glue the top down to the
kerfing with rubber bands, elastic tape or spool clamps. Do not use too much force as everything
must fit precisely.
Final fit and glue the neck. Check the latteral and vertical positioning of the neck as this is
extremely important at this time. The foot and top of the block may need some additional trimming
when the back and top are fit.
Rout the channel for either the aluminum reinforcing rod or the adjustable truss rod - your choice.
Epoxy the aluminum bar in place including the shaped end pieces as shown in the neck section.
Allow the rod to be recessed slightly below the surface of the wood as it is tough to sand this metal
down.
With the sides rough-cut to contour, glue in the lining to receive the back plate. This lining can be
either kerfed lining or solid pre-bent lining. Glue with wooden clothespins with rubber bands
wrapped on them to strengthen their tension or use mini spring clamps. Make sure you have even
glue squeeze out and clean it up as you did on the braces.
Now fit the back to the sides and neck with the side following the contour of the inside form. Since
the braces for the back are slightly arched (about 4 to 6 mm ) carefully mark the trim marks for the
sides. This will vary with every aspect of the guitar beause the inherent nature of it's shape.
Materials:
Assemble the proper materials before you begin your project. If you don't have your tone wood
already, there are several great suppliers including LMI (Luthier's Merchantile) which has a wide
range of top and back and side wood available. If this is your first guitar, you may want to try wood
that is a bit less expensive for your first try, such as mahogany for backs and sides or walnut, which
is about 50 to 33% of the cost of the Rosewoods etc. A popular choice for a great flatpick acoustic
guitar is a good set of Hondourous Mahogany with straight grain - this was used on the classic
Martin D18's and is still popular today. A bonus is thay Mahogany is easy to bend, sand, finish and
stain - plus it's rather inexpensive. So this is a great choice for a first guitar, or second, or third.....
When you order wood make sure you order wood that is at least 1" oversized in each direction so
you can eliminate splits etc. 2" is even better and quite often accomodated with tone wood
suppliers. Make sure the tops and backs are bookmatched for grain pattern.
Neck blanks can be most any hardwood but it seems that Genuine Mahogany is the most popular
choice for it's strength to weight ratio. This is a very lightweight but very strong wood. Fretboards
should be clear Ebony, Rosewood is quite often used on lesser priced guitars, but I like the strength
and smoothness of the Ebony.
Most suppliers will have brace wood available, which is split from to log so there isn't any runout in
the wood - look for this in the literature. Also look for 16-20 lines/inch of grain.
You will also need additional wood to make up the purfling around he edges and you will need
maple or some other type of white wood if you want white stripping accents at your purflings.
Usually the outer layer of purfling or binding is thickest - 2mm or more and is made from the same
wood as the guitar back and sides.
We did not get into the details of how purfling is put on this guitar as that is more of a construction
issue and not a guitar plan issue. Any number of guitar construction books will guide you in the
proper techniques of installing purfling, where it should be and how to laminate it and bend it.
Buy good fret stock with at least 18% silver content. Steward MacDonald has a good assortment of
fretwire as does LMI. Sizes are noted on plans.
Nuts and Saddles? Bone, bone or bone. No plastic. Only use the best quality bone you can get.
Buy good tuning machines. Make sure they have good plating on them and the metal is a heavy
gauge. Either sealed gears or open gears are suitable for a good guitar. I like Schaller or Grover.
Bridge: I prefer to make my own out of Ebony to match the fretboard. Bridge Pins? Ebony of course
with mop dots is a nice touch. Bridge shape is a matter of taste. The standard belly bridge is hard to
beat for strength and tone qualities as shown on these plans.
Interior blocking for neck and butt blocks - Use Genuine Mahogany or Honduras Mahogany as it is
more commonly kinown. Grain should be vertical and no knots. This can be obtained at specialty
lumber suppliers and those that specialize in instrument woods.
Methods:
Start by sanding your top plate, back plate and sides to rough thickness (within 1mm of final
thickness). Carefully glue the center joints of the back and sides together. When gluing the back,
you will want to insert your decorative center strip at the same time. This should be pre-assembled
if you have multiple colors.
To prepare the joints, sand carefully with sandpaper glued to a perfectly straight edge. I like to use
adhesive backed sandpaper in rolls and stick it to the side of a 24" metal level. Trim the sandpaper
carefully. Use 120 grit paper and do not use a lot of force. The plates are joined most easily with a
cam-action jig while using a piece of wood on the top to keep things in alignment. Of course use
waxed paper wherever you risk having your wood stuck to the jig - or coat the jig with wax.
Once glued (If you use Rosewood, be sure to get all of the resin out of the wood with acetone
before you glue anything. Trace your top and back on the wood - use a white pencil for dark wood.
Then run the top and back through a wide stationary belt sander - or use scrapers and hand
sanding methods.
When I started out making guitars, I couldn't afford all the expensive stationary sanders etc,,
that makes the work so simple now. I used to get one side of the plate completely flat, then I
would chuck up a small bit in the drill press and set it to stop at the desired thickness of my
plate. I would then drill dimples over the entire surface of the unfinished side and simple
sand until all of the dents were gone - pretty slick!
After you have your thickness completed on the top plates. trace the guitar contour and carefully cut
the outline out. Make the cut line at least 1/8" outside the line to give you some give.
Get the sides bent, either with a bending jig or on a bending iron. You can also boil the sides and
clamp them to an outside form for a few days to a week. Be sure to overbend a bit to allow for
springback.
While the sides are curing, rout the channel for the rossette trim in the top plate and insert and glue
those pieces. I use a dremel router with a steel stud sticking up through the center of the soundhold
(the sound hole is not cut out at this point.) Once the rossette is installed, rout out the soundhole
with the router too.
Now is the time to install all of your bracing on the top and back. As I mentioned I use a dowel jig. I
plan on detailing these jigs in an upcoming book on guitar construction, but do not have plans on
the jig at this point. It works fast and really secures the bracing evenly and uniform. It also gives you
a lot of fingerspace to allow gluing all of the braces in a single operation without a lot of clamps to
work around.
Typically the braces are only roughed-out for their final shaping is done after they are glued. After
the glue is mostly dry, remove the plate and get all of the glue squeeze out off the bracing and plate
with a sharp small chisel. The glue should be dry enough to not be liquid but not fully adhered to the
wood.
Once the braces have had at least a couple of hours to dry, shape them and round them with small
planes, finger planes, chisels and sanding sticks. Final shape and sand them with 220 sandpaper
until satin smooth.
Tips and Techniques:
Always make sure your tools are razor sharp and not dull. Buy good sharpening stones or
sharpening grinders such as the Tormek sharpener. It is also important to knock off the burr on your
chisels and other hand tools.
If you use stationary tools, make sure the blades on your bandsaw, tablesaw, jointer etc. are also
very sharp and you do not have to force wood through the machines. If given a choice, always use
carbide-tipped blades. Some of these hardwoods are tough to cut without a good carbide blade.
Setup of power tools is extremely important too - follow included direction or obtain good books on
proper setup of bandsaws, table saws etc. You can't believe what a difference this will make.
You can never have enough jigs, templates etc. in guitar-making. If you plan to continue beyond this
guitar and make several others, templates and jigs are a must more making your work a lot easier.
If you are starting from scratch, building guitars, make sure you make excellent quality forms for
your guitar. Both inside and outside forms for the body assembly. Look at LMI's side bending
machine. It works great and you can pump out a lot of bent sides in a short time.
Put together the templates we have shown here at a bare minimum. You should have a template to
trace your basic guitar boddy shape, your top and back brace locations, Your neck and foot profile
and the headstock layout, showning all the drilling locations for the tuning machine rollers and string
slots. Also it comes in handy to have back brace curvature templates, brace scalloping patterns, fret
slot location templates and bridge templates.
There are a lot of great little tools and gadgets available for Guitar Lutherie - Here are a few:
Thumb Planes - Available from Luthier supply houses - they are primarilary used for violins.
Spindle Sander - This is a tabletop stationary tool.
Dremel Router with roller bearing bushings - or other small hand-held mini-routher.
Note Stewmac has a lot of adapters available for the Dremel such as purfling routers, bits
etc.
Fret cutting jig - this is available from Stewmac also. Give you precise control over fret sawing.
Make a jig to glue your bracing. This consists of 2 plywood plates with dowel supports at each
corner. The braces are glued using bent dowels that span between the two plates.
Make sure your shop is held an a very constant humidity level all year long. Never vary more than
5% between 45 and 55%. This will minimize cracking, shrinkage and give overall durability to
guitars you plan to sell or gift.
Some of the other great little tools I love are:
Japanese Saws that cut both ways
Lots of the German Cam Clamps - both 6" and 8"
1" Spring Clamps - A whole 2# coffee can full of these
A great set of instrument maker's chisels in 1mm 2mm 4mm and 6mm sizes
Fret file, dovetail saws, fret end dressing tool, fret rocker etc. see my fret repair series for
detail on these and a lot more tools
Look at www.ultimate-guitar-online.com/woodworking-hand-tools.html for hand tools required and:
www.ultimate-guitar-online.com/woodworking-power-tools.html for stationary tools recommended.
Above all else make sure everything fits together perfectly before gluing. Do not force anything as
stress is a guitar ruins the tone. When in doubt take a few extra hours of sanding trimming and pre-
assembly to get everything as perfect as you can.
Edge Purfling. I Prefer Solid Wood Over
Plastic As Plastic Is An Insulator. The
Edges Of The Guitar Need To Be Routed
And Stepped To Receive The Levels Of
Purfling And Trim. Round The Edges Of All
Purflings To Remove All Sharp Edges And
Allow Finish To Adhere.
F
C
E
A
Back Block or Butt Block. Vertical Grain
Honduras Mahogany. Some Luthiers
Shave This Block or Angle It Away
From The Top As This Block Often
Gives A Guitar A "Hump" In The Top
And Can Cause Cracking.
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Kerfed Lining Made From Either Basswood Or
Mahogany. Make This Lines On The Bandsaw With A
Stop Jig Set Up So Your Kerfing Looks Perfectly
Spaced. Attention To Detail - Always Important.
The Soundhole Reinforcing Plate Is Made From The Same
Material As The Top Plate (i.e. Spruce) And Is Slightly
Larger Than The Rossette Size (About 1/8"). Glue It So
That The Grain Runs 90 Degrees To The Top. Fit It After
The Top Bracing Is In Place, To Fit It Perfectly Around The
Braces.
Side Braces: Made From Honduras Mahogany. 6mm x
3.2mm. Chamfer All Edges And Glue To The Guitar Sides
Optional Fingerboard Support. I Use This To
Provide Additional Support To The Fretboard
While Allowing Easier Installation Of Frets In
This Area And Reduces Fret Hammer
Bounce.
Use Either A Neck Dovetail Joint At The
Neck/Body Or A Tongue And Groove With
Through-Drilled Dowels For A Better Fit.
Tone Bracing For Top. Spruce Or Cedar. Vertical
Grain, No Run-Out. Min. 20 Grains/Inch.
Side Braces: Made From Honduras Mahogany.
6mm x 3.2mm. Chamfer All Edges And Glue To
The Guitar Sides
Edge Purfling. I Prefer Solid Wood Over
Plastic As Plastic Is An Insulator. The
Edges Of The Guitar Need To Be Routed
And Stepped To Receive The Levels Of
Purfling And Trim. Round The Edges Of All
Purflings To Remove All Sharp Edges And
Allow Finish To Adhere.
To Cover Up The Center Seam Inside The Guitar Body And Give The
Joint Additional Strength Use A Strip Of Maple 3mm Thick. Run Betwen
The Braces And Round-Off As Shown. The Best Way To Install This Is
As One Long Piece And Carefully Cut And Chisel Out The Channels
For The Back Braces.
Arch The Back Of The Guitar For Sound Reflectance Quality And To
Allow Some Tollerance For Humidity Changes. This Arch Should Be
Approximately 4 to 6mm Across The Wide Part Of The Back Plate
Take Care To Shape The Butt And Neck Blocks To Carefully Follow
The Curvature Of The Back Plate.
Kerfed Lining Made From Either Basswood Or Cedar.
Many Spanish Classicals Use Solid Kerfing For The
Back Plate Attachment. If You Choose To Do That
Make Sure The Kerfing Is Pre-Bent Prior To Gluing. Do
Not Introduce Stress Into The Guitar
Often The Coped Ends Of The Top And Back Braces
Are Cut Through The Guitar Sides. Make Sure Your
Purfling For The Top And Bottom Plates Will Cover This
Channel Adequately Though.
Round The Back Edge Of The
Bridge. Refer To Longitudinal
Section
A
B
C
D E
F
G
(2) Of These Braces Are Required. Make Them
Mirror Images Of Each Other.
(2) Of These Braces Are Required. Make Them
Mirror Images Of Each Other.
Coping Out This Brace Is Optional. It Weakens The Structure
Of The Guitar, But Gives Slightly Better Sound Production.
Cut This Channel Very Carefully And Precisely. It Is Essential
That This Be A Very Tight Joint - Only Enough Room For Glue.
Cut Out With A Dovetail Saw With A Depth Stop
Bridge Plate Template
Belly Bridge Template
Round The Back Edge Of The
Bridge. Refer To Longitudinal
Section
Belly Bridge Variation
Neck Block. This Is A Very
Important Structural Element.
Construct From Vertical Grain
Honduras Mahogany
Back Braces - Vertical Grain Minimum 20
Grain/In. Cedar Or Spruce #1 Quality.
Cope Out Ends Of Bracing.
Back Material: Many Different Woods Can
Be Used. For Bright Tones Go With One
Of The Rosewoods Such As Indian
Rosewood or Brazilian Rosewood. Koa Is
Bright As Is Zircote And Madagascar
Rosewood. For Warm Tone Use Walnut.
Most Traditional Acoustic Guitars Are
Constructed From Indian Rosewood Or
Mahogany.
Back Plate Layout & Brace Layout
Dark Line Indicates Outside
Perimeter of Guitar. Light Line Is
Inside Of Sides.
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To Cover Up The Center Seam Inside The Guitar Body And Give The
Joint Additional Strength Use A Strip Of Maple 3mm Thick. Run Betwen
The Braces And Round-Off As Shown. The Best Way To Install This Is
As One Long Piece And Carefully Cut And Chisel Out The Channels
For The Back Braces.
Arch The Back Of The Guitar For Sound Reflectance Quality And To
Allow Some Tollerance For Humidity Changes. This Arch Should Be
Approximately 4 to 6mm Across The Wide Part Of The Back Plate
A
B
C
D
A D C B
Back Block or Butt Block. Vertical
Grain Honduras Mahogany. Some
Luthiers Shave This Block or Angle
It Away From The Top As This Block
Often Gives A Guitar A "Hump" In
The Top And Can Cause Cracking.
Bridge Plate
Drill 10mm Holes Through Head
Block And Tenon For Cross Dowel
Installation
2

1
5
/
3
2
"
3
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4
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14 3/32"
6
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3

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3/4"
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1

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25/32"
5 1/2"
1 5/8"
1 5/8"
1 17/32" 1 5/8" 1 5/8"
3
"
25 13/32"
1 15/16"
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1 1/32"
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4" 3 3/4" 3 1/2" 4"
5 1/2" 3/4" 3/16"
1
1
5
/3
2
"
1
5
/8
"
1
5
/8
"
1
1
/2
"
13/16" 5/8"
1 7/16" 1 11/32" 1 9/32" 1 3/16" 1 1/8" 1 1/16" 1" 15/16" 29/32" 27/32" 13/16" 3/4" 23/32" 11/16" 5/8" 19/32" 9/16" 17/32" 1/2" 15/32"
29/32"
3
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6
"
2

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2
"
1

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2
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3
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4
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2 1/32"
3/16" 27/32" 31/32" 1 1/16"
1

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2
"
7/8" 1/4" 7/8"
2"
3
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6
"
1
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1
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1 29/32"
184 1/2"
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2 1/4"
4

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6
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1
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1
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8
"
9
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2
"
3
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8
"
3/16" 3/32"
1
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8
"
1
1
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2
"
1
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8
"
1
1
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3
2
"
1
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2
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3
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8
"
1
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8
"
9
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3
2
"1
1
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2
"
1
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8
"
9
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3
2
"1
1
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2
"
1
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2
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1
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2
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1
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8
"
1
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2
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1
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1
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3
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3
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1
6
"
1
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8
"
3
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6
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5
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5
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1
6
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5
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6
"
7
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1
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4
"
1
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8
"
3
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1
6
"
5
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1
6
"
2 11/32" 5 27/32" 2 11/32"
10 1/2"
15 5/16"
3/8" 2 3/32" 2 11/16" 2 11/32" 6" 1 23/32" 5/32"
15 5/16"
1/8" 1 1/16" 8 1/8" 1 5/32"
10 1/2"
1/8" 1 1/16" 8 1/16" 1 5/32"
10 13/32"
1/16" 1 7/32" 13/16" 1 13/32" 1/32"
3 9/16"
1/8" 4" 1/32"
4 3/16"
5
/
1
6
"
5
/
1
6
"
5
/
1
6
"
5
/
1
6
"
6 5/32" 5/16"
5 3/4" 5/16"
3/8" 1 19/32" 4 11/32" 7 5/32" 1 7/8"
1" 7/16"
25/32"
6
"
1

1
/
4
"
1
5
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3
2
"
2

1
7
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2
"
1
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1

1
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"
7
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6
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7
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7
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7
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7
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6
"
2

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9
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1

1
3
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2
"
3

7
/
3
2
"
1

1
3
/
3
2
"
5/32"
1/4"
25/32"
6
"
2

1
9
/
3
2
"
1

1
3
/
3
2
"
3

7
/
3
2
"
1

1
3
/
3
2
"
5/32"
1/4"
1"
1

1
/
4
"
9
/
3
2
"
3

7
/
3
2
"
1

1
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4
"
7
/
1
6
"
7
/
1
6
"
7
/
1
6
"
7
/
1
6
"
7
/
1
6
"
5 17/32"
1
5
/
3
2
"
10 5/16"
9 21/32"
2 7/16" 5 13/32" 2 7/16"
2 13/32" 4 13/16" 2 13/32"
2 5/8" 8 1/4" 2 5/8"
1
/
8
"
1
/
8
"
3
/
1
6
"
3
/
3
2
"
1
/
8
"
9
/
3
2
"
3
/
3
2
"
3
/
3
2
"
9
/
3
2
"
1
5
/
3
2
"
1
5
/
3
2
"
13 23/32"
5
/
3
2
"
1
/
8
"
3
/
1
6
"
2 7/8" 7 15/16" 2 7/8"
1
5
/
3
2
"
13 17/32"
3/32" 10 1/8" 3/32"
10 5/16"
5
/
1
6
"
5
/
1
6
"
7/32" 9 1/4" 7/32"
9 21/32"
1/4" 13 1/16" 1/4"
13 17/32"
3/16" 13 11/32" 3/16"
13 23/32"
3
/
4
"
3
/
4
"
18 7/8"
1
4

7
/
3
2
"
1
0

1
3
/
1
6
"
25 13/32"
Methods - Continued:
Next is the time to trim the plates, rout purfling grooves around the edges of the guitar and fit the
purfling. With groove cleaned out, nice tight fit and everything cut to length, glue on the purfling.
When using wood prufling, be sure to prebend the wood so it will fit with as little stress as possible.
Glue the purfling with your glue, and bind to the channel with the same upholstery tape as was
used for the top and back. This can also be done with the guitar inside the inside form if you desire.
Rough sand the sides, back and top plates and round the edge of the purfling.
Next sand the fingerboard to thickness, cut to correct width and final sand the edges on a stationary
belt sander. Cut the fret grooves and locate the fretboard on the neck. Lightly clamp it and drill 2
small holes down through the fret groove at the body and nut ends of the fretboard. Place small
locator nails in the holes and double check the fingerboard location before gluing. Double check all
the latteral and vertical locations with a precise straight edge. Now install any edge binding on the
fretboard that you may wish to install. Final sand everything and make sure the fretboard is dead
level. Glue the fretboard in place.
Final shape the neck to the fretboard size, shape the heel and finish sand. Place a heel trim on the
bottom of the heel. Dry-fit the tuning machines and make any adjustments so there is no binding or
forcing in place. Fit the nut and bridge. Mark the bridge location with a light pencil or scribe mark.
Install masking tape over the bridge location and cut it to shape using the bridge. You finish the
guitar without the bridge in place, remove the masking tape and glue the bridge. A great tip to locate
the bridge is to drill down through the outside bridge pin holes and secure the bridge with 2 stove
bolts, tighted with finger pressure only.
Give all wood surfaces a final sanding with 220 grit sandpaper, install the frets and prepare to install
the finish.
There are many different opionions on finish material from urethane to varnish to lacquers. Do your
research and decide on what suite you best. Remember the thinner the finish the better sound you
will get with a solid wood guitar.
Finishing is a whole different operation in and of itself is too lengthy to discuse in this format. I
sugguest you get a good book on instrument finishing from one of the suppliers.
This was a quick overview of guitar construction and I have not had the room to go into any great
detail on anything. At Ultimate Guitar OnLine, we plan on publishing an ebook on guitar
construction in the near future, so watch for that.
Good Luck and most of all HAVE FUN!
Check Us Out At:
www.ultimate-guitar-online.com
http://ultimate-guitar-building.com
david@ultimate-guitar-online.com
Our sites have a LOT of tips on such things as fret installation, neck adjustments and
recommendations etc. Check out the articles and come back often as we are adding content all the
time.
Scale Length
Alternate Neck Connection Method Using
2" Bolts & Brass Cross-Dowels - Plan
These Are The Tone Braces. This Is What
Really Prohibits An Acoustic Guitar From
Being Easily Changed From A Right Hand To
A Left-Handed Guitar. Refer To The
Reference Photo, Which Indicates a
Standard Right Handed Guitar Placement
Lateral Section
Hex Truss Rod Adjustment Nut
Truss Rod Cap
2" Brass Connector Bolts
Access Hole For
Truss Rod Nut
Alternate Neck Connection Method Using
2" Bolts & Brass Cross-Dowels - Elevation
Guitar Sides
Guitar Neck Block. Vertical Grain Hondurous
Mahogany.
Neck Heel. Same Wood As Neck. This Is The
Contour At The Narrow Point Of The Heel. Quite
Often This Contour Changes Depending On
Luthier Construction Method.
Dashed Lines Indicate Wood Dowels Placed
Through The Neck Block And Tongue Portion Of
The Neck.
Dashed Lines Indicate Outline Of Heal At Back Or
Bottom Of Heel.
Guitar Sides
Guitar Neck Block. Vertical Grain Hondurous
Mahogany.
Neck Heel. Same Wood As Neck. This Is The
Contour At The Narrow Point Of The Heel. Quite
Often This Contour Changes Depending On
Luthier Construction Method.
Dashed Lines Indicate Outline Of Heel At Back Or
Bottom Of Heel.
Dashed Lines Indicate Two-Way
Truss Adjustment Rod. Cut Channel
As Per Truss Rod Suppliers Specs
10mm Diamter Holes For Brass
Cross Dowels - 2 Required
Outline of Heel
Shaded Areas Are Hardwood Laminate Pieces
Epoxy Glued To the Tenon. Run Grain 90
Degrees To The Neck Grain