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How to Make the Body of an Acoustic Guitar

In the process of building the body of your guitar, you will find that there are many steps that quite simply cannot be undone. So it's important to take the proper steps in the construction of your guitar's body. Amateur guitar builders will need help addressing the problems they'll run into.

Things You'll Need

  • Preshaped guitar siding Wood glue (preferably Gorilla Glue, though any wood glue will do) Guitar head and tail piece Two large-sized clamps Guitar body ribbon lining Approximately 75 clothespins Wood chisel Guitar body back (two-pieced back preferred) Guitar body bracing set Guitar body soundboard 15 guitar body cork clamps Multirasp wood shaver 250-grit sandpaper
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Instructions

  1. Gluing the Body Together

    • 1

      Assemble the guitar body's siding so that it appears completely symmetric, using the preshaped guitar siding and wood glue. Use the head piece at the smaller end of the guitar's curve, and the tail piece at the wider end of the guitar's curve, using the large clamps to secure the head and tail piece in place while the glue dries. Gluing down these two pieces to the front and back of the guitar's siding should be more than enough to hold the body together permanently once the glue dries.

    • 2

      Once the glue has dried, secure the ribbon lining of the guitar's body by gluing the wide, flat side of the ribbon lining facing up. Secure the ribbon lining using clothespins (you will need to do one side at a time in order for it to dry properly).

    • 3

      Once the ribbon lining has dried, cut away the triangular space at the head of the guitar brace where the neck will fit in, using a wood chisel and a hack saw (although a V-shaped space is provided in the head brace, there is not one in the siding of the guitar, and thus requires alteration). Now is also a good time to be sure that the head and tail bracing are flush with the sides (if they are not, use the metal file to shave away the wood until they are flush).

    • 4

      Assemble the two sides of the back of the guitar by clamping them down to a flat surface (like a desk) and gluing them together. While the back is clamped down, assemble the bracing of the guitar back (use the image provided to follow the bracing pattern). Again, file away any part of the bracing that is not flush with the back of the guitar (you may need to remove parts of the bracing when assembling the siding of the guitar with the back, but this will be discussed later).

    • 5

      Next, assemble the soundboard of the guitar. In this case, it would be best to use a solid top soundboard; however, if you are using a split-top soundboard, the process of assembling it is exactly the same as the assembly of the backboard (clamp it down to a flat surface, and glue the two halves together). Then assemble the bracing of the soundboard using the pattern in the image. Like the back of the guitar, again remove any part of the bracing that does not sit flush with the board.

    • 6

      To attach the top and bottom of the guitar to the siding, alter the bracing so that it stands clear from the siding of the guitar. If this is not done, you will not be able to properly attach the backboard and soundboard to the siding. With a small wood chisel, use the sharp point of the blade to cut away the excess bracing (the wood of the bracing should be fairly malleable, and thus shouldn't require too much effort to cut through). Though the photo provided only pictures an attached soundboard, the process of attaching the backboard is identical to attaching the soundboard.

    • 7

      To attach the two boards, apply glue to the flat area created by the broad side of the ribbon lining, and use the 15 body cork clamps at the pressure points (marked with large red circles) in the photo to ensure a solid glue job.

    • 8

      Shape the two boards so that they sit flush with the shape of the sidings. This is by far the most tedious part of building the body of your guitar. Use the wood chisels to remove the large chunks of wood, the Multirasp Wood Shaver to shape any curves of the guitar, and the sandpaper to remove any part of your shaping that is rough or uneven. Most importantly, do not use the chisel for anything more than large cuts, because if you cut too close to the body, you could remove part of a board that you do not want to remove, and you will have ruined the entire body.

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