Guitar Making - The Big Picture

Introduction

We may well be living in a golden age of guitar making.  There are many excellent luthiers (luthiers are people who make stringed instruments) working around the world and several active societies devoted to supporting both amateurs and professionals.  Books and videos are readily available and reputable companies exist to supply all the tools and materials a luthier could need.

While making a truly outstanding instrument takes the skills of a master, anyone who has passed wood shop in junior high school can make a good one.  No one task is very difficult.  All one needs is the patience to complete each task carefully before progressing to the next one.

While specialized equipment does make the task easier, it is not necessary to have a large collection of tools.  For example, I once shaped a neck using only a Swiss Army knife and it turned out rather well.  It didn't even take that long, though I did have a tired carving hand when I was done.  Many luthiers have stories of successful instruments made on kitchen tables or dorm desks.

Custom vs. Factory Instruments

If you just want a guitar, buy one.  Factories around the world are producing reasonably-priced instruments of good quality.  People willing to spend more money can buy extremely good, factory-produced instruments.  Make a guitar because you want to make one or because you want one different from everyone else's.

Yours can be relatively conventional and differ from factory instruments only in the details or it can be a radical departure.  For example, below is a picture of a small, 8-string guitar I made in the late 90's.  The top is from a nice piece of clear pine salvaged from a shipping pallet.  It plays well and sounds good.

Materials

The topic of which materials to use is controversial.  Some master luthiers insist that only the finest materials can be used for 'legitimate' instruments.  Typically, this means using master grade Sitka Spruce or Cedar tops and Rosewood sides and backs.  The resulting instruments are often works of art and possess superb sound.  However, just the wood for such an instrument can easily cost $400 or more.

For every master luthier who is adamant that only the best materials can be used, there seems to be another, equally eminent one who claims that just about any material will work.  Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars made a very good instrument from flat sawn oak salvaged from a shipping pallet.  Similarly, Bob Benedetto made an archtop from a knotty piece of flat-sawn spruce he bought at a lumber yard.  In his book, he claims it sounds just fine.  As a well-known maker of very good guitars, he should know.

For this project, the decision is clear.  We simply don't have the funding necessary to purchase top grade materials for every instrument.  One of the goals is to produce good instruments for around $75 each.  Thus, I have been collecting quartered trunk segments for air drying and located a saw mill willing to supply quarter-sawn green wood inexpensively.  Our instruments will use traditional materials (Spruce, Maple, Mahogany and Rosewood) when possible.  Primarily, though, we will use native hardwoods and softwoods.

Building Methods

There are many good books available for beginning luthiers.  One thing that becomes clear quickly on browsing through them is that everyone seems to have their own method and they all seem to work fine.  The lesson is that there is no one right way to make a guitar.  The instructions on this web page are based on my own experiences and on selected methods from several different books.

The instructions presented here are intended to help students produce good quality guitars in a minimum amount of time using simple building fixtures.  Because they are intended primarily as test instruments, they omit the kinds of decoration that don't affect sound quality.  Elaborate inlays, purfling and binding are the kinds of details that can make handmade instruments special, but they are not necessary for test instruments and can significantly increase the building time.

Finishing

I have tried many different kinds of finishes and had reasonable success with most of them.  A very accomplished classical guitar maker told me that he thought just about any finished could be used as long as the builder took the time required to learn how to use it.  I'm inclined to agree.

Traditionally, instruments have been finished with either lacquer or shellac.  Large manufacturers now often use advanced formulations that are impractical for individual luthiers.  I started out using lacquer, but stopped when I became concerned about toxic solvents involved (MEK is a potent toxin and is a component of lacquer).  I tried shellac, boiled linseed oils, polyurethane, water-based polyurethane, and various mixtures of shellac, oil and turpentine. 

I have been using Behlen's violin finish with ethanol as a thinner and am pleased with the results and the ease of use.  My finishing supply kit consists of a small brush, a bottle of violin finish, a bottle of alcohol and some cotton rags.

My latest instrument is a three string lap dulcimer that I finished with tung oil.  It is incredibly easy to apply, dries overnight and produces a nice, durable finish.  It's also available at any hardware store or home center.