Weeks 12-13: Neck work

This post covers another two weeks of work in the shop - pretty much all on the neck now.

Roughing out the Neck

Prior to gluing on our fingerboards, which we previously trimmed down to the correct widths at the nut and 14th fret (where it will  meet the body), we cut down the neck blanks to the size of the fingerboard.  This was done on the bandsaw after the lines defining the top and bottom edges of the fingerboard on top of the neck were transfered to the back.
The headstock shape I'm using is based on a classic Guild headstock, like the guitar I've had since I was 16 (a late 60s or early 70s Guild D-35).  I traced that design as best I could, but then had to work it down to a slightly smaller size to fit the material  I had.  I had to join up two pieces of the extra walnut from my back and sides to have a piece large enough to glue on for the headplate, and this became a limit on the size of my design.  The design was rough cut on the bandsaw and will be finished by some combination of a rasp, file or sandpaper.

Gluing on the Fingerboard

The fingerboard position has been kept in the correct position by a couple of pins that were inserted at the 1st and 13th fret.  The truss rod was also glued into the neck groove we did in the previous class at the same time that the fingerboard was glued on to the neck.

The glue up is straightforward with a generous amount of glue laid into the groove for the rod, and then all over the neck.  The fingerboard was held in place with a long caul so that clamping pressure was even across the length of the fingerboard's edges.

Inlay

The only inlay on this guitar is for the fingerboard dots at the 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th and 17th frets.  Two dots are used at the 12th to designate the octave.  The dots I used are mother-of-pearl with a 5mm diameter.  The inlay just requires marking a center position and then using a hand drill to make a shallow hole for the dot.

Each dot is set with some super glue.  Then all of the dots and the fingerboard were sanded.  I still need to go over mine one more time with som 00 steel wool. There are some small dots put in with plastic along the top of the fingerboard as well.  These holes were made on the drill press, then a small plastic stick was inserted in the holes and cut off.

 

 

Frets

The fingerboards we are using were fully serviced before we got them: a radius had been applied and the slots for the frets were pre-cut.  Our job is just to install the frets.
We're using standard nickel-silver fret wire.  Each fret is cut a little long for the slot and then hammered into place with a 'dead-blow' hammer that kicks back very little.  Each fret is tapped in at the top and bottom so that the tang grabs into place.  Then a series of taps from the middle out to each side sets the wire fully into the slot where it is held by the tang.




After the frets are installed, they are trimmed to length with a pair of nippers.  A small straight edge is used to check that none of the frets are sitting
higher than the others.  Any found to be proud are given some extra taps to set them in deeper.  Then a mill file is run along the edges to dress and clean the frets.  The file is held at a 60 degree angle in order to create a bevel .  Each fret can also be dressed with a small file to create a slight horizontal taper at the ends.  Out necks our now ready for carving.

Finishing

We have also begun sealing the top, back and sides with a couple of coats of thinned shelac (a 50-50 mixture of shelac and grain alcohol).  The top was sealed first in order to keep any color that might leach out of the sides from getting into the lightly colored spruce.  This can be a significant issue for rosewood, but didn't seem like a big problem for the walnut I  am using.

Class 8 and 8.5

Last week and during a short class last night we worked to finish our tops and on gluing them to the body.  I have to say that I find myself challenged to perform even basic steps cleanly at the moment.  I'm not sure why things have been so difficult for me - unreasonable expectations, false sense of skill, general winter malise - but I've been messing up on some very basic steps.   Anyways, the work over the last two weeks is not presented in chronological order since I've been moving back and forth between tasks over the two classes.

Triming the Back 

One further step before finishing work on the top was to flush trim the back that we had already glued on.  It's been put face down so that the edges could be trimmed flush.  I've marked the direction that I want to move the router, working in from the top of the curves, so that I don't rout against the grain.  The router is equipped with a flush trimming bit - a guide below the bit sized to the bit prevents the router from traveling in any deeper than the sides against which the guide runs.  Hence the back is cut flush to the sides.

Trimming worked fine.  To prepare the body for gluing on the top, we also sanded the sides and kerfing on the top on a sanding dish with a 45' radius.  This slight curve is meant to add more stength to the top and can improve tonal qualities.   However, this was another area where I got myself into trouble.

It's a little hard to see in this picture, but despite using the sanding dish, I managed to overwork my sanding and end up with one side sanded down more than the other.  The picture shows the  remaining difference after Edward helped even things out using a wooden block plane to remove small amounts of wood from the high points.  It will be hard to see in the finished guitar, but the trebble side of my guitar will be slightly deeper than the bass - creating a slight wedge shape.  Edwads suggested that maybe it will be easier to play as a result.....

Finishing the top

Below I've tried to illustrate some of the further steps taken in the process of paring down the bracing with the intent of keeping the top strong while bringing out its 'tap tone'.  Tap tone refers to the sound eminating from the top when held up and tapped.  The goal in our process is to try to get 4-5 seconds of sustain out of the tops, with a good clear sound that has strength in the lower and middle ranges.

Initially, much of the work done was to plane down the X-brace and scallop a  smooth spiral curve into the ends of most of the braces.  Generally, this is a step I can handle at this point, but still with some challenges discussed below.
	The scalloping on the X-brace and tone bars was also done in the middle of these longer pieces of wood.  Wood is also removed with a chisel from the sides of the braces, trying to created a domed  'cathedral' shape along the cross section.  Trying to do this with any elegance with a rounded chisel has been giving me fits.
The small finger braces and the tone bars are actually curved down on the outside edge to become flush with the top.  Inside the braces are down to just a couple of millimeters for a total thickness including the top itself of about 5 millimeters.
	The ends of the transverse brace are also scalloped and the middle is 'cathedralized'.   The end of the X-brace at the bottom of the picture gave me problems.  When I tried to scallop the end, the grain gave me problems and took a bit of a nosedive.  I  was left with sort of a flat angle down leaving very little wood at the end.
The flat brace above the transverse brace needs to have a groove rounded out for access into the truss rod with a wrench.

Gluing the top

Through this process we got a resonable tap tone out of my top.  I haven't been especially  happy with the cleanliness or the elegance of my carving.  And generally, I continue to be hard on my top, adding a couple more dings.  I'm not sure why this has been so difficult for me this time around.  As with the bottom, notches are cut out of the top to fit the braces (X-brace and transverse) into the sides.

These allow for a stronger fit with the sides.  Initially, the notches are sized for fit horizontally, then further wood is filed out so that the main surface of the top makes a flush fit with the kerfing.

A bead of glue is laid all the way around the kerfing and over the end blocks and then the top is put on and clamped.  Next week we'll finish off the bodies by flush triming the top and doing some initial sanding of the sides.  Then we'll rout out grooves around the bottom and top seams to allow for the  bindings.  Despite my travails, I still think the guitar will look alright.

Class 7: Back from Break

Class met again last week for the first time in four weeks following a two week winter break and a snow day.

Over the Break

I went in once over the break to work on catching up; I glued most of the bracing on my top and installed an end wedge from a piece of Koa that should match the bindings I'll be using.  There are two purfling strips surrounding the wedge; the wedge shape is used to try and get a tight fit with the sides.  By cutting in this shape, the wedge can be pushed into the sides until it fits.  I ended
up with a slight difference in the angle of my wedge and the angle of the slot in the sides, so the fit wasn't as tight as it could have been, but  cosmetically it should be fine.  This week I cut the excess wood and purflings flush to the sides with a back saw.

Fitting the Back

Another step tonight was notching out the sides and kerfing so that the braces on the back would fit snuggly within the sides.  This increases the instruments strength (in case it's dropped).  The notches are made by laying the back onto the sides while they are in the mold and marking the sides of the braces.  The notches are then cut out by making a shallow incision in the side for each notch, then using a small chisel to cut out the notch.
The trick, which is hard for me, is to not overcut the notch with the saw.  It's better to start with a shallow notch and to work it out and deeper with a small file.  The fit with the back can  checked by putting a small light inside the mold and then placing the back on top.  The seam between the back and sides can then be checked for light, indicating a brace that may need to be made deeper.

Glue Up

The sides are back were glued up by running a generous seam of yellow glue all the way around the kerfing.  Leaving the sides in the mold, the back is placed onto the sides and secured with a generous serving of clamps (that's about 2 dozen wooden cam clamps at about $18/clamp in this picture).  Clamping pressure is exerted down the sides with the bottom of the clamp pressing on the side, not on the mold.




Here's the results.  Some clean up of the squeezed out glue is still needed.  Also, the back still extends out past the sides - but
it's a good milestone.

Progressing the Top

When I came in over the break I glued on most of the top bracing.  At the start of class I still had two long braces to glue on, extending out from the X-brace.  Once these dried I began the process of planning and curving the braces.  These are the first steps in tuning the top - probably the single most determinate process in giving life to the guitar.  The goal is to remove wood from the braces in order to lighten the top and allow for greater sustain of the sound.  The top is the vibrating membrane that gives the guitar depth and volume of sound.


At the same time, there needs the braces need to remain strong enough that the top can resist the longitudinal forces applied at the bridge by the strings.  This is a compressive force that tries to bring the neck and body together.  Removing wood from the braces, therefore, must be done with an eye towards retaining strenght.  The initial step is to plane down the X-brack and curve the ends of the other braces.  From there we'll go towards scalloping the braces - adding horizontal curves to complement the vertical curves.  We'll also finish the tuning next week by sanding the top.

Unfortunately, I've set my top up to need some extra sanding.  While working on curving and planning the braces, I left wood fragments between the top and my work surface, thereby adding a bunch of small imprints and one good divit.  The little ones will hopefully sand out, but the larger divit is probably there to stay.  All in all, lutherie remains a challenge.  I'm not yet at the point where I've anywhere near full command of the steps
that I'm executing - probably be a number of years (and a few more instruments) to get towards any basic command of the tools and skills.

Class 5: Muti-tasking

Half of our class was missing this evening, which made it a little easier to spread out and get a number of tasks done.  Tonight I finished out the soundhole rosette, did the layout for the bracing on my top and back, cut the X-brace for the top, and glued up the back strip and braces on the back.

Finishing the Rosette

Completing the rosette at this point was down to just bringing the strips of paper and veneer added the week before down to the level of the sound board.  The strips were riding about 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch higher than the sound board, so using a sharp chisel, I worked them down to be closer to flush.  From there, sanding with a small block at 80 and then 120 grit brought the trim level.  A final sanding, prior to later final sanding for tap tuning and finishing, was down with some 220 and a block.  The complete rosette, I'm happy to report, no longer looks like an accident.  I'll try not to go down this course next time.

Gluing up the Sides
Here's a couple of shots,  from the bottom and the top, of the sides being glued up with the end blocks.  Spring clamps were added to the heel block to bring the sides up tight.  Cam clamps were used, three for each block, to bring the whole a assembly together.
The entire assembly is now sitting in the mold in the shop until next week.

Laying out the Top
The heart of the guitar, so to speak, is really the sound board.  This is the component that provides the core vibration and response that give the instrument the bulk of its character.  The top must be flexible, but strong enough to stand up to the longitudinal forces created by the pull and compression of the steel strings.  The layout of the bracing underneath the sound board, therefore, is perhaps the single defining design.

The design used by Edward on his steel string guitars is built around a classic 'X-brace' pattern developed by Martin (and possibly others) in the 1930s or 40s.  The 'X' is the two long braces running from the lower to the upper boughts, crossing and joined underneath the sound hole.  This pattern has been transferred from a template onto my guitar.  The transverse brace runs across the opposite side of the sound hole, and numerous finger braces spread out from the primary X.

After laying out this pattern, I did several test cuts of the X-brace joint before finally cutting this joint in two pre-cut
braces.  Top braces do not have a radius along their length, even though the top will be glued up on a support that will help to provide a curve with a 30' radius.  This curve is gentle enough it does not require the curvature to be set into the  braces before gluing.



Setting Back Braces
The back curvature, however, is more defined than the top.  We are using curvature with a radius of 15 feet.  In order to give some additional support to the back, a center strip of think spruce is glued down the middle of the back.  All of the supports for the back are glued on using a support that already has this curvature.  This is one of the many unique pieces available working in a shop that new luthiers must develop.  There is a caul with the same 15' curve that will be clamped over the back strip in order to provide support during the gluing.

First the back strip is put in place with some help
from masking tape. Masking tape is a great help to lutherie, but one of only a few tools that are cheap and readily available.   In addition to the back from and caul, we are using prebuilt templates and molds for the sides along with additional jigs (such as the router circle cutting jig that got me in to so much trouble) to help move the process ahead.

Another essential element of lutherie is the use of clamps.  Shown here and below are the standard wooden cam clamps that are used throughout the process of gluing braces and many other parts of the guitar.  They can easily run $15 to $20 each, and as you can see in the pictures below, we can easily use 12 or more at a time. 

After the back strip has dried, it needs spaces
set into it for the braces.  These braces, as mentioned, already have a curve set
to their bottom and have been given a preliminary shape on top as well.  Four are glued in to the back to give strength.  Setting clamps for gluing is its own art forms could all be set at the same time.






 Below I found space for 17 clamps on the back so that the braces could all be set at the same time.

 

Another subtle skill, as in all woodwork, is getting just the right amount of glue to ensure a firm joint, but not so much that things get messy and look sloppy.  An example of the latter is shown in the close up below.

Next week I will be fitting and gluing on the top braces as well as putting in kerfing strips along the sides to create a glue surface for the back and later the top.  There is a bunch of work ahead in carving are braces and tuning up the tops to complete the assembly of the guitar body.

Class 4: Finishing soundhole and fitting sides

Rosette Recovery

Last night (12/2) I worked on trying to bring some resolution to the problem with the sound hole.  Here's the rosette after gluing and having the entire top put through the thickness sander (top thickness is a little over 3 mm now).  The inlaid wood looks nice, but inside the rosette the enlarged sound hole is still a bit awkward.  I sanded off the uneven strip of remaining spruce using a rotating sanding block on the drill press.  At this point Edward suggested that I could just leave the sound hole as is.  The larger hole may give an appropriate expansion to the volume of sound from the guitar.

Rather than take this path, I decided to add on inside the rosette.  Using several strips of fibrous paper and one strip of maple veneer, I built up inside the rosette.  After evening out the sanding so that there was no remaining sign of the old spruce, I set two layers of paper, one layer of veneer, and then one final layer of paper.  The strips were cut to be tight so that no clamping would be required.  Three applications of a quick  setting, very fluid super glue were then made to the strips to set the hole package.  When I come back next week, I should be able to sand the strips back down to the inside of the rosette.  I 'm hoping the effect will look reasonably professional and intended, as if there were a ring of ebony set inside.

Fitting Sides

The other task for the evening was to trim the sides that were bent last week so they would fit flush to each other inside the mold and can be joined by gluing in the tail and heel blocks.  Sides are trimmed by pulling them tight inside of the mold and marking where they match the midpoint (end of a single side).  Using the band saw and belt sander, the sides were trimmed close to this mark so that both would fit inside the mold when bolted together.  It is important to trim bit by bit to get the tightest fight between the two sides so that the resulting joint will be tight and help hold the sides inside the mold.

Here's what the two sides look like put together inside the mold with the heel and neck blocks put in place but not yet glued.

 

The shape of what is to come is getting clearer!  A slight curve was put on the inside of the heel block with some light sanding so that the butt end of the guitar will have a slight curve.  Edward has switched over to using laminate at this end instead of the traditional mahogany in order to add strength, especially for those guitars that get dropped onto a strap end pint.

The mahogany neck block on the other end had two holes pre-drilled to later accept the neck.  The necks will be joined flat up against the end of the guitar using two bolts.  The top of the guitar is currently face down, and the still serves as the primary registration due to the curve (15-16 foot radius) put into the back to end strength to the instrument and to better let it respond to changes in humidity resulting in changes to the size of the back.  The bottom of the neck block (up in this picture) has had a preliminary curve put into it to match the back  Later on it will be sanded down to this curve in a sanding bowl. Next week I'll be gluing this all up, sanding down the rosette, and starting work on putting braces into the back.

Class 3: Anatomy of a Screw Up

Thoughts on Making Mistakes

The plan for the night was to finish routing the channel for the soundhole rosette and then to set and glue the rosette into the soundboard.  The other activity was to bend my sides.  Things started out well as I routed out the channel in three passes with the circle cutting jig set to a depth of about .075" inches, a little bit shy of the thickness of the maple piece.  For each pass I first routed a channel in the MDF work board, then moved over to the top of the soundboard.  The first pass went through the middle of the channel, the second to the inside radius, and the third to the outside radius.  After the second and third passes in the MDF, I tested the fit of one of the rosette pieces along with two strips of purfling.  After the third pass everything looked to fit well.

The only remaining step was to rout a final circle through the thickness of the soundboard to cut out the actual sound hole.  After adjusting the depth and radius, I made the final pass, but it was clear from a little way in that something was wrong.  Turns out I forgot to turn the locking nuts on the jig, so as I cut with the router, the radius of the cut kept increasing.  The result: a spiral soundhole that cut up to the edge of the rosette channel.  After at least 5 passes with the router to cut out the rosette and dig the channel, on the very last pass I forgot a basic step.

Here's a closer shot of the piece that came out.  This should be a perfect circle.

Here's where it also gets interesting working with Edward.  His first instinct was that I might need to start a new soundboard, but after closer inspection he thinks it can be saved.  For now, what I'm trying to do is to glue the rosette into the channel, surrounded by the two purflings.  After it has glued, we will finish removing the remaining wood on the inside edge of the sound hole until the outside purfling becomes the edge of the sound hole.  At that point, we may look at adding an additional strip of wood to give a little more reinforcement to the sound hole.  It should look quite nice and may result (?) in a little more volume from the guitar.

I appreciate Edward's approach to problems.  Generally, mistakes are  looked at as part of the course of developing skill rather than as evidence of imperfection.  While we are trying to make the best guitars we can in the class, by being careful and using the skills we have, it is understood that the experience of learning and developing new skill is part of the journey and that the completion of a single instrument should not be seen as the end of our travels.  This attitude which runs through his classes is probably what has made this process so enjoyable for me.  It stresses the chance to continue developing rather than the completion of products.  This is not to say that there is no interest in completing the projects, but the feeling of growth is in many ways as important.

So, I took Edward's advice and continued using what I had - here's the rosette being glued in, covered by a piece of wax paper and a caul to compress it evenly.  The edge of purfling where the channel has no inner wall is held against a few finish nails tacked into the piece of MDF.  I'll have to see what it looks like after the break for Thanksgiving.

Here's a shot of a similar rosette done by another student.  This is how mine was intended to look.The strip of spruce on the inside of the rosette is what will be missing.








Side Bending

I also bent the sides of my guitar and the binding strips.  I think they look pretty nice:

The first side took some additional manipulation to get set evenly in the mold, as a result it was essential bent twice.  This might be why there are some compression marks along the waist.  Edwards thinks that these will mostly sand out.  More adventures.

It was also interesting to contrast my experience in working on this project with a conversation at lunch with a friend who's late father was a serious luthier.  Apparently he was a woodworker and a machinist with much passion for the craft.  The type of craftsman who honored his tools, sought out his own materials and rarely took shortcuts.  Almost all of his work was done without power tools - planes were apparently his passion.  Although, he apparently did not make his own rosettes (another lesson here?).  I would love to see some of his work. 

However, sitting at lunch with my friend and his brother, both of whom were brought up in their dad's shop, neither could profess any interest in woodworking on their own.  Apparently their father had always viewed their efforts as instructional opportunities.  Praise was never available.  As a result, neither ever developed any enjoyment for the activity.  To put it all simply, attitude seems to be important.

Class 2: Rosette and Preparing to Bend Sides

Soundhole Rosette

I continued to work through a couple of iterations of the radii I would need to define the inside and outside curves of the rosette. 

These were laid out on paper and then on the piece of spalted maple.  The maple was taped with double sided tape onto a piece of MDF in order to be cut with a router with a circle cutting jig.  The router is equipped with a downward spiral flute bit - the downward spiral helps to ensure that the edges of the cut are not torn upward.

Afterward, the resulting circle had to be carefully separated from the MDF in order not to break the ring; inevitably,  however, it did break into a few pieces.  Once broken, however, it is easily reassembled.  Additional 'grain' can be added by using a pen to color the would around the fractures, but I'm skipping that step.

Here is the ring (now in 4 parts) ready to be laid into the soundboard next week.  In order to define the channel into which the pieces will be inscribed a channel will be routed in the sound board.  Layout of this channel has to also allow for room for an inside and outside strip of purfling as well as the glue joints between the wooden rosette ring.

Edward estimates that each glue joint adds .005" to the required channel with, and the purfling strips measure .060" across.  The channel width, with two purfling strips and associated glue joints, must be a total of .130" wider than the ring.  Measurement of the ring is taken off of the MDF on which the ring was cut out.  The measurements are then increased the required  amount and then laid out on the top.  A dry run to sizing the channel will also be done on the MDF board on which I am working.  The ring is about .080" thick, so we need to get the router bit depth a little shy of that (about .070") so that the rosette sits a little proud of the soundboard prior to thickness sanding.

Bending

Half of the class bent the sides for their guitars today.  I'll do mine next week, but got them set up with the binding strips in preparation.

Each of the two sides was taped up with a binding strip on the top and bottom so that the bindings can be bent together with the side in order to have the same curve.

The bending process begins with soaking the wood for several hours.  Each side is then heated in a sandwich made of the side, encased by two pieces of sheet metal, encased by heating blankets (see the first picture in the sequence below).  These blankets can get north of 500 degrees, so the sides heat quickly and give off steam.  After heating for a while, the whole package is firmly forced into the mold then clamped together for the sides to cure.

Here's the sequence, demonstrated by Edward

Edward uses the following timing in this sequence:

1. Heating blankets are plugged in and the side is heated for 2.5 minutes.
2. While still heating (use gloves), the side is forced into the mold.
3. At the 4 minute mark, the heating blankets are turned off, so as not to overheat and burn out over time.  LMI recommends using the blankets with a rheostat or other control so as to not overheat and burn out, but Edward uses these timings based on full throttle.
   
4. After a 30 seconds, (4.5 minute mark), the blankets are turned on for another 45 to 60 seconds.
5. At about 5:15 or 5:30, the blankets are unplugged and the sides are left in the frame for an hour before unclamping.

All three sets done last night seemed to unclamp and come out fine.  Next week, I'll be bending my sides and finishing the channel for the rosette so that it can be glued up.

Design details

Soundhole Rosette
This weeks homework is to come up with a design for the soundhole rosette.  The rosette will be cut out of a piece of spalted maple and surrounding by purfling strips.  So the design is a fairly simple affair: working out the width of the rosette and the offset from the soundhole.  The proportions I'm looking at are shown below (not to scale)

The soundhole diameter is about 3-3/4", the rosette will be offset a quarter inch and measure just under 1/2" across.  I'm wondering about breaking it into 4 quarters (as shown above) with additional purfling strips.

Headstock
I've also been thinking about the headstock design.  I'd like to use another piece of walnut for the plate and try to due some type of inlay either in wood or shell abalone.  It will have to be something simple, maybe a very basic compass rose.  I'll need to work up some designs, although this is probably a couple months out.

First Class

Initial Thoughts
Tonight was the initial class.  The first half was spent on an orientation to Edward's shop and teaching

process.  From there we started talking about design issues and the role of materials - wood - in affecting a design.  We discussed some of the physical qualities of wood - it's response to moisture, tension and vibration and the importance of how wood is cut.  Guitar woods need to have straight, continuous grain, so boards are almost always quarter saw (here are some nice images of a quarter sawn log).

The art of building a guitar is to bring the materials together in a design that is just strong enough to resist the tension of the strings (up to 150 lbs/psi for a steel string guitar) without falling apart.

For me, on this project, the other design key is size.  The OM guitar that I'm starting on has a smaller body than a dreadnought, emphasizing the treble and less bass and making it more appropriate for finger picking.  I'm hoping that the walnut also helps to bring out a strong voice for the treble while still providing a solid bass.

Materials

Here is a preview of the woods that I am using for this class.  The top is Engelmann Spruce which has consistent color and grain.  For the back and sides I am using Peruvian Walnut which is a relatively inexpensive tone wood with consistent grain and should bend easily.  I'm also hoping to get strong treble tones from it.

The bindings will be Koa, although I debated using some darker Rosewood to get more contrast with the top.  Spalted maple will be the basis of the soundhole rosette.

Top, back and Side Layout
Layout began with tracing the provided template onto the back and top.  The template is registered off the center to ensure that the jointed seam in both the top and bottom becomes the center of the top and side pieces.

Here are the back and top with the OM shape drawn onto them.  These were then rough cut on the bandsaw.

First cuts made and it already looks like a guitar.

Next the sides needed to be laid out.  The trick is to understand which end will go where (butt or neck) and to preserve the bookmatched grain.  The sides are marked up as shown in the diagram below.

The pieces are then taped together with the butt ends and neck ends together so that a single template can then be laid across both.  Key is to making sure the top edge is kept together.  This edge will match to the top of the guitar in one of the few right angles in the project.

Once laid out these pieces are also cut to depth following the curve of the template.  The initial pieces are now all roughed out


Next week we will be working on cutting out the rosette for the soundhole and preparing to bend the sides.  Homework this week is to figure out the sizing and location of the rosette in relationship to the soundhole, which has a diameter of 3.75 inches.