The next stage in the process..

As this will be using the New Standard Tuning which starts at a low G I wanted to emphasise the lows and mids therefore I have chosen a particularly lovely bit of western red cedar for the top wood..

the front of each plate is planed flat

being held in place by little jigs made of dowel

then, using my largest Random Orbital Sander, the whole plate is sanded to a fine finish

My trusty old shooting board is brought out and the center joint 'shot' carefully

and then it just remains to glue everything in place.. after a test run or two of course!! 

after the glue has thouroughly dried I take the top out of the clamps and mark out the final outline

dusty puppy... probably hungry and tired too, but that's youth for you..

bored puppy...?

After roughly cutting to the outline the whole top is thicknessed carefully

and finally sanded to the correct finish for this stage.. this process obviously happens with both sides of the cedar...

the main soundhole is marked out using this nifty little device

and then cut to size carefully

after much deliberation a relatively standard bracing pattern is decided upon and marked out

and all the braces are planed, bandsawed etc to size

the x-brace is fitted and notched

and then glued using the Go-bar jig, the pressure of the dowels bent between the top and the brace hold everything in place while the glue dries..

a small violin-makers plane is used to trim the x-brace to size and round over the edges of it

along with a very very sharp chisel to get in the spots the plane couldn't

everything is then sanded down

the other braces are cut to size and placed on the top to make sure everything works correctly

then, using go-bar jig again, everything is clamped in place overnight..

all of the braces on this acoustic have now been glued in place and have to be shaped carefully for optimum tonal response, using a violin makers plane

and several very sharp chisels.  Every time I carve a brace I tap the top to hear the tone generated and also to hear how it has changed.. fun

next up I make a template for the bridge plate,

and after cutting it out of a piece of rosewood the Go-bar jig is used to clamp it in place

I play around with the positioning of the extra top soundholes, these will add an amazing amount of volume to the bass and also a certain extra sweetness to the mid response.. Just what is needed for the New Standard Tuning that this beauty will be using.

the soundholes are cut out

then filed, sanded and profiled just how we want them..

this will be a very attractive guitar!

a single veneer is too thin for what I have in mind here, the pretty ones go on top and

are laminated together with the plain backing. 

the white layer is a foam which compresses evenly between the clamping blocks and evens out any air pockets etc.. 

the laminated veneers are ready...

I cut the design into each one with a jewelers saw

the position is checked

and eventually we have three rosettes in place..

the bowl-back is ready and waiting... and so is the front.. almost

the outline is cut roughly to size on the bandsaw

pegged in place and test-clamped using large rubber bands

and using many more for the actual job.. this will be left overnight to dry..

the top has now been glued in place.. and the struts look great through the side sound-hole

a sharp knife is used to cut the lines of the sun motif around the soundhole

after sanding..

the edges of the top are sanded flush with the ribs

I then test the router on a surplus body

and go stright to a really nerve wracking job, using a high speed router on something as delicate as this is always scary

the top section is glued one half at a time

followed by the outer segments of binding.. it goes ebony/maple/ebony/maple/walnut/maple/walnut.... I think..

once dry the bindings are all planed and chiseled flush with the top

leaving all the dirty glue marks etc..

which are then sanded off to leave a lovely looking guitar

on to the neck...