an online portal for guitarmakers, guitar enthusiasts, and students
following Natelson & Cumpiano's treatise, GUITARMAKING: Tradition & Technology
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Currently, a variety of two-way truss rods are available from online luthier-supply websites linked to www.guitarmaking.com. These rods are available in a variety of dimensions and designs. For the guitar being made in this book you need to choose one whose total length is no more than 16-1/4” (414mm) or no shorter than 15” (381mm) in total length. The truss rod described in the following procedure is specified on www.guitarmaking.com because it’s the one that most closely fits our requirements.
There are a variety of different kinds of KD fasteners, but the type we use for this application is
specifically known as a barrel-bolt or bed-bolt fastener. This can commonly be purchased at
hardware stores or from a source recommended on www.guitarmaking.com.
The steel-string slab headpiece must be drilled through to accommodate its rear-mounted tuning
machinery. Using an awl, puncture the headpiece deeply and accurately according to the
locations on your full-sized headpiece template. The subsequent drilling step can be done on a
drill press or with a hand-held drill using an inexpensive drill guide to ensure perpendicularity.
(See our recommendations on www.guitarmaking.com)
If you are building your first guitar, we advise using one of the hand methods below. If you have
already built several guitars, or if you have advanced woodworking skills from another trade, you
may wish to peruse our recommendations for headpiece routing and slotting devices online at
our website, www.guitarmaking.com. In short, if you are confident of your skills, by all means feel
free to experiment. But know that even experienced guitar builders can damage slotted
headpieces with routers, so proceed at your own risk
PLACE ON WEBSITE:
BOX INSET: A NOTE ON TUNING MACHINES
Steel string and classical guitar tuning machines vary widely in quality. Following are a few basic
principles that can be used to evaluate quality: All guitar tuning machines have a worm-and-cog
gear mechanism that translates the rotation of the button (the piece you turn) into rotation of a
post or roller (the part around which the string is wound). The spiral-shaped gear on the shaft
attached to the button is called the worm, and the circular-shaped gear attached to the post or
roller is called the cog, or sun gear. The key to a tuner’s smooth operation and long life is exact
mating between the teeth of the cog and worm gears, as to both shape and alignment. These
qualities are dependent upon how precisely the gears are made. Generally speaking, higher
precision will tend to be reflected in a higher price for the tuners. Note that regardless of the
quality or price of the tuners you buy, their longevity can be shortened considerably if the holes
drilled in the headpiece for the posts or rollers are misaligned. Poor alignment will induce
stresses that will wear out the gears prematurely. If you have a chance to try out a set of tuners
before you buy them, make two tests. First, note whether there is slop in the gears when you turn
the button; that is, whether the button turns a bit before the roller starts to turn. Second, check for
looseness by wiggling the shaft to which the button is attached and then wiggling the posts or
rollers. The best machines will be tight in all directions, yet will turn smoothly. High-quality tuners
always have cogs with teeth that are machined to a concave shape which mates more closely
with the curved teeth on the worm gear. Also, the cogs will usually be made of a different, softer
metal than the mating worm gear so the cog teeth will conform to the worm teeth as they wear in.
Cheaper tuners use cog gears which are cast, rather than machined, with teeth that run straight
across. These can clash with the curved worm gears and wear out more quickly. Also, on better
tuners the posts will go all the way through the buttons and lock on the ends. Cheaper tuners
have buttons that are simply molded onto the posts. Another quality indicator is how the worm
gear is held onto the base plate. The cheaper alternative is for the worm gear to be suspended
on two hook-shaped posts that are just bent away from the base plate. The more secure and
precise (and more expensive) solution is to mount the worm gears in two support blocks that are
soldered or riveted and peened upright onto the tuner plate. Go to our website,
www.guitarmaking.com for further recommendations and additional guidance.
14- MATERIALS
double-acting truss rod, as recommended on www.guitarmaking.com
29- Step 1—Marking for the Drill Holes
Using an awl, puncture the headpiece deeply and accurately according to the locations on your
full-sized headpiece template. The subsequent drilling step can be done on a drill press or with a
hand-held drill using a simple drill guide to ensure perpendicularity. (See our recommendations
29- This has enabled luthier tool suppliers to offer standardized three-hole drill guides made specifically for drilling classical guitar tuning machine roller holes. (See our website, www.guitarmaking.com, for recommendations).
32- The end holes can be drilled on a drill press, or with a portable electric drill using either a 5⁄8-
inch Forstner bit or a spade bit. You can do this freehand if you have a friend to spot for you to
ensure verticality. But for more precise results, we recommend using a commercially available
portable electric drill stand to keep the bit strictly vertical. (See our recommendations on
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CHAPTER 5
PLACE ON WEBSITE: Indian Rosewood:
Biju Nair, Ashok’s partner based in Raleigh.
-- Dalbergia sissoo is considered a cheap, low quality material in India; it’s used for handicrafts,
etc., and not usually made into guitar sets; Ashok’s sets are all made from dalbergia latifolia.
-- 80-90% of the dalbergia latifolia exported from India is plantation grown wood; there is no
shortage of it, and most of it goes to China, Korea, etc. Biju considers it significantly lower
quality than wild grown.
-- The dalbergia latifolia that comes to the USA for guitar sets is mostly wild grown; a company
like Martin will not buy plantation wood.
-- Wild grown dalbergia latifolia can only come legally from dead or fallen trees; for now there is
still enough available to satisfy demand, though it is becoming less available and more
expensive over time.
-- If a guitar has any dalbergia latifolia in it, it requires CITES paperwork for export from the US.
So anyone building guitars in the US with dalbergia latifolia should assume that selling overseas
will be a headache. This is probably why LMI and other companies will not ship EIR sets
internationally.
Ashok and Biju sell retail through a website call Aryawood.com
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ADVANCED WOODEN JOINTER
ADVANCED JOINING FIXTURE?
Recommendations for needle-tipped glue dispensers for applying glue to soundboard seam.
Page 3- Many catalog retailers now source their soundboards from suppliers who sell split
material. This is a very favorable development for guitarmakers worldwide, since split-billet
soundboards optimize the quality of softwood available from any given log. We recommend that
luthiers purchase soundboards sawn from split billets whenever feasible, as we feel that the
advantages of using split-billet material are well worth any modest premium in price.
Go to our website, www.guitarmaking.com, for additional information, recommendations, and
sources of supply.
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CHAPTER 6
PLACE ON WEBSITE: Veneering resources:
Constantines
LMI
Rockler
Dying veneers:
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2015/11/14/how-to-dye-veneers-or-boards-throughout-their-entire-
thickness/
Use a light fast salt-based fabric dye such as RIT or Dharma. Powder, not liquid.
Mix this with distilled water.
Put the veneer in a pan big enough to allow the veneer float freely.
Heat the pan between 160-180 deg until color has completely penetrated.
This could be several hours.
Check for penetration by feather cutting the wood.
Use a light wood such as maple or anigre.
After full penetration, wash off the veneer with cold water to to "Fix" the color. Wipe off and dry between cauls, changing paper to dry the veneer.
ROsete sticks: http://daiwamark.com/en/pdf/003.pdf
1⁄4-1⁄8 collet adapter https://drillbitsunlimited.com/14-to-18-Collet-Adapter-P4895344.aspx
ALSO PLACE ON WEBSITE: ALAN CHAPMAN ROSETTE SEQUENCE
Page 3- Historically, veneer lines were made from long hardwood plane shavings or strips sliced
off sheets of hardwood veneers. Making veneer lines by hand requires exceptional precision to
achieve uniformity, so we recommend purchasing them from one of the luthier supply companies
listed on our website, www.guitarmaking.com. Available materials include fine strips of solid
wood, fine strips of a cellulose composite material commonly referred to as ‘fiber,’ celluloid
acetate strips, marquetry (i.e., layered wood patterns such as herringbone), and combinations of
wood and fiber.
Page 12- Alternative router method: Several router attachments are commercially available to cut
out circular discs or circular channels, and these devices eliminate the need for holes drilled in
the original router base. The most basic of these is a simple plastic plate pre-drilled with dozens
of holes, each of which defines a different radius. This plate is attached to the router base and
enables circle cutting in essentially the same way as our router technique, described below. More
elaborate commercial devices have an extendable arm with an adjustment knob that allows the
router to cut circles of any desired radius. See our website, www.guitarmaking.com, for more
information.
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CHAPTER 7
PLACE ON WEBSITE: Lattice bracing info and diagrams, Splitting wood photos and sequence
CHAPTER 8
PLACE ON WEBSITE: SIDE BENDING VIDEO?
Page 2: A more convenient and controllable solution utilizes a commercially manufactured
bending iron with an electric current control, such as the one shown in Fig. 8-2. Online sources
for commercially available bending irons can be found on our website, www.guitarmaking.com.
Page 8- A more convenient and controllable solution utilizes a commercially manufactured
bending iron with an electric current control, such as the one shown in Fig. 8-2. Online sources
for commercially available bending irons can be found on our website, www.guitarmaking.com.
CHAPTER 9
Page 15- Note: Pre-made kerfed lining strips can be obtained from various luthier supply houses,
and some students may choose to save time by purchasing pre-made strips and skipping the
following procedure. Sources for pre-made kerfing and lining strips are listed on our website,
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CHAPTER 10-
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CHAPTER 11-
PLACE ON WEBSITE: Alternatives to stick shellac Michael Dresdner essay
Page 2- Also, note that marquetry strips can be purchased in varying thicknesses. When inlaying
veneer purfling lines alongside marquetry strips, the thickness of the marquetry strips should be
equal, or very nearly equal, to the height of the veneer lines.
(See our website, www.guitarmaking.com, for sources of supply.)
Page 3- Binding the guitar is a process that highlights the virtue of having both hot pipe and
silicone blanket bending skills. We typically bend a quantity of laminated binding and purfling
strips over a silicone blanket, and then just before gluing the binding strips into the routed edge
on the guitar body, we touch up the bend on a hot pipe to ensure that everything goes into place
with no resistance.
See www.guitarmaking.com for sources of supply.
Page 6- This step can also be done with a router and jig. The jig can be made in the shop, like
the one seen in Fig. 11-13, or purchased from a luthier supply house, as listed on
Page 7- The router bit must be sharp to avoid burning or tearing the wood. An edge guide with
an adjustable pilot wheel must be attached under the router base. The edge guide we
recommend is shown in Fig. 11-17 and can be obtained from sources listed on our website,
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CHAPTER 12-
Page 3- Another traditional method of laying out the fretboard is the geometric construction
system described in Fig. 12-5.
(Additional information on the derivation of guitar fret intervals can be found on our website,
Page 5- Suppliers for the various types of fingerboard materials mentioned here are listed on our
website, www.guitarmaking.com.
Page 6- To simplify matters and avoid confusion, we recommend that students buy a fret slot
saw and fret wire from the same luthier supply house, and ask the seller to confirm that the saw
kerf and the fret wire are a good match. (Fret wire and fret slot saws are available from suppliers
found on our website, www.guitarmaking.com.)
Page 15- We note that most hardware store variety end nippers are not designed to cut flush;
thus, their jaws must be ground to enable the tool to cut flush to the fingerboard edge.
Specialized flush-cutting end nippers are available from luthier supply houses, as mentioned in
Chapter 2. See our website, www.guitarmaking.com, for more information about fretting tools.
Page 17- Metal fingerboard arch templates can be purchased online, or an arch template can be
made from cardboard. To do so, draw a curved line with a pencil attached to a string of the
desired radius length and cut out the template with a scissor or a razor knife. (See our website at
www.guitarmaking.com for more information about arching tools.)
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CHAPTER 13-
PLACE ON WEBSITE Dresdner remarks on Stick Shellac (again?)
Page 9- The steel-string headpiece traditionally displays the maker’s mark or logo, using shell
inlays or decals. In recent decades, dry transfer (rub-on) lettering has come into widespread use.
Materials and tools for making and installing steel-string guitar headpiece logos can be obtained
from suppliers listed on our website, www.guitarmaking.com.
Page 13- Several commercially available gap-filling materials can be used for this purpose, as
described on our website, www.guitarmaking.com. We use ‘burn-in’ sticks, also called ‘stick
shellac’, consisting of hardened resin bars that can be heated and melted into tiny crevices. Stick
shellac melts easily and then hardens almost instantly upon cooling, and it is available in a wide
range of colors.
Page 13- Further discussion of gap-filling techniques and materials can be found on our website,
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CHAPTER 14-
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CHAPTER 15-
PLACE ON WEBSITE: Edwardian French Polishing Manual PDF
Page 1: Aspiring luthiers can further explore the technology and application of these and other
finishes by consulting online resources and the wide range of available literature on the subject
of wood finishing. See our website, www.guitarmaking.com, for additional information.
Page 6 More information on sealers and fillers and their use on guitars can be found on our
website, www.guitarmaking.com. ——————————————
CHAPTER 16-
Page 16- For more information on fingerboard oils, visit the topic at www.guitarmaking.com