Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans Pdf

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Goodreads helps Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Jonathan Kinkead. Every guitarist dreams of owning a handmade instrument, but for most, the cost is likely to be prohibitive. The alternative - building your own fine guitar - is not as difficult as you might imagine, given some skill, patience, and the expert guidance of a master luthier. Every step of construction is fully covered, from choice, selection, and preparation of woods, to cons Every guitarist dreams of owning a handmade instrument, but for most, the cost is likely to be prohibitive. Every step of construction is fully covered, from choice, selection, and preparation of woods, to consideration of size, bracing, and tonal qualities. Each step of the building sequence is clearly photographed in color, with variations to the standard design shown to enable you to personalize your instrument as you make it. Briston, England-based Jonathan Kinkead has been building guitars for nearly 30 years. His craft is born out of experience and intuition rather than a strict following of technical detail. Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans resulting beauty of form and distinctive tone have earned him his reputation as one of the world's most respected independent luthiers. Get A Copy. Paperbackpages. More Details Original Title. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Sep 04, Dan rated it really liked it. First off the good points: it includes a lot of details about every part of an acoustic Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans, and includes a life sized set of plans this is important because what you'll be doing is tracing or gluing a copy of it to plywood to take to your bandsaw for your templates. So, that's pretty cool. Add to that the fact that it covers literally everything, and you are well on your way to get it started. So why did I give it four stars? Well, the one drawback I see for this book is the plans are too comprehensive. It's nice to have all kinds of beautiful inlays, and bindings, and rosettes, but for my very first acoustic guitar I'm not going to do much for any of those. That is where I feel this book falls down a bit. If you're already an experience woodworker, you might see some of the little details as a realistic challenge, but I think it's just overkill for an absolute beginner. Just stick with very basic bindings, and focus on mastering building an instrument first before you start hand cutting your own fretboard inlays. Additionally, as an existing woodworker, a lot of the techniques are very clear to me, but I think they could be better explained. Also, there's certain places you can take shortcuts buying a soundboard pre-sanded to thickness, buying sides that are already bent. If you have a woodshop, you won't mind doing some of these tasks, but for Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans beginners you'd be better off buying an acoustic kit from stew mac they do most of the woodworking like cutting frets, thicknessing, and bending sides and assembling based on that. I feel like the book could have pointed htis out better. Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans, if you have a phone-a-friend woodworker who is willing to mentor you a bit, this is a very, very, doable project. Mar 18, Mike rated it it was amazing Shelves: music. Near the perfect book for guitar makers or those interested in making one. Has a detailed plan of a guitar with it, and the pictures really help explain each process. Highly recommended. Feb 15, Michael rated it really liked it. This book has great pictures of the process and is a helpful reference along the way. 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Readers also enjoyed. Goodreads is hiring! If you like books and love to build cool products, we may be looking for you. About Andy Manson. Andy Manson. Books by Andy Manson. Related Articles. Read more No trivia or quizzes yet. Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Building an Acoustic Guitar : 19 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables

As with any new project I've attempted, each step along the way is unfamiliar to me and some steps are deserving of my apprehension, while others equally as worrisome turned out to be a piece of cake. This project is a learning experience. How well the guitar will play and sound, I will not know until some time after I have finished. For photos of my two most recent guitars AND a description of the material costs you can expect IF you try a project like this:. The first task was to decide what to use for reference material. I selected that book after reading about a few others on Amazon but my purchase was rather impulsive. It walks the reader through building a style of guitar similar to the Martin OM orchestra modelwhich is a smaller guitar with a more body. The book includes lots of photos and even full scale plans, which are handy, but, while sufficient, lacks information I need. The next task, which was the source of some consternation, was to select the wood to use for the body of the guitar. The book recommends specific wood, Sitka Spruce for the top and Rosewood for the back and sides. I, being the rebel, didn't want to do that, so I chose different wood. I chose Western Red "Sinker" Cedar for the top or sound board as it is called and Claro Walnut for the sides and back. I purchased both from suppliers on E-bay. The Cedar top is supposed to create a "warm" sound. I don't really Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans what that means but that didn't seem like a bad thing to me. Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans idea appealed to me. Claro Walnut is highly figured walnut from the American Northwest. Time to dive in. The sound board and back wood arrived, each in two pieces that needed to be joined together. It is desirable to minimize the visibility of the glue line, so the edge of the wood needed to be trimmed flat and even to make them fit tightly together. My book recommended using a block plane. I used sand paper, clamped to a flat surface with a long right angle block of wood also clamped to that surface to complete this job. My thought was that if I ran the edge of each piece of wood back and forth on the sand paper and along the block of wood, the edge would end up flat. Once the glue was set after a day, it was time to make the sound board and back the proper thickness. I decided I could get the wood to the proper thickness by hand sanding. My book suggested 2. With rubber cement adhesive, I attached a piece of 80 grit sand paper on a flat piece of 8X10 inch plywood onto which I fastened a crude handle. I placed the wood to be sanded loosely between two long blocks of wood clamped on to my flat surface. At the ends of the wood, to keep it in place while I pushed and pulled the sanding block, I clamped a thin piece of wood on one end and aluminum yard stick on the other. I used the template to trace the shape of the guitar body on the wood. Time to cut a hole in the sound board. I searched online blogs and found how other people accomplished this. It seemed as if a high speed rotary tool and router bit would give me the best results. I overlaid the paper plans on the top cedar sound board and marked the sound hole center by pressing a tack into the Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans. Then I drilled a pilot hole slightly larger than the diameter of the circle cutter pivot pin. After carving the inside diameter circle in the scrap wood I checked the depth and diameter and marked the circle cutter tool brace arm with a permanent marker. Then I cut the outside diameter and all the material in between it and the inside diameter, checked the fit of the inlay, marked the brace arm. I did the same for the sound hole diameter on the scrap wood. I now had 3 marks on the tool for the adjustments. Starting with the inside diameter, then the outside, then removing the in between wood, then cutting the sound hole, the top was ready to glue in the rosette. On the back, often there is a decorative strip inlayed to cover the seam. I thought I would inlay a strip of curly maple cut from the scrap pieces included as packing in order of the back and side wood. I wanted to put the thin black and white accent prufling strips along each side of the maple strip. I routed a channel for the maple strip. I decided to make my own wider accent strips from Mulberry that I cut from my own trees a few years ago. It is a yellowish color. Inside of an acoustic guitar is bracing for the top and bottom. I believe this is just to make the thin wood stronger but positioning of the bracing, its thickness and properties of the wood used can affect the sound of the guitar. I Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans to use cedar, maybe this would add to the "warmth of the sound". Then I followed the bracing shown in the plans to cut the pieces out of the plank with my table saw, trying to keep the grain longitudinal. I traced out the bracing pattern on the back side of the top and bottom body pieces. Before gluing down the bracing I "strategically" removed some material, with the mini-drum sander bit for Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans rotary tool to allow the strength to remain but eliminate some of the sound deadening bulk. Clamping an gluing the bracing on the top required a menagerie of creative clamping methods and extensions and wedges. The back requires a slightly different menagerie since the bracing was slightly curved. A fixture or mold is needed to hold the top, back and sides in place while gluing them together. The method I chose was to use two sheets of plywood separated by spacers. This gave me a 24" X 24" mold, which was sliced in half then bolted together again with tab extensions. Now to bending the sides. I read lots online about this step, went back and forth on my decision before I actually did it. I decided, finally, to use a bending fixture made from the scrap pieces cut out of Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans mold plywood, which, just happened to be, the shape of the guitar body. I build the fixture with 2 pieces of the shaped plywood separated by spacers. Then I covered the bending surface with aluminum flashing. I also added a rounded piece of wood with eye-bolts and wing nuts, to help hold the side wood against the mold at the deeply curved waist in the body. To create the steam I built a small square box with a hole in it for steam to enter. Steam was created using an old coffee pot, with a small piece of copper pipe replacing the glass bubbler, which sat on a small camp stove. Once the side to be bent was in the steam box for several minutes and there was an abundance of steam escaping from its joints, I slowly clamped the wood onto the mold. It bent easily. I was pleased as well as relieved. The next day I placed the first side in the mold fixture and clamped it in, then moved on to the next side. The next step was to trim the side to length and glue them Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans with the neck block and bottom block. The neck block was first trimmed to size. It came with the maple neck I purchased. These four pieces were glued then clamped in the mold. I now had something resembling a guitar body. The sides needed to be tapered with a gradual curve from the bottom towards the neck block, which is why it was trimmed earlier. I put pegs in holes on the inside of the mold to hold the sides up above the top surface, level with the template at one end and above the template on the neck end. Then I used a tiny block plane to remove side material to match the taper. Kerfing strips a are long, slotted strips of wood, usually Mahonany or Basswood, that when glued onto the inside edges of the body sides, add more strength and rigidity. First I soaked the strips in water for several hours to make them more flexible. I then applied a generous bead of Titebond glue and placed them along the edges of one side of the body with about 1mm protruding. After the glue dried, I usually give it a day, I flipped the body and did the same to the other side. The next day I trimmed the strips that protruded slightly so they were flat and flush with the edges of the sides. I also added some small vertical bracing strips Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans the side. Looked pretty good. I purchased a pre- carved neck from Penta Guitar Works on e-bay. This guy has several styles, wood selections and scales available. I was impressed with the neck I received. It was a bolt on neck in Flame Maple what I always call curly mapleincluded an routed truss rod channel, neck mounting block and large peg head suitable for almost any design. Now I had to figure out how to attach the neck. I ordered the exact parts hex head bolts, washers, and inserts described, from McMaster-Carr. I was ready to go, but this step was intimidating also because I needed to be precise. Not my forte. First, I cut away side panel wood covering the neck block mortise and dry fit the neck. A slight amount of sanding was required. Then I marked the position for two holes on the tenon of the neck. Then I marked the neck block, which was now attached to the body to line up with the holes I marked on the neck. I used a ruler. I did have to use my small drill press with the base turned backwards to get things to lined up, and to ensure my holes were square with the neck. This also required some creative clamping methods. Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar - Complete Instructions and Full Size P – Elderly Instruments

The truth is… this is actually reality. If you want to take on a challenge, refine and build up your luthier and woodworking skills, and have tons of fun in the process, then building your Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans acoustic could be the perfect project. The best part is, your completed guitar will match the quality of an acoustic worth a low 4-figures on the market and this is non- embellished. These are quality kits where the critical machining has already been done for you, and all you need to do is step in and complete the assembly. Why is this? Well, the main reason is the difficulty of assembly. It takes much more effort, tools, and know-how to build your own acoustic from scratch compared to, say, an electric guitar. After scouring acoustic guitar kit manufacturers in an attempt to find the best, we narrowed it down to the following:. This acoustic guitar kit is modeled after a vintage Martin Guitar, is built from AAA tonewoods, and includes an instruction booklet along with a DVD course on guitar making. All critical machining steps such as soundboard finishing, fretboard slotting, fingerboards, and neck-joint machining have been done for you, leaving you in charge of the remaining assembly process body assembly, fretting, etc. What some may find difficult others embrace as an incredible learning experience. The best advice is to take it slow, invest in the right tools, and get your acoustic built right the first time. It takes anywhere from a week of working on it daily all the way up to 8 months of occasional work as a hobby. How quickly or how relaxed you decide to build your acoustic guitar is entirely up to you, but I want to reiterate something because it's incredibly important: Slow down, invest in the right tools, and take the time to do it right! The StewMac Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Kit is our first choice because of quality, reputation, and the professional direction provided during assembly. Not only do you get a full manual explaining the build process step-by-step, but you also get an instructional DVD with videos on how to build your own acoustic guitar. Todd Sams and Dan Erlewine, two professional luthiers, explain the art of guitar making in a clear and easy to follow video series. Nowhere else do you get a kit with such meticulous guidance, quality, and care for your build. As soon as you open this Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans up, it actually feels like they want you to be successful. A lot of assembly kits, unfortunately, are quite the opposite. As I mentioned earlier remember to slow down, get the right tools, and make an acoustic guitar masterpiece! Best Acoustic Guitar Kit. Now that you know roughly what building your own acoustic entails, let's get into the nitty-gritty details of a complete build. Note that there is an official instruction booklet for this build, Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans you Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans view in full here. As you know, wood can warp and wood can crack. When you first get your kit, you want to leave it in your work area for a week. We recommend this precision router set that ships with everything you need. It has a Dremel tool and precision router all in one including all required attachments and bits. Complete Precision Router Kit for Binding. This would be a 0. This clamp kit includes strong cam clamps both small and large sizes along with spool clamps that have tubing on the rods to prevent scratches on your instrument. There are 24 clamps in total. Clamp Kit for Acoustic Guitar Building. Clamp Set of 24 for Acoustic Guitar Builds. Quality Waverly Guitar Tuners. Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings. And finally, here is a list of finishing materials for an aerosol nitrocellulose lacquer finish :. Now you know how to build an acoustic guitar from a kit! But as you know… nothing ever came about without hard work. Will you take on the challenge to build your own acoustic guitar? Our Pick. View on Amazon. Runner Up. View on Guitar Center. Step 3: Back bracing and fitting comes next in the process. Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar: Complete Instructions and Full-Size Plans and Climate Control. Preparing Your Workboard. Acoustic Guitar Kit Building Tools. Tools for Binding Installation. Precision Router Kit. Tools for Soundboard Bracing and Installation. Tuners and Strings. Waverly Tuners. D'Addario Strings. Remaining Supplies. This includes good quality power tools, hand tools, glues, wrenches, etc. Either way, the decision is ultimately in your hands. I wish you luck in your acoustic-building endeavors! Related Posts.