DIY Network

Handmade Guitar, Part 5: Making the Curved Sides From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-102

The mark of excellence from the golden age of guitar-making: the Martin & Company logo.

In this episode of DIY's Handmade Music, master luthier Lynn Dudenbostel continues work in the creation of a custom hand-made acoustic guitar -- built in the tradition of the great guitars from the 1930s and early '40s. Viewers discover how to bend rosewood to form the sides of a D-28 style guitar. Points of emphasis include creating a head block, tail block and kerfed lining. Viewers also hear from two luthiers -- John Arnold and Ted Davis -- who remind us of the importance of red-spruce wood in the crafting of great guitars. Along the way, bluegrass band Kentucky Thunder entertains viewers with some traditional tunes and Andy Leftwich of Kentucky Thunder treats viewer to a DIY lesson in songwriting.

advertisement

	Host Jeff Wilson, at the famous Ryman auditorium in Nashville, holds a handmade guitar built in the tradition of the golden era of guitar-making.
	According to luthier John Arnold the red spruce tree harvested to create the guitar shown in this series (as well as many others) is one of the finest specimens he has ever seen.
	John Arnold holds the extraordinary Martin D-28 guitar.

Red Spruce and "Holy Grail" of Acoustic Guitars

The vintage guitars of the 1930s and early '40s were made from a type of wood unavailable to builders for more than 50 years, the Eastern red spruce. During the war, spruce was in high demand for building aircraft, and instrument builders had to seek other alternatives. Now that red spruce is available again in limited quantities, the distinctive sound of the vintage guitars can be recaptured. Luthier John Arnold harvested the 300-year-old spruce tree that provided the wood used to make the top of the guitar built in this series -- as well as many other guitars.

It's that kind of wood that was used the guitars made in the golden era of stringed-instrument making. Perhaps the most famous guitar from that era is the legendary Martin D-28. "It's got the best sound of any of the vintage guitars," says Arnold, "It's the one that everybody tries to replicate, and a lot of the reason is the red-spruce top. It also has Brazilian rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard and bridge, and red-spruce bracing inside." The result is a warm, resonant and clear tone that musicians revere.

John's quest for red-spruce wood led to his meeting to Ted Davis, regarded by many as the "godfather of the red-spruce revival." Ted points out that, even in it's raw form, the cut trunk of a red spruce makes a distinctive "ringing" sound when struck by a hammer, rather than a dull "thud" typical of ordinary woods. "This dates all the way back to the 1400s and 1500s," says Davis, "when it was discovered in Europe that spruce had the properties that made best instruments. For the instrument maker, it's the wood."

John and Ted have spent a great deal of time in the Appalachian mountains -- and ion woodlands from North Carolina to Maine -- in search of the red spruce wood that luthiers crave. Though red-spruce trees are actually quite abundant, most are on protected land. The challenge for John and Ted is to locate spruce trees that can be harvested from private land. "Had it not been for the work of Ted and John," says master luthier Lynn Dudenbostel, "we wouldn't have a lot of this really fine wood that we now have."
Making the Curved Sides

Dudenbostel guitars have a reputation for a "big" sound, but they also look like works of art. In earlier segments, Lynn created the spruce top, rosewood back, internal bracing and tone bars for a guitar. In this segment, he continues work on the guitar by making the curved sides.

Materials:

Rosewood stock
Template
Band saw
Drum sander
Plunge router
Block plane
Cabinet scraper
Water bath
Bending iron
Propane torch
Bending form
Clamps

Figure A

Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses when
working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc.

• Once the book-matched pieces of rosewood are cut, work begins on the side pieces by hand-planing the edges. The pieces are then passed through a thickness sander (figure A) to bring the width of the sides to about 80/1000-inch.
  
• Using a template as a guide, Lynn traces an accurate shape of a side onto the rosewood stock (figure B), and cuts away excess wood at the band saw. Plans and templates are available from luthier-supply shops, but Lynn uses a template that came from measurements from an actual vintage guitar.

• The Indian rosewood used to build the guitars sides makes for an attractive look, but is used mainly because it is durable and pliable -- both characteristics needed for bending guitar sides. The first step in bending is to soak the rosewood in water (figure C).

  Figure B

  Figure C

  
  
• After the wood is thoroughly soaked, Lynn begins working the strips from side to side over a hot bending-iron (figures D and E). The bending surface is simply a metal pipe heated using a propane torch. Lynn starts bending each side from the middle, and gradually works outward. Water beading up on the metal surface indicates that the iron is hot enough. Keeping the wood wet with a spray-mister during this process keeps the wood from scorching. As Lynn works, he periodically checks his progress against the curved template.
  

  Figure D

  Figure E

  
  

  Figure F

  Once the sides match the shape of the bending form, they are clamped into the form and allowed to cool (figure F). With both sides bent and clamped in place, they are kept in the form overnight.
  

In the segment that follows, Lynn continues work on the sides, and creates the guitar's head block and tail block.

RESOURCES :

Stewart MacDonald's Luthier Supply Shop
Website: www.stewmac.com

Luthier's Mercantile International, Inc.
Website: www.lmii.com

Pioneer Valley Luthier Supply Company
Website: www.pioneervalleyluthier.com

GUESTS :

Lynn Dudenbostel, Luthier
Dudenbostel Stringed Instruments
Knoxville, TN

John Arnold, Luthier
Newport, TN

Ted Davis, Luthier
Loudon, TN