DIY Network

Handmade Guitar, Part 8: Gluing on the Top From "Handmade Music" episode DHMM-102

The most revered of guitars -- an authentic Martin D-28.

In this segment of DIY's Handmade Music, luthier Lynn Dudenbostel continues work on the body of the guitar, gluing the top to the side pieces.

Materials:

Red-spruce guitar top
Bending form
Block plane
Chisel
Mallet
Orbital sander
Clamps and cauls
Clothespins
Wood glue
Straight-edge
Carpenter's pencil

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Attaching the Spruce Top

Once the glue has dried, forming a solid bond between the guitar's rosewood back and sides, the clamps can be removed in preparation for adding the red-spruce top. With the clamps removed, the precise intersections between bracing and kerfed lining can be seen clearly (figures A and B). It's this kind of fine craftsmanship inside the guitar's body that offers substantial advantages over that of manufactured guitars.

Figure A

Figure B

• With the kerfed lining trimmed flush with the top edge of the guitar's sides, as was done at the back, Lynn is now ready to attach the red-spruce top (figure C) which was fitted with bracing and tone bars in an earlier segment.

  Wood glue is applied along the kerfed lining and the top is carefully positioned (figure D).

  Figure C

  Figure D

  
  Once in position, the top is clamped securely in place (figure E).

  Using multiple clamps ensures a solid joint at the top, all the way around the guitar's body (figure F). Wood cauls are used to prevent damage to the spruce wood by the clamps.

  Figure E

  Figure F

  
  

  Figure G

• Once the glue has had a full day to dry, the clamps can be removed and the body of the guitar can be removed from the form (figure G). Finally, the parts have come together and, for the first time, are beginning to resemble a guitar. But the body is still not complete.
  
  At this stage, excess spruce is removed from the top's edges around the guitar body (figure H). He continues shaving away wood until the top and back are even with the sides. In this trimming process, great care is taken to follow the grain of the wood, particularly around the curves and corners where the grain pattern shifts.

  Once the top is shaved level with the sides, the process is repeated with the rosewood back (figure I).

  Figure H

  Figure I

  
  At some of the curved points on the guitar, using a block plane is awkward. For these locations, Lynn uses a sharp chisel to remove small amounts of wood to achieve a perfect edge (figures J and K), working from one direction and then the other, and using care not to cut into the end-grain of the wood.

  Figure J

  Figure K

  
  

  Figure L

  Finally, an orbital sander fitted with 150-grit sandpaper is used to finish smoothing the edges of the guitar body. He also uses the sander to smooth over the rosewood body (figure L) to smooth out the undulations and imperfections that are the result of the bending process.
  

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

RESOURCES :

Kentucky Thunder
For more information on the band that appeared in DIY's Handmade Music, Kentucky Thunder -- and to hear streaming audio and download samples of their music -- visit the website for Skaggs Family Records, www.skaggsfamilyrecords.com.

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