The Process
Initial side bending, and shaping of the ribs.
The first steps are to thin the sides ready for bending, the sides are then cut to size and bent. Once bent the wood goes into the guitar mould, it will stay in the mould until the soundbox is complete and ready to start binding.
Making the soundbox.
Once the guitar sides are bent and work is commencing on the interior. I start work on the top and back. The wood is thinned a little oversized, rosette is made and installed. I then roughly cut the braces before they are glued in to place. The process of sizing and voicing the braces can commence, this is when the guitar's voice starts to make an appearance.
Binding, purfling and arm bevel.
The binding and purfling can be installed once the soundbox is complete. Before this happens I will level the sides, preparing the wood close to its finished state. I will also start work on installing the arm bevel.
Neck making and fitting
I will rough out the neck shape whilst binding the guitar body, the final fitting of the fingerboard takes place once I determine the exact place where I want the neck fretboard to join the body. The order I like to work in is as follows: rough neck shape and trim, truss rod goes in, headstock is completed once I have cut the fretboard. Once the headstock is completed I will trim the neck close to its end shape. I will still keep this square until the fretboard is fully completed with frets installed and cleaned. I will then carve the neck, I want to keep this to the end to protect the end finish.
