Last week my guitar building students completed their 12th class. Everyone now has a completed and closed guitar body and they’re working hard at finishing and fitting the necks. Everyone is working hard, and for the most part keeping up. It’s an intense schedule and they’re dedicated craftsmen!
As always, it’s fun to see the creativity they put into their creations. The tops are all spruce (my decision because of its superior sonic properties). However, the backs and sides range from maple and walnut to rosewood and cherry. This year all but one student is using wood binding even though that’s more difficult to work with than plastic.
Before they closed up the bodies, we did repeated testing of the structural strength and the frequency profile of each instrument. We used that information to guide the final carving of braces and top wood. One student’s guitar was still a bit stiff after it was glued up, so he’ll thin out the top from the outside before applying the finish.
Speaking of finish, that’s what we’ll turn to this Sunday in class. Hard to believe we’re already on the home stretch!
