Assembly; Sound board to neck attachment

In Cumpiano's design, and probably with most traditionally made classical guitars, the neck is attached directly; that is, it is not removable as is the case with most modern guitar construction.

Next stop... attaching sides to soundboard.

Both sides formed

Having completed forming, some minor scraping later in assembly will remove some of the dark surface burnished areas.

Side Bending

Of all the hand performed operations, side bending was the most challenging. Not to mention the fact that I have no spare side panels, this had to go very well. Fortunately, the first one wasn't mangled though had a couple of challenging spots, and turned out ok. The second went much easier, as I began to develop the feel as to where and when to focus pressure as the wood became pliable under heat. In this picture , I'm working on the second side, lower bout.

A pretty sight..

The finished bracing pattern is pleasing to the eye.

Brace Carving

The bracing must be relieved and shaped at the ends and along the profile. Also, there is a slight arch along the length.

Longitudinal Fan Bracing

More clamps please.

Rosette Patch bracing

Under the rosette, there needs to be a little extra support due to the recess cut in the soundboard.

Soundboard Bracing

Having also planed and cut to shape the soundboard, it's now time to apply some bracing. Here is the bridge patch.

More Tools!!

As I mentioned earlier... there are many tools to make. This is called a 'Go-Deck' clamp. Essentially two flat surfaces (the workbench and the plywood sandwich above) kept a distance apart, in this case using threaded rods . Clamping is achieved by placing flexible rods between the upper plate and the parts you want to put pressure on.

Scraping the Back Panel to final thickness

Having planed the back from 3/16" down to less than 1/8" thick, the surface is scraped both for fine tuning the thickness and removing plane marks.

Back panels, bookmatched and edge glued

Part of the fun in making the guitar is also making tools to aid in construction. This simple clamping fixture was made from a shipping skid that was broken apart and used for parts (Thanks, Greg!!). As you can see in the photo, I follow and old woodworkers motto: "you can never have too many clamps".

One done... one to go....

Body Side panels, planing to thickness

The rosewood side panels were delivered at about 5/32" thick, and need to be reduced to a very even 3/32". The evenness will help reduce the chance of kinking when side panels are steam formed to their final shape.

Head 'complete'

String slots cut and machine head holes are drilled. Final shaping will take place much later. Time to begin the body.... 

Headplate profile

The headplate consists of an Indian rosewood and maple veneer glued to the mahogany neck/head. The two woods provide a nice contrast when viewed on edge. Profile is made using a traditional outline. 

Carving the Heel Block

After slicing away most of the heel block with a sharp chisel, the shape is further refined using a scraper. The remainder of the neck will be shaped after the fingerboard is glued on. 

Neck blob assembled.... now for some carving...

Making the neck headplate cut

Looking like a drift off the line.... clamping the two pieces together and planing them smooth will produce a tight joint.

In the beginning....

... I had to make a tool to support the guitar body when it's being assembled. The plans for both this clamping tool and the guitar are from William Cumpiano's book "Guitarmaking, Tradition and Technology" which is to my understanding, the bible on guitarmaking. It is an exhaustive and comprehensive work, offering even the novice luthier (that's me, too) expert direction in proceeding with their project.