A hands-on course for beginning instrument makers.  This is a course where students build their own steel-string acoustic guitar.

·         Discussions on Wood choices/selection

·         Tap tuning of woods

·         General Guitar design

·         Brace Design

Sides will be pre-bent and some parts will be prefabricated to allow completion of the guitar during the one week course.

Students will receive instruction and  demonstrations of  how the parts they use were made.

All required materials needed for each course  is provided. *Special hardware can be obtained at additional cost*.

This challenging  course  is designed to fit into most people’s busy lives. The course offers the first-time builder the chance to develop skills and study the craft by building a steel-stringed acoustic guitar from the ground up using the same high-quality raw materials that we use for our own instruments. 

In the this Guitar building Course everyone builds a straight-forward, high-quality guitar with special attention paid to the most important aspects of the instrument: craftsmanship, tonal quality, playability, and traditional design. Students  will choose the size, shape, materials, and tonal characteristics of their guitars,  With enrollment limited to four, we provide a great deal of personal attention. People work daily in tandem with the instructor, Dennis MacPherson, a 25 year veteran of the craft, who builds an instrument along with everyone during the course.

We wish to further the craft by incorporating useful modern techniques with traditional knowledge. Students learn general wood-working skills as well as guitar-specific skills peculiar to the craft.  Such as using and sharpening chisels and planes.  The course is tailored to do two things: produce a  high quality  instrument and, more importantly,  prepare students to continue their own work as soon as possible without having to make large investments  in expensive equipment.

Materials: Included in Cost, * Special hardware or special  exotic woods can be obtained at additional cost.*

Course Limit: Most Classes are one on one  there will be a max of 4 Students per session

 A deposit of 50% is required in advance.  The balance is due on first day of course, by cash, certified check, Visa, MC, Discover.

Cancellations: Upon receipt of written notification of cancellation, the balance of your deposit will be refunded based on the following schedule: More than 30 days in advance of start date: Full refund, less 20%.   Less than 30 days notice, No refunds, ( course must be rescheduled )

Preparation and Planning

·         Introduction

·         Setup work space

·         Selecting the wood

The  Top & Back

·         Partial Thickness

·         Trim &Joint

·         Join the book matched sets

The Rosette

·         The Rosette.

·         Route rosette channel.

·         Clean up.

·         Cut out the sound hole.

·         Final thickness of soundboard & back

Bracing

·         Prepare the brace blanks.

·         Brace the soundboard.

·         Center strip and brace the back.

Side bending

·         Prepare and Bend the sides.

Sides will be bent in jig.  (students will have an opportunity to practice bending by hand on scrap wood)

Sound box Prep and assembly

·         Fit and trim the sides.

·         Make and attach the tail block.

·         Glue neck & tail block

·         Radius the sides

·         Attach the kerf linings.

·         Trim and taper the sides to final height.

·         Attach back linings to the sides.

·         Prepare the lined edges to accept the back.

·         Prepare and insert the end graft.

·         Make the bridge Plate and upper face brace caul.

·         Fit the Top

·         Glue the top on

·         Fit the back.

·         Glue the back on

·         Prepare all binding and purfling materials.

Binding

·         Rout the binding and purfling ledges/

·         Fit and glue the bindings.

The Neck/Fingerboard

·         Fretboard will be pre-slotted 

·         Taper the fingerboard to final outline.

·         Curve the end of the fingerboard to match the soundhole.

·         Install position markers

·         Shape headstock

·         Install truss rod

·         Glue the fingerboard to the neck shaft.

·         Shape & trim neck profile

·         Install the frets.

·         Level the frets, bevel the ends, and Polish the frets.

·         Drill machine head holes

Final Carving and Refining

·         Finish-shape the neck.

·         Refine all the surfaces.

·         Sanding/scraping of the top & back.

·         Fill end-gaps under frets

·         Round the bindings and all sharp edges.

·         Final sanding.

The Bridge

·         Make the bridge.

·         Temp setup of instrument for bridge placement and intonation

 Stringing and Setup

·         Glue neck & bridge

·         Fit the nut and saddle blanks into their slots.

·         Preliminary shaping of nut and saddle.

·         Install tuning machines.

·         Final shaping of the nut and saddle.

·         Polish and oil fret board.

·         Polish nut and saddle.

·         Install maker's label.

·         String and final setup

Recommended Reading: Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology by William Cumpiano and Jon Natelson. The Art of Tap Tuning by Roger Siminoff