The task on day 1 was to make the sides of the guitar (also called ribs).  The wood is first sanded by machine and then soaked in water for half an hour.  It's then carefully moulded into position using steam heat.  Once the shape is right, the first half is transferred onto a different mould so that it can dry while the second rib is shaped.  (Photos courtesy of David and Peter Simcock).

There has been a lot of progress since the last entry.  The guitar is really beginning to take shape.  The back and sides have been put together and the soundhole decoration is almost finished.  It's incredibly precise and time-consuming work.  Once the sides were dry the two mouldings were put together (below left).  At this stage they overlapped at the "tail" (ie the end opposite the neck) so they now had to be cut so that the two sides would meet end to end.  Here you can see them being marked up for cutting (below centre).  The idea is to make the cut so that the two sides mirror each other as much as possible (below right).

The next stage was to join and reinforce the sides using a headblock and a tailblock which have been made out of mahogony (see below left and right).  These were each glued and clamped into place (below centre).

Below you can see some stages in the making of the back of the guitar.  The two pieces of wood (which are two slices of the same piece of wood like two consecutive slices of bread) are matched (below left).  Once they are glued, a groove is cut along the join (below middle) and then the herringbone trim glued in place. At this stage it looks a bit rough because it has yet to be sanded down. 

David's been getting on so quickly with the guitar that I've been lagging seriously behind with the webpage.  Here are some developments from the last few weeks.  After the sides and the back were made, the next step was to make the "linings".  These are long thin strips of grooved wood used to attach the sides to the top and back of the guitar.  They need to be light but strong.  David made them from mahogany (below left) and tapered them: see cross-section below centre.  The next stage was to cut grooves all along each strip (below right) so that they could be curved to match the shape of the guitar outline.  This bit reminded me of making a lining for a cake out of greaseproof paper.

Once made, the linings could then be glued to the inside edges of the sides: see right.  (I'm not sure what was being used for hanging out clothes in David's household while the glue dried!)

The next stage was to make the top of the guitar.  As with the back, the top is made out of two consecutive slices of the same piece of wood - in this case alpine spruce.  The photo of the edges of the wood (below left) shows the close-grain of the wood: this is an important quality for the tone of the finished guitar.  The two halves are joined together along the middle and then the shape cut from a template (below right).

David had made special pivoting devices which he used to ensure that the section of pearl were cut with a perfect exterior and interior  curve (left and right).  

Below you can see the fine strips of ebony used to create David's trademark soundhole design.  The ebony strips were used to separate the pearl pieces.  Below right you can see the whole thing glued in place.  At this stage the decoration stood proud above the level of the top.  Once the glue dried, this would be sanded down to create a perfect finish. 

Yet more progress on the guitar.  One of the biggest jobs has been to make the "braces" which strengthen and reinforce the back and the top of the guitar.  Without them the guitar would probably implode or warp when the strings are tightened.  The braces also give the top and the back of the guitar a gentle curved shape which helps to strengthen it further.  The braces apparently have a very important impact on the sound of the guitar too.

Left and right: this is the cedar used for the braces which was first cut into strips (right), then cut to size and glued onto the top (below left).  Once glued, they were then skillfully carved to shape them (below middle and right).

It's the same process for the rest of the top braces.  First glued into place (left) and then carved to shape (right).  Below you can see the top finished with the braces labelled and the "plates" and "stitches" added.

Below are photos of the making of the back braces.  Here you can see how these are curved prior to gluing.  David's method of making a curve in the braces is to bend the brace (below right) and then to plane the elevated ends of the strip of wood.  When the brace springs back into place it is then magically curved.  The braces are then glued to the back (or top) of the guitar and carved to shape.  Bottom left: the guitar's "label".

10th May 09

 Here are the latest stages.  The photos below were taken over the last few weeks.

On the left you can see the top being glued to the sides.  On the right is what David calls "sawing the slope".  I thought this was a joke when I first saw it but apparently not.  Once the top was attached the guitar needed to be shaped to acheive the characteristic wedge shape and David did this by creating a mould and then using his well-honed sawing skills to cut the sides to that shape.  Scary!   On the left is the last view of the underside of the top before it disappeared forever when the the back was attached (right).

First a rebate was cut along the edge with a special tool (left) creating a lovely groove for the binding to sit in.  Below the binding - a fine strip of sycamore - is being glued in place.  Once the glue was dried, it was "scraped" to lie flush with (in this case) the back .

And here is the body finally put together.  I actually got to see and handle the guitar at this stage - the first time since it was just a few bits of wood.  These photos really don't do justice to what is an absolutely beautiful object.  Below you can clearly see the "slope" and the bindings.

The next job was to make the neck.  Two pieces of mahogony were glued together to create the angle of the "headstock" - the end of the neck where the strings will be attached.  

A groove was then cut for the truss rod, a piece of metal buried under the fretboard which strengthens and straightens the neck.  This is one of the parts of the guitar that sometimes needs adjusting when the guitar is "set up" for playing.  Left: the truss rod in place.  Right: four blocks of mahogany glued or "laminated" onto the neck where it will be attached to the body by means of a dovetail joint.

The ebony log was bought in roughly the year of my birth by my father, who was also a talented woodworker.  David was about six at the time and remembers going with him to a wood merchant in Liverpool - Irvin & Sellers - to buy some rosewood for a chess set my Dad was planning to make.  He picked up this huge piece of ebony at the same time.  It's quite thrilling to me that David's using it for my guitar.  Far right: slices cut from the log to be used as a "veneer" for the headstock.

Watch this space....

Lots of very exciting work since my last entry; basically the guitar now only a few steps away from being playable...

A dovetail joint was to be used to attach the neck of the guitar to the body.  Here you can see the neck part of the joint being made.  To the right, the shape of the "heel" has been marked out for carving.   

Next the headstock was tapered (left) and then the heel carved to shape (right).  (Don't know why nobody explained to whoever named the parts on a guitar that necks don't usually have heels...)

Now the headstock veneer - cut from the ebony log mentioned above - could be glued on and clamped in place (below left).  Then holes were drilled in the headstock (below middle & right).  This is where the "tuners" or "machine-heads" will be placed for tuning the strings.

Below are some further stages in making the neck. The fretboard (which is the only wooden part of the guitar that David didn't make from scratch) had to be planed to shape (left) and then glued onto the neck (centre) before finally the frets could be hammered into place (right). 

Attaching the neck to the body is one of the trickiest things to get right.  The dovetail joint has to be made perfectly, and the angle and the curve of the fretboard has to be exactly right so that when the strings are finally put on, they can be adjusted so as to be neither too close to nor too far from the fretboard.  Tricky stuff.  Below you can really see the guitar taking shape: it looks beautiful!

Finally the guitar was hung up using a specially-made peg in the now dust-free workshop and David could put on his mask and get on with the job of applying the first layer of lacquer...Before you know it this is going to be a guitar!

Overnight the workshop was dehumidified to keep the finish perfect.  (A couple of pints of water were extracted from the air).  On the left is the guitar hung up to "mature" (as it were).  The lacquer is now all but dry: hence the shiny look.  

On the left is the headstock all finished with the tuners fitted.  One of the last jobs was to finish the frets.  First they had to be planed even and flat (right).

Lastly they had to be finished with a special fret file (left) to remove any sharp edges and give them their curved profile.  This was the point at which I arrived to collect the guitar and helped David to fit the pickup (below left and centre).