Original Delta Blues Legend on his Broomstick cigar box guitar

Another Special Tool

Bending the sides for an acoustic guitar is crucial to the shape and final result, a matched pair of ribs that fit the overall design of the instrument.   I suppose there are any number of ways to accomplish this.  And, commercial benders are available, but for a huge price.  So, I decided to create my own.  It didn't seem like such a complicated affair -- a method to apply heat to the wood at specified points, and a stable platform on which to apply pressure to shape the wood -- so, take a look at the simple device I chose to assemble.

No it's not a spud gun.  It's a TotalRojo acoustic guitar rib bender.

For less than $40 in parts and a couple hours labor, I created a simple bender.  Because of the hand pressure needed to be applied to the straight wood guitar sides during the bending process, the unit has to be secure and comfortable to use, so I constructed it with a wood base that would fit into the jaws of the small bench vice.  It can sit horizontally (see photo), or can stand on the end (see the lip extending beyond the back), whichever is the best position needed.  

I chose two-inch copper tube for the heater (geez that stuff is pricey - $19 a foot).  Found a 600-watt heating element on Ebay from China for three-and-a-half bucks.  A light dimmer switch for $4+, and three feet of heavy-duty wire and plug for another five bucks.  A two-inch metal washer and conduit clamps from my junk drawer.  A cigar box laying around for a future as an amplifier did the trick for a 'control' enclosure. A roll of aluminum foil pilfered from the kitchen.  And, a copper cap to hold things together.

Acquiring the copper tube and cap was a hoot and worth telling about.  After searching all over town for 2-inch copper tube, I finally landed at Powell Supply.  I've driven by the place for twenty years, but never had the need to stop in.  It was like going into a time warp, straight into the fifties (perhaps earlier).  An office on the left, entry way cluttered with stuff straight ahead, and parts department on the right.  It didn't smell like a hardware or electrical supply store, whatever they really smell like.  It smelled of delicious food!  The combination of vegetables, meat, garlic, and gawd-only-knows what else, but it smelled good, and I was hungry.  Why the food?  To feed customers, what else.  You sure as hell never get this treatment at Lowes or The Home Depot.

The guy at the parts counter fixed me up with the tube and cap.  I offered to pay him, but he said, "You gotta go across the hall to the window, and my mom will take your money."  Ok, off I go with invoice in hand to see Mom.  The window is like what we used to see in old theater ticket booths or at old bank teller stations. Mom is an older gray-haired lady (and very nice I might add), who was reading something when I approached her window.  She must not have seen me, but another older family member let her know I was standing there looking bewildered with money in my hand.  She looked at the invoice and proclaimed, "That copper is sure pricey, isn't it son."  Son, hell I'm 73 years old, so how old must she be?  I asked, "Why is that?" She replied, "Because, folks are stealing it right and left."  It doesn't make sense to me that the price of something should be governed by theft, but I wasn't about to get into a discussion about that.  I just picked up my stuff, stuck the change in my pocket, smiled, looked around for nostalgia sake, and left the building.  I look forward to the next visit at Powell Supply.

Enough of that.  Here's the detail of the construction process, which is simple.

I placed the metal washer inside the tube at one end and used a hammer to crimp the edge to hold the washer in place.  Then, I stuffed the tube full of aluminum foil (tamping it down tightly with a wood dowel and hammer), which is there to conduct heat. Drilled a hole into the center of the foil to accommodate the heating element. Ran the element wires through a small hole drilled in the copper cap and into the cigar box through another small hole.  Packed the cap with foil and slid it onto the tube, where it was secured with screws in holes drilled in the cap and tub.  Mounted the dimmer to the cigar box lid. threaded the plug wire through a small hole in the box and attached the plug.  Attached all the wires in the box to the dimmer.  Ran a ground wire from the dimmer to the copper tube, where it was secured with one of the screws, so I wouldn't electrocute myself, if I ever accidentally touched the dimmer mechanism at the same time I touched the tube. Secured the tube on the base with the clamps.  Plugged it in, adjusted the dimmer control, and voila, heat in the tube.

That's it.  Pretty simple, and I like simple.

Acoustic Part Ten -- The Finish Line

Twenty-two years ago, the Martin Guitar Company created the D16-H limited edition dreadnought guitar.  It was an experimental project stimulated by continued requests for them to build an affordable guitar that emulated the sound of the pre-war (WWII) D18.  Why the D18?  Because, it is without question one of Martin's greatest creations with a combination treble/bass sound and sustain that is unequaled, so the experts say.  Martin revealed the D16-H in '92 and it was very well received, and instrument reviews indicated that the '16' equaled the '18' in quality and sound.  But, after a couple years, they stopped making the D16-H. Why?  Who knows. Probably, because they wanted the value of the '16' to increase, and for demand for exceptional instruments to continue.

I bought a D16-H back in the day and it is everything the critics said it was.  I thought that if I were ever to attempt building an acoustic guitar, it would have to be like the '16'.  Then, late last year, my friend David encouraged me to stop procrastinating and short-selling my ability and to get going on a new build.

If you've been reading posts hereon about the creation of the TotalRojo TR18D, you know the details.  My attempt was to create a guitar that is as close to the '16' as I could possibly come.  I researched the D-18 thoroughly and bought Martin parts and plans, so that's about as close as I could get to the real deal.

Tonight (March 10, 2014) I completed my guitar.  It plays and sounds exactly like my D16-H!   Thanks to encouragement from my wife, sons, and friend David, I think I may have finally learned how to build a very nice guitar.

Here it is.  Let me know what you think.

Mahogany neck with bone nut; rosewood headstock overlay; Shaler tuners; rosewood fingerboard with Mother of Pearl fret markers; rosewood bridge with bone saddle and MOP pins; tortoiseshell pick guard; ziricote wood heel cap; rosewood sides and bookmatched rosewood back; tortoiseshell binding.

Acoustic Part Nine -- The Home Stretch

This morning, I completed the 'finish' process.  Four coats of sealer applied by hand to the neck and body was the first order of business in this elongated journey.  Then it was nineteen coats of oil hand applied with sanding between every third coat (graduating from 250 grit to 1200 grit wet/dry paper).

It's difficult to see the luster created on the top by the application of oil, but it is there.  The finish is not as mirror-like as it would be if it were sprayed, but after it is rubbed out with compound and then waxed, it is going to be just what the doctor ordered.  I chose not to stain any of the surfaces so the raw grain would be accentuated, and it was a great choice.  However, this really worked out well with the top in that the oil dries with a slight amber glow to it, which really mellows out the brightness of the spruce wood.  The area taped off with blue painters tape is where the bridge will be glued in place (wood-to-wood with no finish to interfere with the bonding process), which is required so the fear of separation is eliminated.

It's easier to see the beauty of the rosewood in this shot of the back and sides.  The book matched back looked exactly like I wanted, and the tortoiseshell binding accentuates it so well.

This shot shows off the grain of the book matched rosewood ribs and mahogany insert where the ribs are joined at the back of the guitar.  Many options can be applied to the insert, but I settled on the simple mahogany, which matched the neck, rather than colored plastic.  There's nothing fancy about this creation, but that is exactly what I intended from the start for my first acoustic guitar building effort.  However, I am very pleased with the result, and I'm picky as hell about my work.

Getting a good shot of the neck is difficult as it hangs in the shop, but I think you can see how well this turned out.  Now that the finish is complete, I can remove the painters tape covering the surface of the fretboard.

Like the body, the rosewood headstock overlay is beautiful.  The TotalRojo logo is there at the top, but not 'in your face', which is by design.  I want to enjoy the beauty of the wood.

The neck and body will hang for the next couple weeks in my shop, while the oil cures and hardens to the point that I can commence attaching the bridge, cutting string slots in the nut, assembly of the tuners, adjusting string 'action' through fine adjustment of the saddle, and buffing and polishing the finish.

I can hardly wait to play this little devil, which I've named "Elvira".  Hopefully, all the measuring and re-measuring numerous times, and the meticulous attention to detail, which was recommended by the experts, none the least of which is my friend Larry at Tadpole Guitars, was enough to make this thing come alive.

Thanks Larry for your guidance and encouragement!  And, thanks to David for his constant urging, without which I would never have developed the confidence to take on the project.  He scolded me several times about 'short selling' my talent.  Perhaps he is right.

Stay tuned for the final chapter on Elvira, and the commencement of the next creation.  Like one of my wife's chocolate chip cookies, I cannot have just one.

BB King Style Guitar Lesson - Slow Blues Ballad - EP041

Acoustic Part Eight -- Finish Line in Sight

The finish line is in sight, and like all other stages in this acoustic ride, preparing for finish has been an interesting experience.

I don't have a spray booth in my workshop, and I don't think I can convince my wife that the smell of lacquer in the morning would be a good thing, so off I go on the path of least resistance . . . have the guitar finished by an outside source.  Well, easier said than done.  The pros (Martin Guitars) don't mess with anything outside the confines of their company creations.  The luthier shops in Columbus and Cleveland have determined that, if they decide to take on outside work, it is costly, with the least expensive being $1,200 to spray a guitar neck and body.

The most experienced luthier in Columbus, and also the most expensive, made a comment that got me to thinking critically.  He said, "We think a person who builds a guitar should take it all the way from start to finish."  I think he is correct!  Thank you, John for motivating this cautious old guy.

So, off I ride on the research journey. After phone calls and product research, my friend Larry suggested that I consider gun stock oil.  "What," I asked him?  "I'm building a guitar, not a weapon."  That's when he explained the advantages of using TruOil.  It's easy to apply.  It's inexpensive.  It's durable (think of a rifle being banged around in the back of Bubba's 4-wheeler).  And, the final result is beautiful.

A call to Birchwood-Casey (they're the folks who manufacture TruOil) and a step-by-step tutorial from a real live person on the other end of the call, I'm expecting to receive the stuff I need (sealer and finish) today. Woohoo, I'm almost at the finish line.

However, this stage too, requires a couple special tools.  Geez, in the nearly 80 hours involved in this project, about half the time has been involved in creating special tools or waiting for glue to dry.  But, it's time well spent, or in my case, money saved for the next creation.

Since I'm hand applying the finish, I need a method by which the guitar surfaces can be accessed without difficulty and so that I don't screw up the finish.  StewMac would gladly sell me a metal gadget that will clamp nicely in my bench vice and which will turn in any direction.  A great device, but the down side is that it will cost nearly three hundred bucks.  I don't think so!

What to do?  Whoa!  For years, I've been stumbling over a bicycle stand my son thought I needed, when he wanted to get rid of it.  It adjusts in height and angle.  The top bracket is designed with a trough and clamp to hold a bike frame top tube.  It's sturdy, so why won't it work for a guitar finish stand? It will, and it does.  And, the best part is it's free.

All I needed to do to make this thing work was to create a part that would attach to the guitar body and fit the stand.  A wood dowel with piece to fit the neck joint on the guitar and a threaded metal shaft to attach to the guitar body did the trick.

It's fully adjustable and it turns easily in the clamp.

The same principle works for the neck.  After finish is applied, I can hang the neck to dry without worrying about anything getting screwed up.  I love it when a plan comes together.

Allmosta Acoustic Guitar -- Part Seven

Remember in the last post, when I mentioned that Uncle Sam's Postal Service saved me from eco-unfriendly government regulations.

OK, let me explain.  I'm into the building process, where the next step is to cut channels and add binding to the guitar body.  Simple, right?  Not so quick.  I can cut the channels, because of the handy-dandy router table I made a while back, but adding the binding is a little more involved.

Why, you ask?  Well, it seems that our good government regulators don't think it is in good form to send certain types of plastic materials through our domestic mail system.  According to their quirky determination the plastic is unstable and susceptible to catching fire.  However, they don't seem to mind if the same product is shipped direct to my home from China.  Figure that out, if you can!  This is why I think we should allow any third grade class in the US to regulate products and process, and to send our good congressmen/women (every one of them) on a one-way adventure to inhabit Neptune -- God help the Neptunese.

How do I know this?  Because, I wanted to add tortoiseshell binding to replace the white stuff that came with the kit.  I called my friend Liz at Martin Guitar,'cause she's the product wizard there, to order the required quantity.  Sure, she said, "We have it. Are you going to pick it up?"  "No!", I replied, "I need you to ship it." 'Can't do", she said.  That's when I learned about the regulation  our Washington braintrust has developed.

Alright, enough already.  Let's get on with the fun stuff.

I received the tortoiseshell binding from China five days after I ordered it on-line.  While waiting for the binding, StewMac shipped the necessary glue for adhering plastic to wood and tape to hold the binding in place, along with abalone fret marker dots, bridge pins and strap button.

In the photo at left, you can see how the binding is glued in place and held firm with tape, while the glue dries in about two minutes.  The blue tape outlines the bridge position, which will come later.

When gluing binding to the channels it is important to make sure that a small portion of the binding is 'proud' of the surfaces. The excess will be removed with a cabinet scraper in the initial process and sanded smooth with the surface to finish the process.


I was expecting this to be a lot more difficult procedure than it turned out to be, and the result is awesome.
I really like how the color of the tortoiseshell compliments the color and grain of the rosewood sides and back.




Next in the process was to apply a heel 'cap' to the bottom surface of the heel (that portion of the neck extending down vertically on the front of the body.  The kit came with a plastic heel cap, but I don't like how it looks, so I chose to cut a piece of Ziricote to finish off the heel.

And, to finish off the backside of the guitar, where the adjoining sides created a seam, I cut a wedge-shaped piece of mahogany to match the neck.  After carefully cutting away the necessary body material, I glued the wedge in place.  (I need to point out that I did this prior to attaching the binding).

 What's left to do?


Shape the nut and saddle, and drill the tuner holes in the headstock.  The tuner holes are easy, it's just a matter of aligning them perfectly on the headstock in the positions recommended by Martin.  Again, measure twice or three times and drill once.  The nut and saddle are hand shaped from pieces of bone to correspond with the curvature of the fretboard and bridge.  If it's done correctly, the strings will follow the curvature and the string action will be just right.  I may need to do a little adjustment when the strings are attached, but I think it will be minimal.









The tape is there to mark the centerline of the neck, so I can locate the string slots.

The next phase is finish, so stay tuned.

Acoustic Progress -- Part Six

Although I like 'simple', when it comes to project detail, I've found that complications pop up regularly in the world of luthery.

Since the last post about my venture into the acoustic guitar-building arena, I've learned a lot more about the building process; how additional specialty tools aid the process; and how current eco-unfriendly government restrictions cause unplanned delays.  But, Uncle Sam's Postal Service saved the day (I'll explain this later), so I don't want to hear any complaining about how you didn't receive Aunt Willa's birthday card on time.

So, just what have I been up to?

After gluing up the body, the neck was the next order of business.  This is one of the most crucial elements in the building process (how do I know?, because my friends at Martin Guitar are so willing to share advice and information), because, if the angles of the heel and neck are not perfect nothing else will align properly and string action will be lousy.  I follow the 'measure twice (or more) and cut once' theory, always, and it works!  The angle alignments are spot-on Martin recommendations.

With the bare neck attached to the body and flush with the top, a straight-edge rule lying flush with the neck surface will ideally be 1/16" - 3/32" off the body surface at the point where the saddle will be positioned on the body. To achieve this, the heel (where the neck meets the body vertically) must be carefully shaved to fit.  And, this is only the start.  The center line of the neck must also be in alignment with the center line of the body.  So, one side of the heel may need to be shaved more than the other, while maintaining vertical integrity.

In the photo above, you'll notice a cavity running the length of the neck, which is the channel for the truss rod.

In the photo to the left, the truss rod is in place, sitting flush with the top of the neck.

The rod is shrink wrapped in a vinyl film for a reason -- to prevent the epoxy resin used to glue it in place from seeping into the rod's movable parts and rendering it useless for possible neck adjustment, down the road.

Next comes attaching the fingerboard to the neck.  This can be done in a couple ways, but the 'simple' rule applies -- press in the frets and dress them prior to gluing the board in place.  Why?  Because, it would be easy to snap off the portion of the fingerboard where it overlaps the heel, if the board were to be glued on prior to setting the frets.

Pressing the frets into the fingerboard is my method of choice.  Many luthiers recommend using a brass hammer to do this, but I don't subscribe to the notion that banging around on critical pieces is the solution to task.  So, I simply (there it is again, 'simple') cut a piece of oak scrap to the contour of the fret board; drilled a hole in the middle of the die and glued in a steel rod, to create a fret press that would fit my drill press.  Then I ran the bulk fret stock through my 'cheapo' home-made fret wire bender; cut it to length for each fret slot; pressed the wire in place; dressed the protruding ends with a file; finished the process with a fret file and steel wool, and voila, a completed fret board ready to be glued to the neck.

Whoa, gluing the fingerboard to the neck is a little more difficult than slapping one board on another and tossing a rock on it for weight.

The headstock is at an angle.  The back of the neck is rounded off.  The heel extends downward and is curved.

I need a new tool!  As you can see, I created a simple jig to hold the neck in place, while a sturdy board rests on the top of the fretboard for adjustable clamps to apply pressure without damaging the surface of the board. This took me all of thirty minutes to build from scrap stock laying around the shop gathering dust.  Damn, I like it when a plan comes together!

When the glue dries, I'll be ready to move on to the next phase of the acoustic dream.  Stay tuned for more progress.

Another Acoustic Tool -- Part Five

I mentioned in the last post that I had completed gluing the body together and the next step would be cutting a channel in the top and back edges for adding binding (purfling).

I've learned that this process too can be done in a couple ways.  If I were a 'real' luthier, I might do this by hand with a homemade tool created from a broken saw blade, but that seems like it's not a simple procedure.  Remember, I said I like simple.  So, I chose to build a special router table, which would work a little easier for me.  This whole construction effort took about two hours and a few buck worth of scrap wood I had laying around collecting dust.  Geez, I love it when a plan comes together.

I surface mounted a small craft router under the top working surface near the edge so that the remaining open surface is where the guitar body will rest during the channel routing process.

The router blade can be moved up or down for precise adjustment in depth of the channel.

A special adjustable fence had to be fabricated to adjust the thickness of the channel into the side of the guitar.  We're not talking about a channel the size of the Grand Canyon, so the movement of the fence is minimal. The binding is slightly more than one-sixteenth-inch thick and about one-quarter-inch deep.

The body of the guitar will ride on the fence base up against the adjustable nose.  By carefully moving the body surface against the nose and perpendicular to the the router blade, the channel can be cut into the body with very little difficulty, so long as I pay attention to what I'm doing and don't get lost in some Muddy Water's blues trip evolving from the recesses of my mind.

More Acoustic Talk -- Part Four

This acoustic guitar building project has been a great learning experience.  I've created special tools, and I'm learning how to use them.  I've assembled odd shaped pieces and shaped some odd pieces.  I've learned that sound is greatly affected by the parts and pieces used in the delivery process.  And, I'm learning there is a helluva lot of thought, planning, effort, and meticulous work that goes into this hobby.  Perhaps someday, if I live long enough, I may be able to say I'm a novice luthier.

The top, back and side(s) assembly was the last thing I posted about, which was pretty straight forward, but also tedious, time consuming and a bit mind numbing.  If I screwed this up, the game would be over . . . but, I didn't.

When the sides, heel, and tail blocks are matched up and glued, the next step in the process is to add lining (kerf) to each of the side edges.  The lining is there for stability and for a surface on which to glue the top and back.  Kerf is a finely serrated piece of mahogany, which can be easily bent to conform to the shape of the guitar sides.  Yes, it takes thirty eight small spring clamps to properly hold tension on each surface during the gluing.

It's almost time for gluing top and back onto the sides, but small vertical spruce ribs need to be glued to the sides at the upper bout, waist, and lower bout to add just a little more stability to the guitar.

I've discovered several different ways with which to apply pressure to the top and back surfaces during the gluing process, and I created different tools for the purpose, but I chose the most simple process for me . . . I like simple.  I cut a sheet of one-quarter-inch ply (it's very flexible, but sturdy) in the shape of the body mold; drilled a series of corresponding holes in the sheet and the mold.  After dropping in the completed guitar sides, I applied glue to the kerf, smoothed it around evenly, and centered the top in position on the kerf.  It took a couple minutes for the glue to become tacky enough to carefully lay the sheet on the top surface without moving the top.  Once the sheet was down, I started adding screws to the holes in the sheet, and commenced to tighten then just enough in a criss-cross manner (I learned this years ago from my grandfather, when we were rebuilding the engine in my first hotrod), until all surfaces were tightly assembled together.  This was a little tricky in that the top has a very slight arch to it.  After the top was securely glued and allowed a 24-hour cure time, I did the same process for the back.   But, the back was more delicate, because it has a compound arch to its surface, which required a whole lot more attention to alignment and movement, and because of the shape, I allowed the glue to cure for 48 hours.  You can see from the photo above how the back required a great deal of surface pressure.  

These photos show the assembled body with the top and back glued in place on the sides. After allowing the glue to continue to cure for a couple days, the overlapping top (spruce) and back (rosewood) material was removed and the edges sanded in preparation for routing a channel in each surface for binding (purfling) to be glued in place.  

If I learn nothing else, I got the lingo down pat.  ;-) 

Acoustic Progress -- Part Three

After leaping into the acoustic guitar building arena, there was ample activity in creating jigs and tools especially associated with the project.  I could have avoided this if I was lazy, incapable, or willing to spend money like a drunken sailor (oops, now I've just pissed off my military friends in the middle east, whom I've gifted with guitars and amps).  Commercially crafted tools are expensive, but no more useful than what I have had the enjoyment of creating, and lots of beer money left for me.

You've already seen some of the tools in a prior post, but here are a couple other shots of special stuff.

I've learned there are a couple ways to attach the top and back of the guitar to the finished sides, and one of those ways is to use clamps such as the one shown here.  It's a simple screw-type arrangement with cork-faced 1-1/2" x 3/4" wood blocks drilled to accommodate a 8-inch threaded 1/4" shaft with rubber pieces to protect the surface of the guitar. Washers and a wing nut completes the job.  The clamp is placed against the guitar side, when the glued top or back is in place, and the nut is tightened to apply pressure to the surface during the gluing process.  Pretty simple to build and use, and a lot less expensive than commercially available items that look and work the same.

A cabinet scraper is another essential tool, but when you live in a place that has limited supply of specialty tools, it's sometimes easier (and more fun) to create your own. I used a paint scraper blade attached to a custom handle, and voila, a useful tool.

I've been diligent about taking progress photos along the way, so that if I undertake this process again, I'll have a leg up on the project.  And, it's nice to be able to sit back and admire what these old hands have been able to accomplish along the journey.


Shaping the top and finishing the rosette around the sound hole on the outside surface was the first step.







Then came bracing on the inside of the top.  I chose to replicate the Martin guitar pre-WWII scalloped bracing that was used on the D18s and D28s, because of the deep warm sound created from this arrangement.  This process required a whole lot of research, and thanks to the web and a few vintage book stores I was able to find plans and helpful information.

Bracing for the inside of the back is a little less involved from the standpoint of style, but there is one thing that makes this a bit complex.  The back must have a slight crown to it, so the bracing has to be cut to form that crown, which is dimensional from the center to the ends.  Thanks to great layout diagrams, this was a relatively easy process.  The center wood strip is there to stabilize the bookmatched surface of the the back, which like the top it is constructed from two pieces of material glued together on the edge.

Properly shaping and fitting the sides to the required dimensions is crucial to the overall design.  If I screw this up the top and back will not fit properly, and the neck will not join the body correctly.  Here's where the body jig comes into play.  The shaped sides are placed into the body mold and carefully positioned on 'center' with the mold, and any excess material is then marked and cut to fit.  Measure twice or three times, and cut once!  There is no gluing it back together to get it right.

When the sides fit perfectly, thanks to the help of the spreaders I built, the heel and tail blocks are glued in place.  Then the lining (kerf) is glued to the top and back inside edges of the sides, which is the surface on which the top and back are glued.

I'll post more photos with explanations as progress is made.  So far, so good!  I keep my fingers crossed so that anything unexpected is 'good'.

Special Acoustic Guitar-Making Tools and Jigs -- Part Two

In a prior post concerning the acoustic guitar kit I received, I mentioned the need for special tools and jigs, and there are many.  I researched this extensively and discovered that anything I need can be purchased from a variety of sources, and if my pockets are deep enough, there is no problem.

Well, here's what I further understood.  Some tools and jigs are very simple in construction, but costly, so I decided to create my own, with the exception of a couple, which are more complex or made from materials I do not have at my exposure.  I'm fortunate to have a shop full of the basic woodworking and craft tools, and enough experience gained through past experiments to tackle the 'special' tool making endeavor, plus I simply get a rise out of creating my own stuff.

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A body mold is essential.  It can be as simple as laminated cardboard pieces cut in the shape of the guitar body, or as complex as an item costing a hundred dollars or more.  Or, something in between for a lot less money.  I chose the middle ground, and spent about $12 on materials to build a mold that is hinged at the bottom and will close with a spring latch at the top, which will keep all the guitar surfaces in place during the building process.

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The next items needed to shape the guitar body are spreaders that fit inside the mold to hold the sides in position, while being glued together, and while kerf ribbon is glued to the inside top and bottom of the sides. These simple devices can cost anywhere from $35-60 on the web, and that doesn't include shipping.  I made mine for about $3 a piece, using turnbuckles with eye bolts and scrap lumber I was going to toss out.

These spreaders are for the center inward angle of the body,

and for the bottom bout.  The spreader for the upper bout
(which I still need to build) is similar to the bottom, only shorter.

This spreader is used when gluing the neck and end blocks 

in place at the top and bottom of the guitar.

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Cam clamps of various description are needed in special circumstances and they too can be purchased, if you don't mind coughing up $19-35 plus shipping each for simple devices like the ones I created for less than $2.50 each in materials.

The upper clamp arm slides on the metal shaft, and the cam lever tensioner can be

adjusted to hold things securely in place during the gluing process.

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A special clamping caul is essential when gluing a bridge to the top surface of the guitar, due to the uneven surface of the bridge.  So, for about $1.20 and a piece of scrap wood stock and a small piece of sheet cork, I built a custom piece that would cost $60+ from a supplier.

The clamp is centered on the bridge and held in place through the sound hole
by one of the adjustable clamps pictured above.  Then the screws on either end 

are adjusted to hold the ends of the bridge firmly to the body during the gluing process.

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Another nifty little item is a homemade fret dresser, which is simply a sheet of eighth-inch ply with laminated and shaped pieces for a handle.  The straight edge of the ply is grooved to fit the contour of a fret.  A small piece of very fine sand paper is wrapped over the leading edge of the tool and rubbed carefully on the frets to dress down any sharp or uneven edges.  Cost to make $0.

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Saddles are the bone (or other material) pieces on the top of the bridge, which hold the strings off the fingerboard and guide them at the proper angle along the neck.  Usually, the saddle top edge is slightly rounded over, which can be a simple task or a little more difficult.  I like simple, so I created a little tool out of a dull box cutter knife blade.  I cut a thin slot in a piece of scrap oak, inserted the blade sharp-side down in the slot, and voila, the rounded adjustment slots on the blade can be used to round over the saddle stock., by sliding it along the saddle.  Cost to make $0.  Cost to buy, I don't know, 'cause I've not seen one on the market.

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And, this jig is for applying tension to bracing material on the inside of the top and bottom surfaces of the guitar. I suppose a combination of books, bricks, or Weider weights could be used to hold the bracing in place, but again I like a simpler approach, even if it requires a little thought, exploration, or piracy of an idea. The jig shown here has a bottom deck and top surface which is slightly larger than a guitar body.  The two surfaces are separated by about 20 inches with a dowel on each corner, which is secured in place with screws.  The guitar top is placed on the bottom jig surface; finished bracing is glued and applied to prearranged locations on the guitar surface; and long, thin dowels are placed on the bracing and wedged under tension against the top surface of the jig to apply uniform pressure to the bracing during the drying process, which holds everything in place to ensure a sold glue job.   Cost to build about $30.  Cost to buy $450+ at your favorite luthier supply store.