Newbie Building a Resonator

[Don Korth]

Hi all,
I am pretty much a newbie wanna be luthier getting into the game a bit late in life at 53 years of age but getting in finally regardless. Been playing guitar all my life and still perform professionally and now have a fully functional woodworking shop. I have built a few telecaster style electrics thus far but my primary interest is to build steel string acoustics, classical and hand carved arch tops but I am still getting my feet wet.

I have been asked by a friend to build him a square neck resonator and I wanted to go the distance with this as opposed to purchasing a kit as it seems like a good intro to acoustic guitar building albeit a bit less complicated. I purchased the Beard square neck plan and intend to use baltic birch laminate however the Beard plan calls for thickness' of 4.8mm for the top and back and 2.8mm for the sides. I don't know where to get that thickness baltic birch and it seems one would not want to thickness sand a laminate. Would a 1/4" top and back and 1/8" sides suffice? Additionally, I am assuming since I will be using a laminate that a (1) piece top and back are in order.

I had tried to revive an old thread here regarding this matter and was advised by a couple nice folks here to start a new thread. I didn't want to appear as if I hadn't searched the forum and tried to find the answers prior to posting as I do all I can to resolve matters on my own if they've been covered in the past. I belong to another forum where a lot of newbies ask questions that have been answered numerous times and its as if they don't know how to use a search engine or just to lazy to and it tends to irritate some of the old timers. I can understand why too!

I have wanted to get into guitar building for many years and what has always held me back is the lack of funds to startup. I finally bit the bullet and purchased the tools I need. Although I have a nice Dewalt Planer and am getting a new 14" Grizzly 30th anniversary bandsaw for Christmas my major investment has been in quality hand tools. I have the power tools mostly for milling my own rough sawn cause I am too cheap to pay top dollar for dimensioned S4S lumber. I have a longing to build guitars old school and I really like the quiet and working with my hands and hand planes, chisels and the like. Nothing wrong with CNC machines etc but I have no desire to own one or use one

Thanks for any advise and I am looking forward to learning from who ever is willing to assist as I love to learn. My life is one huge learning experience and I never tire of learning although it seems when I master something I bore of it and find something new to learn.

[Don Korth]

Thanks John,
I will look up your thread and check it out and I am having the time of my life doing this. I come from a long line of German craftsmen so I suppose it's in my genes. My dad was a cabinet maker amongst other things so I grew up in the trades but never had the desire to pursue it and instead became a traveling musician and later a computer geek.

[Don Korth]

I forgot to mention, I am staying with the Beard plan for one of the necks and it's a bolt on but I am considering a mortise and tenon joint on the second neck to neck block join ala Cumpiano's method to further prepare myself for my first classical build. There's just so much to learn about wood, wood grain and runout and proper use and sharpening of hand and power tools etc. I will probably never attain the title of luthier as it seems to me for one to achieve that status one would need to spend a lifetime doing it and I am 53 years old. I will, however, enjoy building and repairing string instruments in my latter years and probably be able to supplement my income in doing so.

Since the local guitar playing community in my home town has found out that I do tech work etc I have had quite a few jobs show up here which has helped me to pay for some of these tools I purchased and as anyone who does this work knows it an get expensive. I have had a couple jobs show up that I referred to Elderly in Lansing MI though as I wouldn't take on even a re-fret at this point on say a pre-war Martin even though I know I could do it.

Most of the jobs that have shown up here have been bread and butter tech work i.e. nut replacements, fret dressings, re-frets, pup replacements etc. and I am very comfortable with those kinds of jobs. I won't mees with a vintage instrument though and if something shows up at my shop that I feel is over my head I will be the first to send them to the seasoned pros. I have even done a couple of neck resets on a couple of Harmony Soverign models from Chicago that came out real good too.

[Don Korth]

Okay, I have the shell of my rim built and together and the top & back cutout and layed out for bracing, screen hole locations, cone & spider etc. I just have the center points marked for my screen holes and cone as I need to go get a divider/compass to draft the circle diameters. I am at a stand still until my kerfing, fret wire, binding etc arrives other than cleaning the parts up a bit. I am gluing up a 3 piece laminate mahogany neck tomorrow and will cut that out over the weekend as well.

Here's a few pics of my progress and so far so good I think and this is my very first acoustic build ever and it's 100% from scratch other than the kerfing as I didn't feel like messing with that as cheap as it is. Let me know what you think be it good or bad as I am just learning and remember I didn't break the bank on this either and have enough baltic birch left for another reso all for under $30.00

[Don Korth]

Pic 1

[Don Korth]

Pic 2

[Don Korth]

Pic 3

[William F.Eden]

It's looking good Don. We will all be keeping an eye on your progress. Bill.........

[Don Korth]

Thanks for the encouragement Bill and I am rather enjoying the whole process. I have to say, I prefer working with the hand planes, chisels etc. over power tools if for no other reason the lack of dust particulates. I don't have an elaborate dust collection system and primarily use a shop vac on the dust ports of my various power tools. It works pretty good when I remember to use it but I really enjoy the hand tools. To me, using the hand tools is the essence of the word luthier. This is not to put anybody down who chooses the power tool routine but there's a definite difference.

[Don Korth]

Does anyone have a suggestion to rout binding channels in a guitar without having to shell out the large dollars for a rabbeting bit/bearing set? I plan on making a lot of guitars so maybe I should just bite the bullet and purchase the proper tool I don't know. It seems through this guitar building journey of mine that every time I turn around I need another dang tool that wants to break the bank.

Anyone who thinks they can save money building their own guitar better think again as the tools required to outfit a guitar shop are a small fortune especially if you buy quality tools which is exactly what anyone who wants to build more than a guitar or two should do. I suppose in the long run one can save money building their own instruments but that would have to be after the tools and startup costs have paid for themselves which could take years depending on ones ability to market his/her skill set and product

[John]

If you have bearing guided router bits already, you can try swapping a smaller bearing to a bigger cutter. That's how I got my first binding cutter. Or you could make one of these.    http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/bindingsworkspacsetupexecution...

[William F.Eden]

Like John has pointed out if you already have bearing router bits you can also have a cutter ground down for the right depth of bindings if you can't get the right size bearing for your bit.    But if it were me and you don't think you will ever go all out for the  set that Stu-Mac sells on page 33 then I would be trying to find a Luthier friend that would cut the bindings for you this time. Buy the way that jig that John shows in the picture can be a bit tricky to get just right. I would be more interested in the bearing bit if it were me. just my two cents worth. GOOD LUCK  Bill............

[Don Korth]

Thanks for the reply and advise Bill and I am not beyond getting the StewMac set and LMII offers one as well. I have also seen and researched how to do it by hand using a Gramil and a chisel. So, now I am torn between the Gramil and the router rabetting bit and bearings. Obviously the bit and bearings would be the quickest way to go and I have a nice Ridgid laminate hand held as well as a big boy in my router table and the Ridgid has never been used. I also have a Dremel that's never been used but I have equipped myself. The reason I am torn is the doing it by hand method seems the way to go for me but I don't know that it's worth all that trouble on a 1/4" piece of baltic birch but it would be a learning device.

I don't wanna sound like a do it all by hand snob as I do own and use power tools too but I am definitily drawn in by the hand made methods. It just seems like authentic luthiery to me to do it by hand and be able to do it that way. I am probably going to open a huge can of worms with that statement and I mean no offense to anyone who uses all power tools to et the job done but to be a luthier I think one should be able to build a quality instrument with nothing but hand tools. Maybe I am dead wrong with my definition here but it is truly how I feel about the art form and craft.