Official Luthiers Forum!

Greetings,

I just became a member here after lurking around a while to see if I wanted to join. This looks like a nice place with a lot of friendly people with knowledge. I am happy to be here.

First a bit about myself: I got my first guitar when I was about 9 years old, I picked it out of the neighbors trash and asked if I could have it. It had part of the top pulled away and a few cracks so I took it home and glued it back together with a big patch of 1/4" plywood and made it a working guitar. I have been fixing guitars ever since and I am 60 years old now. I have done just about every repair that can be done on a guitar so I am pretty well versed in methods and construction.

Below are a couple of pictures of my latest project. It is a 1964 Gibson LG-0 that I picked up that had the back almost completely falling off and split in half, the finish was literally falling off of the body but the neck was in very good shape. It appeared to have been stored in the back of someones closet with no case because it had scratches and dings all over it but the top didn't have any cracks. Once I started on it I found most of the braces were either falling off or ready to so I decided to update it with new X-bracing. I patterned it after a 1940 Gibson L-00 with the addition of scalloped bracing and I tried my hand at tap tuning it. I refinished the body in Behlen Nitro and didn't use grain filler but used Behlen sealer and partially filled the grain. The top is gloss and sides and back are satin. I used an oil finish on the neck with the back of the headstock getting a few more coats than the neck to give it a nice gloss. The headstock face is the only thing that I left untouched as it was in really good shape and the Gibson logo was fully intact. It is a very sweet sounding guitar with the new X-bracing and has become my favorite guitar in my collection.

Now, on to my question. I am planning on building my first guitar so there are a number of things I don't know and will probably have some questions. I have a pretty well equipped shop with most of the tools I need (band saw, table saw, radial arm...). I would like to build a guitar based off of the Gibson CF-100 (see my avatar) with a cutaway and I would like some opinions on doing that for my first guitar? The other question I have is about tonewood for the sides and back. The original CF-100 has Mahogany sides and back and I was wondering if that is an easy wood to bend and if you have any ideas of something that would be better for someone that has never bent wood before? Also, is there a prefered way to bend it without spending an arm and leg for equipment?

I am sure I will have many more questions about building and I hope I can bring some knowledge and help to the forum about my skills in repairing guitars.

Thanks in advance and it is nice to be here.

Bob Russell


P.S I did not see that you (really) prefer real names over nik names, Mine is my real name but abbreviated and Last/First. I PM'd the Admin since I can not change it in my settings. I have no problem with changing it if desired.

(Click for larger image)

Welcome, Bob. Mahogany is often listed as a good wood for a first build but some can be more difficult to bend than east indian rosewood. You can bend over a hot pipe with a charcoal starter stuck in one end. There are lots of posts in the archives. A cutaway adds some difficulty but not that much. I think you should build what you like.

_________________
Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Welcome, Bob! Nice looking repair work you're doing there. Looks like you're more than ready to build one of your own. I say go for the cutaway. The worst that can happen is you break a side or two. No biggie. Order a couple of inexpensive practice sets and have at it!

_________________
George :-)

The toughest part about doing a cutaway for the first time is getting the side flush with the neck. It is doable for sure, but you need to have it all planned out from the get go.

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Thanks for the response guys. I am learning a lot just reading through the forum but still so much to know.

@Bryan Bear, Your post came in just as I was typing this so thanks for the heads up on that. I know I will have some questions about the neck joint where it meets the cutaway so maybe you can help when the time comes for that. I am still working on learning how to select the wood so I have a long way to go.


I made a post in the "Choosing Rosewoods" thread but don't want to clog that up with questions about other wood or processes so I guess this thread is the best place for asking my "noob" questions.


First, I have been looking at the wood supply links and am a bit confused on a couple of things.

Back and Side woods.

I have had suggestions of EIR, Mahogany, Walnut and Sycamore for ease of bending. I know it is a matter of personal preference as to what wood to use so when choosing any wood should I be looking for straight tight grain or can I be looking at some figured woods? I am really drawn to some of the woods like Black Walnut for the beauty but would much rather make sure my first guitar is something I can build without a lot of problems.
I don't have the resources to build or buy a bending machine or heating blankets at this point so I will probably go with the "old school" way of bending over a hot pipe. If the side wood I get has some figure in it or the grain runs at a slight angle will that effect the way it bends? When choosing a set I should be paying more attention to the side wood?


About East Indian Rosewood. I am seeing "Indian Rosewood" at a few of the supply places. Is that the same thing?


Soundboard woods.

I know that Sitka Spruce is used on a lot of guitars but I see guys doing tops out of a lot of different kinds of wood. I also know the top is what produces most of the tone and sound in a guitar. I have seen tone woods with bearclaw and ripples across the grain but I am not sure if that is actually a good thing for tone. And what about the tightness of the grain?

Thanks for any help you can give me on this topic.

Bob