# Acoustic Guitar Project - Complete



## Philly (8 Apr 2008)

Hi Folks
Thought it was about time I got stuck into making a guitar (what with all the lovely guitars being made on this forum!) So I have started building an acoustic.





I am putting step-by-step photo's on my website here.... So - what am I building? It is a Weissenborn style Hawaiian lap steel guitar. Its unique feature is its hollow neck - the guitar body runs right to the headstock. Also, the guitar is played sitting down, with it flat on your lap, top facing up. There won't be any frets (just fretmarkers) as it is played with a slide.
Fans of Ben Harpers music will be familiar with this guitar - you can see him playing one in this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb0F2dYKTOM
Cheers
Philly


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## Slim (8 Apr 2008)

Fantastic Phil.

I'm really looking forward to this. How well does the hollow neck resist the string tension? I'm sure the sycamore will look stunning.

Waiting with baited breath!


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## Philly (8 Apr 2008)

Simon
There are loads of original guitars surviving so I assume the neck will be strong enough. The strings are 6-8mm off the neck so a low action is not an issue :lol: 
Most of the figure on the top will be hidden once the fingerboard goes on. Still, should be a nice guitar. And if it goes well maybe I'll try another one in figured Koa?
Cheers
Philly


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## bob_c (8 Apr 2008)

Slim":2ktzcn8s said:


> Fantastic Phil.
> 
> I'm really looking forward to this. How well does the hollow neck resist the string tension? I'm sure the sycamore will look stunning.
> 
> Waiting with baited breath!


Thats alot of bracing ,i suppose that will be needed to counteract the pull of the neck if its hollow.


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## Philly (8 Apr 2008)

Bob
Yes, there's no truss rod, either.
Cheers
Philly


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## tnimble (8 Apr 2008)

Nice project Philly, very much like the rosetta and how the soundboard is made up.


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## mr (8 Apr 2008)

Have you finished that tele yet 
:twisted: 

Cheers Mike


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## Philly (8 Apr 2008)

Mike
Yes! Tele is complete - I'll take some photo's tomorrow :roll: 
Cheers
Philly


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## Philly (22 Oct 2008)

As there are other lovely guitar threads going on I've been inspired to stop making planes and get on with the guitar. Well, for a few minutes... :wink: 
I had a go at hot bending the side for the guitar. Sadly, it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped - the pipe I used was too tight a radius and gave "corrugations" instead of smooth curves. Being too tight to buy some suitable pipe I made a former out of scrap and laminated the sides in my vacuum press.

















Six layers of veneer (figured Anigre) gave the thickness needed for the sides - they came out really well. I bandsawed the sides to shape after they had cured and I'm preparing kerfed linings to glue the sides to the top.
More pics soon...
Philly  [/img]


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## Ironballs (22 Oct 2008)

Very, very nice. 3 guitars on the go and guess who's going to be last. Ah rubbish :wink:


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## Pete Howlett (22 Oct 2008)

I got 15 ukuleles on the go...


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## Pete Howlett (22 Oct 2008)

To an earlier question - I built 30 of these back in the 90's and the hollow neck, if built with 6mm side cheek reinforcements (as on the originals) makes for a stronger neck than you can imagine. Given that the bass string is usually .075" and the top .017", these stand up very well...in fact, it's a stronger mechanical construction that a standard guitar.


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## ByronBlack (22 Oct 2008)

Loving the veneer vacuum thingy action - this should be a cool project, definitely post the tele-pics, thats one next on my project list


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## OPJ (23 Oct 2008)

I'm impressed that you can leave something in your workshop untouched for six months without damaging it - if I try and leave one thing to get on with another, it usually ends up in pieces on the floor in minutes!  

Keep the progress coming, Phil! Can't get enough of these guitar-builds right now, I'm gonna have to have a go myself, one day. :wink:


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## Philly (24 Oct 2008)

Thanks for the info, Pete!
BB - Tele pics today - promise  
Olly - Yes, I'm amazed the thing hasn't been smashed during the months of storage. Kinda spurred me into finishing it while it is in good condition :lol: 
cheers
Philly


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## Philly (24 Oct 2008)

A few more pics....












Shaped the sides, glued in the tail block and started adding the kerfed linings.
Cheers
Philly


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## ByronBlack (24 Oct 2008)

Philly, how are the sides attached to hold the top and bottom?


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## Philly (24 Oct 2008)

BB
They are glued, which, when you think about it, doesn't seem strong enough. The joint between the edge of the sides and the underside of the top doesn't give much glue surface and you have all sorts of crossgrain issues.
Hence the linings. These are little "glue blocks" that vastly increase the gluing surface area. When you think most guitars are bound (i.e. the corner area is routed away!) the guitar would fall apart without these glue blocks.
Hope this makes sense?
Philly


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## ByronBlack (24 Oct 2008)

Philly":1lq9vwq7 said:


> BB
> They are glued, which, when you think about it, doesn't seem strong enough. The joint between the edge of the sides and the underside of the top doesn't give much glue surface and you have all sorts of crossgrain issues.
> Hence the linings. These are little "glue blocks" that vastly increase the gluing surface area. When you think most guitars are bound (i.e. the corner area is routed away!) the guitar would fall apart without these glue blocks.
> Hope this makes sense?
> Philly



Aye, makes perfect sense  (I can see the kerfed linings in the last picture...)

Will you be binding this one? Also, can you play a lap-steel guitar?


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## Pete Howlett (24 Oct 2008)

Watch this video for the Gizmo I use to do kerfed linings...

and how about this for a recent build:


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## Philly (24 Oct 2008)

BB
Not going to bind this one as I just want to play it. If I make a second I'll go OTT with the flashy stuff :wink: As for playing, yes. Been playing guitar for 20 years, bass for the last 2 (now playing a six string bass!) and have been playing with lap steel for ages. I made a brass nut to raise the strings on my regular acoustic and have been playing that as a lap guitar. I'll post a recoding of my humble screechings when she's strung up and playable. ANd if that's not a threat....... :wink: 
Nice Ute Pete - love the blackness. Very metal :lol: 

And at last - the infamous Tele photo's.

I bought this Jap Squier Tele about 10 years ago. It was finished in a heavy coat of butterscotch poly - looked horrible but sounded great. One day I dropped it and cracked off some of the lacquer on the bottom of the guitar - I started picking at the lacquer and the rest of it came off pretty easily. It revealed some stunning figured ash! So I sanded it back, applied a few coats of oil and sealed it with shellac. A very pretty Tele  















As always, the pictures don't do it justice. If we get some sunshine one day I'll take better ones.
Cheers
Philly


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## Pete Howlett (24 Oct 2008)

You really want to know what happened to other bits of Ash don't you?


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## ByronBlack (24 Oct 2008)

That is some lovely figuring, it's a shame they didn't make the glue central, but still it's a fantastic piece of tree


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## Ironballs (24 Oct 2008)

That is some piece of ash, yes ash. Looks great. Nice uke as well Pete


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## JFC (25 Oct 2008)

While im here , thats looking good Philly ! Not sure i like the chipboard sound board , it looks a bit thick :lol:


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## Philly (25 Oct 2008)

Well, you know, I'm trying to be sustainable....... :wink: 
Cheers
Philly


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## Philly (16 Apr 2009)

Well, incredibly, I've pulled my finger out and finished the guitar. I have been SO wanting to play it, and that has spurred me on to complete it.
I've put loads of step-by-step pics on my website for you to see.

www.philsville.co.uk

I am pleased to say that the guitar sounds really sweet - I'm quite bowled over that it actually sounds alright. As well as it still staying in one piece.... :lol: 
I have been playing the thing non-stop (much to the Missus delight :^o ) so will try and make a recording on the weekend so you can hear it in action.
Cheers
Philly


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## ByronBlack (16 Apr 2009)

That looks bleedin' awesome phil - I am so not jealous in the slightest!

Fabulous job mate!


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## Karl (16 Apr 2009)

Nice work Phil. I was only thinking about this project of yours the other day, as I have been toying with the idea of having a go myself over the last few weeks (pressie for my dad's b'day in Jan).

Cheers

Karl


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## OPJ (16 Apr 2009)

Excellent work, Phil. 

Look forward to _hearing_ it in action then.


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## crazylilting (17 Apr 2009)

Nice Teli.

my friend had a maple one very similar to that one and he had it painted by an artist!!!

Thanks for sharing the project OP. Ever since giving up my limited edition ovation I've wanted to build myself a guitar. I've taken violin courses but not guitar. But it really doesn't seem that hard to do. I think the hardest part will be the neck, fret board getting the action right and all that.

Consider me inspired to start again. Thanks


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## Philly (17 Apr 2009)

Thanks Gents! The project went smoother than I was expecting - I certainly want to try another, now. The StewMac plans were very useful but I couldn't have done it without a book - Guitarmaking - Tradition and Technology by Cumpiano and Natelson. A superb book with all the info you need.
One other nice thing about this project - the cost. The only items I had to buy to build this were the rosette (Ebay £1.99) and the pins to hold the strings to the bridge (Ebay £2.99) - all the timber was stuff I had in the workshop and the tuning pegs were a spare set from an old project. So a total of a fiver (plus a set of string!) Result :lol: 
Cheers
Philly


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## gidon (17 Apr 2009)

Fantastic Philly! Must be hugely satisfying!
Enjoy it (got a feeling you are ).
Cheers
Gidon


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## Drea (17 Apr 2009)

Wow Philly, that's gorgeous. I love how it's got the hips of a guitar but the shoulders of a double bass, and it already looks 100 years old 

Top quality mate.


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## Philly (17 Apr 2009)

Thanks! The top is some spalted sycamore I've been holding onto for a few years. I used the rest of it for a Krenov style cabinet a while back.
It does look a little bit vintage - I like that! Means I don't have to be too "precious" about using it :lol: 
Cheers
Philly


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## MikeG. (17 Apr 2009)

I don't know how I missed this one Phil!

Excellent.......well done!! .....and there I was thinking that you just made blocks of wood with bits of steel sticking out of them!!

If you do get over here during the Cressing show I'll show you some spalted sycamore to die for!! You'll be itching to do another guitar when you see it.....

Cheers 

Mike


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## hog&amp;bodge (18 Apr 2009)

Love the shape and lines of the guitar you have finished ..
Looks like it has years of playing in it..My wife plays the piano
so I have a love of string instruments..I have my old acoustic guitar
in the loft..Sadly when I was a teenager I liked black.. 
I did however try to strip it back but it looks in a sorry state..
Would love to bring it back to life again..
Looking at yours it has given me inspiration to have a go...Thanks..
Look forward to hearing you play it.....


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## Ironballs (18 Apr 2009)

Looks great Philly and would love to hear how that hollow neck sounds. For the upper frets do you have to play it with the slide only?


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## Philly (18 Apr 2009)

Mike
I'll take you up on that!

H+B
Black? Heh - we all do things we regret. :lol: 
Treat it as a woodwork project instead of restoring an antique and it should go smoothly.

Iron
On the originals the frets were filed level with the neck - on mine I just fitted maple inlays into the fingerboard. So - no frets! Slide it is, and a healthy high action, too. 6mm at the nut 8) 

You'll be "pleased" to know (used the word tentatively..) I made a quick recording today - please ignore the playing and bad timing, at least you can hear the sound of the instrument.

MP3

Cheers
Philly


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## OPJ (18 Apr 2009)

Sounds fine to me. 8) Thanks for doing that, Phil.


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## Ironballs (18 Apr 2009)

I see, skilled plane maker and talented guitarist...

Good clip, sounded excellent, started off a bit "Paris Texas" but then got a bit brighter and cheerier


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## Philly (19 Apr 2009)

Thanks Olly, Ironballs!
Just me jamming about - overdubed a later one with some blues harp. When it sounds good I'll pop it on here for you to have a laugh at :lol: 
Cheers
Philly


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## Anonymous (20 Apr 2009)

Great to see it finally finished Phil (it really is gorgrous), and as I said earlier, i'll be looking forward to the first acoustic gig


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