Resources for builders of guitars and other stringed instruments.
Articles and Guides
Building a steel-string acoustic guitar
A pictorial voyage through the construction of a guitar (well, several, actually). Describes and illustrates the approach I use to build acoustic instruments.
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WordPress version
Updated version, formatted for viewing on any platform and updated with additional information and techniques
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Classic version
Original html pages, best viewed on a PC
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PDF version
The original webpages above collected into a single document (many thanks to Joe Papa for putting this together) Note: the document is big (~30 MB) because of all the pictures, so may take a while to download.
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Guitar Care Guide
A guide for the care and feeding of an acoustic guitar, focused on my instruments but with information applicable in general.
CNC Inlays in Lutherie
A tutorial on the use of inexpensive CNC routers to create inlays for lutherie.
JSCut Inlay Assistant
A light customization of the wonderful JSCut CAM program optimized for generating g-code for inlays.
Arched Workboards
A short piece on constructing and using arched workboards for flat-top guitar construction.
The Long Compass
A short piece on making and using this tool for drawing arcs of circles of large radii.
Bandsaw Blade Tension Calibration
How to calibrate your bandsaw to ensure correct tension on any blade.
Chainsaw Lutherie
Calculating Arc Parameters
What Happens if I Make It Bigger? Estimation in the Workshop
Neck and Bridge Geometry for Domed Guitar Tops
Software
Software for guitar design for use on a PC or tablet.
Rosette Designer Android App
An Android app for designing mosaic rosettes for acoustic guitar design, available from the Google Play Store. Mosaic designs can be saved and printed, along with parameters needed for constructing the rosette.
Rosette Designer Java Application
A Java application version of the Rosette Designer app, provided as a Java Archive (.jar) file, for use on a PC running Windows/Linux/Mac OSX. Note that an appropriate Java runtime environment (JRE) will be required on the system to run Rosette Designer; if needed, this can be downloaded for free from Oracle’s website.
Guitar Designer Android App
An Android app for designing guitar body shapes, available from the Google Play Store. Body designs are specified with control points which indicate the general shape of the design; as the points are dragged to new positions, the body shape changes in the same direction. By moving (and adding and deleting) control points, a body design can be refined until it has the desired shape. Designs can be saved and printed, and exported for use in CAD applications.
Guitar Designer Java Application
A Java application version of the Guitar Designer app, provided as a Java Archive (.jar) file, for use on a PC.
Fretmarker Design Java Application
A Java application to aid in the design of unique guitar fret markers. Fret marker designs are specified with control points which indicate the general shape of the design; as the points are dragged to new positions, the fretmarker shape changes in the same direction. By moving (and adding and deleting) control points, a fretmarker design can be refined until it has the desired shape. A dialog allows the specification of the parameters of the guitar fretboard, including the scale length, the fretboard width at the the nut, and the fretboard width at the 12th fret. These parameters are used when the design is printed: the design is automatically scaled to produce templates for each of the frets which traditionally receive a marker (the F, G, A, B, C#, E, G, A, B, C# and E frets), as illustrated below. The Fretmarker Design User Guide is available online.
Utilities
Spreadsheets and web-browser applets for luthiers.
Color Rosette Applet
For acoustic guitar soundhole mosaic rosette design; due to Java applet security restrictions, doesn’t permit saving of designs. Color Rosette Application (available through Luthierie Software link) is identical, but permits saving and printing of designs
Arc parameter calculation Java applet
Relates the span, center deflection (rise) and radius of a circular arc, and automatically calculates any one of the three if the other two are given.
Fret positions Excel spreadsheet
Given a fretboard scale length, automatically computes the fret locations, giving distances from the nut.
Time study Excel spreadsheet
Gives a detailed list of construction steps and their completion times for construction of steel-stringed acoustic guitars.
Arc parameter calculation Excel spreadsheet
Relates the span, center deflection (rise) and radius of a circular arc, and automatically calculates any one of the three if the other two are given.