The Making of "Retro Blue"
The pictures posted are not a "how to" but rather an brief insight into what went into the making of this particular guitar. My father, a musician and luthier passed to me a number of antique guitars. In a box, and in many pieces, was a very different type of guitar. In December, 2001 I decided to reassemble the pieces and restore the guitar, another story in itself. The photo on the right is the restored guitar. Restoration of the case revealed writing under the lining circa 1950, but unfortunately I have not been able to find out the German manufacturer. It's possibly a Framus.
The guitar fascinated me, especially the tone achieved without soundholes. It resonated up through the pickups with a sound clearly meant for the blues. What would a similar design sound like with modern electronics etc?
Here you see the carved archtop attached to the sides using traditional kerfing. Note the sitka spruce insert. The top, carved out of bookmatched flame maple, is not thick enough to support the type of Bigsby I used so the insert was required to support the Bigsby.
Here is a closer look at the block.
I use Campiano's method of bolting the neck to the block. I turned the nut inserts, out of brass, on my lathe.
You can see the joint better from the neck point of view
This is a shot of the neck trial fitted into the body. I haven't glued the fret board to the neck yet. Note the neck is raised above the top. I also completed the top bindings before attaching the neck.
I use hide glue to attach the neck and the fretboard. It doesn't leave me much time to play around with getting the position just right so I use 1/16" drill bit's to line up the fret board. The holes are covered by the fret.
Here's a view of the entire neck being clamped down.
Click on thumbs for larger picture
Glueing on the back
Almost ready for electronics etc. final polishing not completed
I use Cyanoacrylate (super glue) for all my bindings. The pick guard is ebony with 3 layers of binding, all glued with with the CA. super glue from Walmart etc. is not purified enough for this type of wood working. I use the model air craft CA. It comes in 3 thicknesses, thin, medium, and thick. I use the medium gap filling, 5-15 second bonding time. No masking tape etc. practice first because this stuff really bonds and will glue your fingers to the bindings making a real mess. It takes a bit of practice but is worth it.
