Few Newbie Acoustic Questions

[needsmorecowbel]

Hey Guys, been too busy working to get anything much in the way of making done in the past few months/ weeks.
I had got an idea to make an acoustic based off my mum's old Suzuki...never made an acoustic before... daunting indeed (I apologise in advance for the noobie questions)

1. What is a good method for joining the two fairly thin top halves together if for example you are using two book matched pieces for the top.
2. I noticed that on 'my' old Suzuki and other acoustics (takamine guitars for example) that the back of the guitar is not necessarily flat...but in some cases looks as if a very slight contour has been carved from the middle to lower bout...Who on the forums carves contours in their backs? What are the advantages of carving a slight contour in the back? Or is this just 35 years of timber warp (another potentially noobie question)?

I only have one working acoustic at home and it is this 35 years old Suzuki pictured below.
My local guitar tech is fairly unnerved by the age of the acoustic and won't really do much in the way of adjusting the truss rod or touching the instrument. The frets have popped up around the 7th-8th fret...His suggestion was to buy another guitar. All it really needs is a re fret or a general filing down of the troublesome frets..

pics:
http://img510.imageshack.us/i/dscf0967q.jpg/

http://img683.imageshack.us/i/dscf0970n.jpg/

http://img214.imageshack.us/i/dscf0968b.jpg/

http://img401.imageshack.us/i/dscf0969b.jpg/

Guitar Measurements: 29mm Upper Bout, 24mm Middle Bout, 38 mm lower bout
All the bracing under the top is reinforced with linen/ mesh"ish" substance.

The guitar is quite small but has a really good treble to bass balance

Got two acoustic guitars in the process of being planned will post pics soon:

1: 18 inch Archy with Curly Maple Back and Sides and Englemann Spruce Top

2: Acoustic copy with Blackwood Back, Sides and Neck, Spruce Top??? Any recommendations for top wood?

Stu

[seeaxe]

Stu, I am sure worthier members than I will weigh in but if you are serious about building an acoustic then suggest you get a few books on building from the library, all of them will have ways of joining the tops and backs.

The other reason for this post is to say that I once owned and foolishly sold the 12 string dreadnought version of your guitar, plus still own a very similar 6 string dreadnought (Kiso Suzuki Hummingbird copy). Theres a pic of it in my "The Traveller" post on the gallery thread. If its the same as mine, its got a ply top which is pretty flat but a curved back, formed by the curvature of the braces, it is not carved.

I had my one refretted and it was like getting a brand new, more playable version of my old beloved guitar, best thing I ever did. Suggest you find a repairman who will do it for you and redo the set up as well, you won't regret that.

Good luck with the projects

Cheers

Richard

[Lillian]

Stu, you really should add to your library, at least one book, if not several. In the mean time, you should spend some time reading through the tutorial section. All of it is good, but Robbie O'Brien has a series of videos that pretty much cover the entire process of building an acoustic. They're all in there I believe.

Not trying to bat your question away, but point you towards a wealth of information. With acoustics, there are lots of ways to skin that cat. How you go about it will be governed by the tools you have, your experience and comfort zone.

The back was most likely glued in a curved dish to give it the arched shape, same with the top.

[Paul B]

No offense, but it sounds like your guitar tech is somewhat of a chickenshit. I'd suggest you find another.

The dome in the back (and top) is there for a reason. If the top or back was dead flat it'd only be able to move due to humidity in the x or y axis. By adding a "dome" you are letting it move in the "z" axis - the dome will rise or fall in response to humidity changes- makes the guitar more stable and helps prevent cracks.

The other guys are spot on- you need to read up. Visit your local library look for cumpiano's excellent book as a starting point.

[Matt Bach]

No offense, but it sounds like your guitar tech is somewhat of a chickenshit. I'd suggest you find another.

+1

[Nick]

Sack your guitar tech Stu! 35 ain't that old, there are much older guitars out there that are still being worked on especially refrets, hell it's part of a guitar's lot to have the frets replaced more than once during it's life & the truss rod to be adjusted, that's why they make them adjustable.
There's a lot of info out there on the net to answer your questions but as others suggested, you can't beat a good book on the subject. Cumpiano/Natelson's "Guitarmaking tradition and technology" is always a good start.

[Allen]

My local library has at least 6 really good books on building acoustics. Read them all at least a couple of times and even now still get one out every once in a while to troll through the pages because there is always something that didn't really make sense a while ago, but can sometimes pick out a new method or trick.

LMI carry Robbie O'Briens steel string guitar DVD. It really is an excellent walk through of the entire building process. He is using one of their unserviced kits which means that it's a bunch of wood in approximate dimensions needed for guitar building. No reason at all to get a kit unless you want though.

As far as joining tops and backs, I use the tape tent method. I join them up thicker than required, approximately 4 mm and once glued I give them a quick clean up on the drum sander. Install the rosette and then finish thicknessing them. Same goes for the back except for the rosette of course.

I build with a 15' radius on the back (dome) and 25' on the top. No other reason that I picked those numbers other than it seemed to be the most common numbers others were using at the time I built my radius dishes.

Hope that's enough to get you started.

[kiwigeo]

Doming of the top and putting it under stress can also enhance the tone of the instrument.

[needsmorecowbel]

Cheers, that is really helpful. Yeah my technician seems to know his stuff on electrics but got all freaked out and worried when i pulled out the acoustic...haha. This was just a preliminary thing to get onto a few good sources that you guys have found useful in your building. I will check out the tutorial section and those books!

Thanks heaps guys and gals,

Stu