Spanish heel cutaway

[mak009]

Hi

Anyone know of detailed plans/sketches of how the spanish heel works with a cutaway? What I'm asking is how to mate the cutaway curve into the spanish heel block.
A close look at commercial guitars shows various techniques using filler strips etc.

Thanks in advance

mak

[lamanoditrento]

Hi Mak,

It will depend a little on your type of cutaway and your heel shape. But assuming you you are doing a Venetian cutaway with a tapered heel, But basically you are attaching the side to a pre-shaped internal block and then a third piece for next to the heel.

I would be first determining the width of your fretboard at your body join, minus ~2mm for your side (or whatever thickness you bend at) and marking this position on the treble side of your internal block/foot. You then need to draw the curvature of cutaway to meet at this point and then shape that curve so that your side will neatly fit to your bended side.

Doing a taped heel, you will need to think about how you are going to treat triangle on the side of the heel and if you are going to install that first or after you attach the treble side to the foot. Also figuring out how you will be treating the binding arrangement can take some thinking through as either way you will want to hide the endgrain of that treble side join.