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Hi There. I am a high school student.(18) about to go to college. I had this Idea of making a guitar over my summer break. I own two guitars. One I bought at a flea market. The other I bought from a neighbor. They are both classical guitars. They are not high end guitars tough. They're made in Japan and are probably more than 30 years old. One is a "Bruno Ventura" the other a "Crown Professional".


So I want to make a Flamenco guitar and dont know where to start. My goal is to make a Flamenco blanca. I take a Drafting class so I might be able to design a plan for the guitar. It will be based off the other ones except for a slimmer neck and different tonewood.

I need help on either starting with a Kit or Starting from scratch. And If I do start from scratch I would like to know what woods should I use and exactly what tools would I need.
I have alot of tools in the garage but none like a bandsaw.
I will ask about the process of making it later once I get everything I need.

Also: Is there by any chance any "Oud" players in here. Im really interested in buying one or making one too. I saw a Lute soeone made in here it looked nice. Specially the soundhole.

Anyways thanks.


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Welcome to OLF, Black. I would suggest that you post your question at the main guitar building forum. I know that there are several folks who do build flamenco guitars but since this sub forum is dedicated to kits they may not check here.

Get them to explain to you the differences between a standard classical and one built specifically for flamenco music (I know in general but have never built one). I do know that they are typically braced lighter, the back and sides are often cypress, the action is higher and they have special plastic protective plates on the top. Once you understand the differences you could contact LMI who does make several classical kits and modify it accordingly.

I'm a great believer in building a kit for your first guitar - some of the tasks that require special tools are done for you (bending sides, mitering the fretboard, shaping the neck and bridge). The LMI "kit wizard" lets you customize your kit - letting them do the things that you don't want to tackle on your first one. Here is a link to the kit wizard

https://www.lmii.com/products/mostly-wo ... kit-wizard

Go to the bottom of the page where it says "start here". Here is a typical classical kit - this is just a starting point, you can modify any part of it

https://www.lmii.com/index.php?option=c ... KitID=2051

And to give you an idea of whats involved in building it, here is an LMI classical that I build for my son - this was the second guitar that I had built and he still plays it today after about 6 years

http://www.kitguitarsforum.com/archives ... 82_0_9_0_C

http://www.kitguitarsforum.com/archives ... 86_0_6_0_C

As far as Oud players, I just watch in amazement what David Lindley can do with one. However, there is another lutherie forum and I happened to find this, be sure to watch the video

http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1992

Good luck with your building and playing - let us know how we can help.

Hi Black, and welcome to the forum. I play and build flamenco guitars. Freeman provided some good advice, above. I would also suggest that you get ahold of a flamenco guitar plan. They are available through the Guild of American Luthiers. I would also strongly recommend Joining the GAL. You can do both through their website. LMI also has some. I currently use a modified version of Roy Courtnall's plan for a 1930 Santos Hernandez from LMI. I will write another post later with responses to some of your other questions.

Best wishes,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Regarding woods you'll need for a flamenco blanca: for back and sides the preponderant choice is Mediterranean Cypress. However there are a number of other possibilities, including Monterrey Cypress, Port Orford Cedar (Lawson Cypress), Black Cherry and Maple to mention a few. The neck, foot block, heel block and back bracing should probably be Spanish Cedar or, alternatively, Mahogany. The fingerboard is usually African (Gaboon) Ebony, but any number of hard dense woods such as other ebonies and rosewoods will work (albeit with a less traditional look). Sitka Spruce is good for top bracing, although Lutz Spruce works very well too. For the top I would recommend Englemann Spruce. Lutz and European Spruce would be good but more expensive alternatives. The most traditional choices for bridge, bindings and headstock veneer would be East Indian Rosewood. There are any number of alternatives here depending on your taste, availability and cost.

I would recommend getting one or more good books on guitar building. If I was going to start with just one it would probably be "Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology" by Cumpiano and Natelson. It is readily available and provides a lot of info' an methods and tools.

I hope that helps some. As other questions arise this forum provides a wealth of knowledge and experience to help you along.

Good luck,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan