Official Luthiers Forum!

hey all,
sorry to bug you guys with this again but it has me kinda stumped. i am building an om model guitar and i am getting ready to start on the sides. the plans that i am using do not have a side template or say the measurements the guitar needs to be. i was going to measure them myself on another om but the only one i own is a martin om28jm and i really dont wanna risk scratching it with my caliper or taping it. are there plans i can get that provide a template or at least the measurements? thanks to anyone who can help.....brandon.

You know, you don't have to use a caliper, just put your guitar on a piece of poster board, take a sharp pencil, and mark points all the way around the body.  Remove the guitar, and connect the dots, preferably not with straight lines.

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Take a 6 inch by 32 inch strip of tin foil and press it over the sides of your Martin.

Then, mark the neck and tail and cut those with a pair of scissors, off the guitar of course. Then trim the excess along the sides using the impressions on the tinfoil.

Bingo, a perfect template. Tape that to some tempered bath board, I like to use that because it's only 1/8th inch thick and a bunch of templates hang nicely on a nail in the wall.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Tape that to some tempered bath board,

Edit....

then cut out your template and smooth the edges with sandpaper.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

A clothier's measuring tape will do nicely, to.

sweet....thanks for the info. brandon.

hey do any of you do it after the fact? like in the cumpiano book. that was goint to be my next attempt...brandon.