Official Luthiers Forum!

I read on a past post that a 1/8 pc of ply and another 1/8 pc of solid wood was used for a top making her 1/4 in. If this is the case, what's the right way to glue on the solid pc? I've heard of using a vacume press, but they are expensive to buy. Could you just glue it together w/lots of weight? And what about the sides and back? Laminated ply also? Plywood has glue in it, so how do you bend without using water?
Dave

You can glue flat ply (or veneer) to flat wood just using clamps and a caul. That's how I veneered the back of this solidbody uke. Ply will usually bend a little in one direction anyway, so I have found that for guitar tops it's not a problem even if they have an angle in them. I glue the top to the sides first and then glue the ply reinforcement to the underside of the top. It may not be the best way but it works for me.

When it comes to sides I use thin modellers' ply (about 1.5mm) and laminate several pieces together in the mould. Again it will bend OK in one direction, so you have to make sure you get a piece that will bend lengthways rather than widthways. That's the way I form biscuit bridge soundwells too. I've tried using "bendable plywood" that you can buy under various brands but I've never been able to get the curves tight enough without it breaking.

Well, that last post was me, but for some reason the board decided to kick me off in the middle of posting and wouldn't upload the picture. So here it is ...

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Pete
http://www.petewoodmanguitars.com