Official Luthiers Forum!

I just wanted to pass on a tip about an inexpensive gadget that I use to take the lines, or trace the body shape of a guitar. The gadget starts out as a run of the mill carpenter's pencil. I cut a 2 to 3 inch section and then (very carefully!) use a sharp 1/4" chisel to gently break the seams of the cedar on the pencil, splitting it in half length-wise. A slip here can cause some amount of bleeding, so probably it is not a good living room sort of operation!

I then use one layer of black electical tape to cover the graphite core and then I use sand paper to to put a chisel point on the pencil. The pencil can then be held against the side of a guitar without marring finish and you will get an accurate tracing without having to worry about a wobbly pencil.

A couple of photos as it takes longer to type this description that it does to actually make one!


The pencil.


Side view of the pencil.


Pencil in use on old Stella.

I am in the process of taking the lines off of a circa 1920's Stella Parlor guitar that I own. This is a pencil drawing that will include bracing patterns for both the back and the top. Not as fancy as the plans here at the OLF, but there will be enough data to build a reasonable facsimile of an old ladder braced parlor. I should be ready to have reproductions made (diazo printing) in a couple of weeks. If anyone is interested in a copy, please PM me with a snail mail address, just put Stella in the subject line and I'll get one to you. Enjoy!

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Good tip. That same pencil is what I used to mark my nut. I cut mine in the band saw, and used a SureForm plane to put a wedge on it. Finished with sandpaper. Works great. I left mine full length though which wouldn't be as good for marking a body shape.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Now why didn't I think of that?! Good tip!

The flattened pencil works great for getting a rough line on the nut. Also just wanted to let any one interested in a copy know that the plan is gratis! I've been given a lot by this site's community and it is a small way to give a little back! And for the cad folks, you will notice that the pencil is duly barcoded, bringing this technique into the digital age!

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Old trick, that.....

Now, toss that paper and start again, this time with the guitar face-down on the paper. Tracing the outline like you did gives you an exaggerated lengthwise outline, due to the sides' taper, front to back....

Jim Buddy I forgot to get a tracing of that very cool Stella at the A2G so would you mind making one for me please?

Many thanks bro!!!

edit: I just read Mario's post - could my tracing be buns up please?

Since we're talking of tracing, are there any tricks to getting a good tracing of side profiles?

Grumpy--

You are absolutely correct on positioning the body. On this Stella, the difference is 3/16", but on larger guitars and guitars with more 'rocker', the difference will be even larger. Change is noted!

Hesh--

You'll have a tracing in the mail in a week or so. What I am finding difficult to believe, given the bio thread and our age demographic, is that no one has ran with the wobbly pencil theme. Seems like there's a 12-bar blues in it somewhere.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Thanks Jim my friend - I can't comment on the age demographic thing since you are way older than I am.........

(does this mean that I don't get a tracing now or that the package may contain a baggie with dog droppings? )