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It's not a lot of trouble at all. It's simpler than carving a top. Beyond that, though, you can't get the right look by simply carving the top. You would have to make a VERY thin back, and then you would never have a nice, even thickness around the top. It would look a bit goofy.

It depends on how many guitars Suhr is making per month.

I'm going to assume it's more than a few...in which case they will have most likely made a matched set of heated aluminum compression dies with moisture injection built into them to do the pre-bend....and then possibly a vacuum press in the gluing stage....but I doubt that too.

A perfect vacuum can only produce about 14.5 p.s.i. which, in a production environment, isn't enough to make an engineer happy about the consistency of the bond itself, much less, an even glue line. I've determined, through empirical tests, that 200-250 p.s.i. WILL guarantee an even glue line. You could only apply 250 p.s.i. with a hydraulic press. So I expect Suhr uses a press to glue these bodies with a form fitting die....something like what I made here to glue body panels.

The way I carve my tops will easily reveal an uneven glue line so I needed to determine the guaranteed amount of pressure to control that line. I did series of test panels and cuts on some 2.5" x 6" pieces to determine that. I made this press after I determined that and after I hired an engineer to determine how much those plates will flex under 160,000 pounds of pressure.....twice the needed amount. Creating a form fitting die to attach to the upper plate of this press would be simple enough. I built this press with the ability to do that very thing. So...Suhr is probably using something like this to glue these bodies.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

Stuart, That is incredible work you did on making that press. You would absolutely laugh at my press. but it gets job done I might add. I don't think vacuum pressure would be enough to press that bend down nor do I think it would be enough to press the veneer top to the body very reliably either, even with the kerfs. Vacuum bagging is great for flat joints and thin veneers though.

I wanted to get a two part mold made for my archtop laminates but could never find anyone who could do it for me. Do you ever offer your services>?

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Ken