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This is my first build, so be gentle. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning, so that's where I'll start.

I have already joined the top (AAAA Western Red Cedar) and back (Sinker Mahogany) but didn't take any photos of that process. I used LMI white glue.

I just built myself a proper workbench for woodworking projects, especially instrument building.

Here's a pic with my son sitting on it.



Here's another with my homemade shooting board.

I need to thickness the top, back, and sides next. A friend of mine is Making me a bending iron using a CNC machine at work out of some solid 3" aluminum stock. Here's a pic of the first part he made.



I have some Sitka to cut for bracing, and since I don't have a band saw, I'm going to have to figure out how I'm going to pull that off.

I'll post more as it happens. I am in need of a lot of tools, but my birthday is towards the end of this month, and there's nothing but stuff from Woodcraft, LMI, and Home Depot on my wish list.





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Well... you've got my attention there!

As for the brace wood, if your piece looks like it has straight grain you could try to split it close to size first, and then plane it to final size, although that might result in a lot of loss of material (and if the grain isn't very straight then forget about it you'll just be wasting the wood). If you're handy with a handsaw you could try using that. Draw lines of where you want to make the cut and follow them as best as you can, then clean/straighten it up with a plane.

Although, the sides of your benchtop look like they were run through a tablesaw... you could use that too.

Hope this helps

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Not much but at least it exists : http://jbluthier.com/

Thanks Joel.

The sides of the bench top are the finished sides of the 4'x8' MDF I used. I cut it in half with a circular saw, then wood glued the two halves and put several screws in it to really lock them into place. I don't have a table saw. I do have some friends and family who do, it's just a matter of finding time to get some time on one of them.

The grain on the brace wood looks pretty straight, though I never thought of splitting it by hand...


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I started a thread asking for advice on splitting brace wood by hand and, as always, got some good advice. I had two pieces of Sitka 2"x1"x~22" that I got from RC Tonewoods and I used a hatchet and a hammer to split it.

Here's what I ended up with:



The first billet (if it was big enough to call it that) had a lot of run out, but I got all my finger braces out of it thanks to one end that was pretty free of runout, as far as I could tell. The second didn't have any run out that I could find and I have both X braces and the tone bars, as well as some of the bracing for the upper bout.

I also got a couple of new planes. I got a 9" smoothing plane and a little 3" plane from a local hardware store. I'm going to have to really educate myself on the setup and usage of the smoother plane. The only plane I had used before getting these two was a block plane, so the differences in setup and adjustment are new to me.
The little 3" plane did a really nice job taking material off of the brace wood, and I tested it out on some a second set of cedar top wood I bought in case my first attempt at a top fails. Best $8.97 I ever spent!



I have not cut the rosette channel out yet. I have a birthday this month, and if I bought the tool for it instead of waiting for my birthday, my wife would kill me.

More to come.


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I've worked some on thicknessing the top, back, and sides by hand with planes recently. Hope to have the necessary tools to cut the rosette by the weekend.

Here are some pics. Sorry about the lighting.

Top


Back


More to come, hopefully soon.


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Looking good. I build my first three missing tools I think essential now. I also thickness my first plates with a block plane, scraper and sanding block. They came out OK.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Good to know, John. My birthday is tomorrow and the only things I asked for are woodworking tools, so hopefully I'll be able to make some real progress.

I also got a set of tracings of a pre-war OO from Blues Creek and that will help with laying out the back bracing.


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I also started my first with out all the tools I needed. As a table saw I bought a really old one for $20 on craigslist. The fence was a pain but it was better than nothing. After finishing the first one I got the bug and started buying up wood and tools. Most of the tools I have I got them on craigslist like new for less than half the cost to buy new. They aren't on there all the time but I check every morning to see what's new. It awesome that your not going to let your lack of tools keep you from getting started.
You will do well!!!!!!!!

OOOO that top is going to be nice!! I live in Western Red Cedar country and I can tell you these are beautiful trees. There was some blow down from last winter in a local provincial park that I badly wanted to use for a guitar build but the Parks guys said there was no way I'd be allowed to take any out. On the plus side they used the section they had to cut to clear the trail for stairs and bridges, it smelled great. It was at least 8 feet around at the base and I walked on the trunk way into the forest until I started hitting limbs, it was epic!