Official Luthiers Forum!

New forum member and owner of my first (scary) attempt at a LMI Hauser kit (sides bent-back/front joined/neck carved) still in box looking out at me. Video with kit was good basic info. but leaves this kit and some other big questions unanswered. It's obvious I need a (classical guitar construction) book before I start in. Any suggestions? I see MANY books available, but don't have the money to buy 5 books to get started. Looks to me like I need multiple glues for this....but most of what I read are that titebond works OK and LMI has a guitar glue also. Video doesn't discuss purflings/binding glue different than what was used on the guitar itself. ??????
I am a master woodcarver of 30+years and am a classical player of 40 years (not a performer) and have carved incise and relief in musical instruments for over 30 years. I have a good basic knowledge of woods and characteristics. One of my big questions (outside a starter classical book) is altering my Hauser plans. My old, worn out stubby fingers require I play a cutout. Even though I ordered bent sides on this Hauser kit, my mind thinks there should be a way to cut the top section of a side and invert it into a cutaway. I realize this will not be a bent detail and will require corner bracing to join the sides and also a unique detail to transition into the neck on the cutout side. Any ideas on this?....OR is this a bad idea?
I'm not really planning on guitar #2.....but if the consensus is that I put this kit together AS IS and get a feel for the building process and THEN look into a cutout option later with some experience....then I'll do so. I seem to always look for a challenge with the easiest of projects.
I've already enjoyed the inlay tips in the forum. My kind of fun!
Bailey
www.kabart.com

_________________
Wood Creations by Kent A. Bailey
EXCELLENCE IN SCULPTURE, CARVING, LUTHIER, ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK AND DESIGN

http://www.kabart.com

Bailey,

I sent you a PM with more details.

I strongly suggest you check out Bill Cory's book on building guitars from kits. It is a very thorough step-by-step guide. Your guitar being a classical will be slightly different in terms of construction (his book is steel string centric), but I will give you a lot of the background you need to get over your fears.

When I started my first kit less than a year ago, I was pretty much paralyzed with fear, and it kept me from making progress, and cost me a lot of money. At one point I finally made a serious mistake... and after reflecting on it, I finally relaxed and just decided that I was going to go for it, and not let the fear of messing up keep me from learning how to build a guitar.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Jim

_________________
Jim Hansen

The Bogdanovich book seems very good.

_________________
"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

http://www.classicalandflamencoguitars. ... uitar3.htm


There is a great full tutorial online for classical guitar, I think this is it.

_________________
Here is what a Parlor Guitar is for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEa8PkjO6_I

The "Build a Classical Guitar with Robert O'Brien" DVD will give you step by step instructions for building an LMI kit (serviced on unserviced). With that video and this forum you can get it done.

I have about five different books on classical construction and I use ideas from each.

Making Master Guitars by Courtnall is the book I turn to most for reference on methods and hard numbers for layout and dimensions.

The Bogdanovich book was very inspirational, but I have moved away from most of his methods.

There is no way you can make just one so save the cutaway for next time!!!!!


Good luck!

_________________
http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Bailey,

Congratulations on purchasing the kit. Watch the DVD and ask lots of questions here and you will be fine.

Happy Building!

Hi Bailey!

Welcome to the fold!
I just completed my first build with the same starting point as you - an LMI serviced Hauser (see my post in the Kit Building 101 section on this forum). With your woodworking experience it will be a breeze.
There is lots to learn, however there are many ways to get it done - do the research before each step and pick the one that makes sense.
Personally, I used 4 references - this forum, Robbie's excellent DVD, the Cumpiano book and the Bogdanovitch book. The only "right" way is the one that works for you, the builder...

You have already found the best resource for guitar building right here, there isn't a problem you will face with the kit that someone here hasn't already faced. Don't be afraid to ask. Check your local library for guitar building books they often have some.

Fred

_________________
Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Bailey,

Sorry I don't have a recommendation that will help building a classical. Just want to say that Stephan Boone built his first not that long ago and is now on 2 or 3 or 4 (or some other ridiculous number <smile>). Anyhow, I would consider his advise since he just went through this so his advise is based on recent publishings etc.

Good luck and keep us informed on what is happening.

_________________
Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I must admit I have always been full of admiration for you guys who start these kits or scratch on your own with just a boo/video for comfort and guidance! I am lucky in getting mentored by a great pro builder, although it means I only a get 2 hour session a week and it took 14 months! But free use of tools and huge volume of advice makes it far less scary a prospect - But as you have so much fun (and frustration) I'd say just go for it - from the sound of it your woodworking skills should be a big advantage.

Bailey -

Welcome! It sounds like you have more than enough woodworking experience to be successful from the git-go. Many of us here built a guitar first with very little other experience (of course, we are the ones who make the most extreme mistakes, probably).

Any number of glues are good for the entire build. Many a guitar has been built using Titebond exclusively. The LMI white glue also works well. Hide glue can be used for everything (but takes some practice because of short open times), and fish glue is a popular substitute for hide with the benefit (or drawback) of a much longer open time. One of the first deviations from the all-around approach is to use epoxy for the fretboard/neck joint, to avoid the use of a water-based product and resulting potential warpage.

Books - Several books contain the basic construction info for classical - I'd look at Bogdanovich first (and it's cheap). Cumpiano and Natelson contains more detail but I find the switching back and forth from steel to classical to be jarring. Courtnall has a great deal more about the culture and history of the instrument, along with a few bizarre construction techniques that won't get in your way on a serviced kit. (I can't understand why he cuts fret slots at the stage of construction that he does.) All books are a tad short on detailed info about setup - there is still room for someone to do this better in the context of a book.

Cutaways - Rare in the classical world. I think it would be fine to build one for personal consumption, but that may be the limit of your use for the technique. Elevated fingerboards seem to be more in favor, but that takes a lot of jigging up to
get ready for.

Probably your biggest choice will be the method for finishing the instrument. There are a number of good French Polishers here, so if you want to go that route you shuld have no problem getting questions answered. I find the method to be relaxing and therapeutic myself.

_________________
Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

As one who has taken his sweet time working from my first, then second kit, I can tell you that Todd is correct. Worry more about getting the process down. Learn about jigs and fixtures.

Now, if you are building this as your first and last... well, you may not be entirely pleased with the results. Why? Cause you never did this before. Sometimes, I wish sellers of kits would be more up front about this. These are not "lego" style kits. They just do not snap together.

Frankly, I ruined my first kit. I had salvagable parts left over (neck, FB, top, etc)... but the back and sides were a disaster. I keep it around to remind me. That said, highly "serviced" kits do take a lot of the guess work out. To me, the toughest part was understanding the kerfed lining installation. Buy a mold.

The next hard thing to figure out is how to do the binding edges. How does one get THAT in a serviced kit? And all the shortcuts I have heard people talk about leave the builder less than satisfied. But there are ways that can work. Just ask lots of questions.

And good luck!

Mike