Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi, I am Kevin from TN. I have asked this question privately, b/c I am new to the trade and just getting started. So, one of the guys on the forum suggested that I ask this 'out loud' rather than privately. He thought many other novice luthiers might find the same problem.
So, here it goes: How does one get the blueprint drawing from the paper to the template (wood or plexiglass)?

Mine for example, has drawings on the back side and cutting out one side would destroy the print, let alone the back side. As many that would answer would be great, the more the better. Hope I have not confused anybody.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

First, welcome to the OLF! You've found the right place to learn tons about making guitars and other stringed instruments, but mostly guitars. The folks on here are very helpful indeed, as you'll find out shortly.

To make templates from a plan, I take the dimensions from the drawing and then with R.M. Mottola's "G-Thang" program make a dxf file of the required guitar outline, then import the dxf into Corel Draw, tweek it if necessary, then send it to my laser engraving machine where I cut the required template out of 0.25" thick clear acrylic.

If I didn't have all this technology at my disposal, I'd get a large sheet of tracing paper (from any decent art supplies store), trace the outline carefully onto it, then using the tracing and some Saral graphic transfer paper (also from any decent art supplies store) and a tracing stylus (from Stewmac and many other places), mark the outline onto the chosen template material, then using a bandsaw with a 1/8" or 1/4" blade, or a large scroll saw, or even a good quality jig saw, cut out the template, smooth its edges, and voila, done! S'easy!

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

the way i have done it is to make a copy of my blueprint, cut it out and double side tape it to a piece of plywood, etc., and then cut and sand down to the line. you can then use that template with a flush trim bit to make your mold, form, etc.

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sweat the small stuff.

I trace the drawing with large tracing paper. You can find it at some craft shops. Or you can get sewable tracing paper at fabric shops. It used to make dress patterns. This stuff comes in wide and long rolls. Then i take the tracing and use a 3m spray adhesive and give the back of the tracing a light misting and let it dry for about 10 minutes then stick it to the material I'm using for a template. Plywood, MDF or acrylic. Then i cut it out then smooth and even the edges with a spindle sander and some hand sanding. The light misting of the paper makes it tacky and not really that sticky. It makes it so it can be peeled off pretty easy instead of having to sand it off. I want to add I use the band saw or my scrollsaw to cut it out. I actually prefer to do it on the scrollsaw since it can handle tighter angles and radius's then the bandsaw. I do mandolins more then guitars and its great for the F holes. A hand held jig saw works well too...Mike

Hi Kevin and welcome to the OLF!

You know nothing says that you have to make and use a template... I have never used templates and although I will admit that a template is going to be much more rugged over time and repeated use if you just want to get your guitar started the template can come later.

I cut out small pieces of the plan at the brace intersections or where the braces need to go, tape the plan over the joined top or back, mark the intersections and locations through the holes that I made, remove the plan and put it away for another day and then play connect the dots on my top. It's fast, easy, cheap, and probably as accurate as a template since the plans can move when you make your template from them too. I move my own braces around a bit too so the plan's locations are a reference for me and not the goal.





I hope that this helps and welcome aboard!

Kevin...welcome to the OLF. I have just traced out my patterns onto bristol board (card stock??) and cut out where the braces and such go. I find it works well and if you're not making large amounts of guitars it only gets a bit of wear since it's used maybe a couple of times a year - depending on the types and numbers of guitars you're making, of course.

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Jamie M

Kevin, I took my plans to Kinko's and had them copy the sides I needed on their big copier - I used the copied parts to make bending mold and outside mold templates etc. This way I keep the original plans intact. It cost maybe $6-8.

Steve

It probably is not the best idea to have your plan copied and use that, unless you are sure of the accuracy of the machine being used. Most blueprint sized copiers have a margin of error.

I also like using clear acrylic for templates. I get thin (~3/32") stuff from Home Depot. I'll cut a rectangular piece slightly larger than one side of the body, then run the centerline edge through the jointer. I then tape the plastic to my plans, and trace the body outline, as well as any other pertinent cuvilinear aspects -- bridge, soundhole, etc. Then I scribe all my bracing locations, top and back, bridgeplate, as well as blocking, just for reference. I then remove the acrylic, bandsaw and sand the profile. Then I'll drill small holes at each corner of the braces, and notch little "v's" into the edges where braces extend to the edges of the template. Last but not least, I'll etch "T" and "B" into each brace location just to avoid confusion.

I wind up with a template with all pertinent information marked into it, which I can then transfer to my material through the drill holes and notches.

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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

I simply put tracing paper on a piece of 1/4 ply or luan (Cheap)....pin/tape down plans. put a couple books on the interior to help keep it flat and use a red pen to trace the outlines. Red pen tells me where I've traced. I usually do the outline and brace pattern tracing on heavy tracing vellum too....because the plans are Big and I can trim down my vellum copies to keep in my miniature shop area. The vellum is translucent so you don't need tracing paper to copy from original pattern.
I would also beware of copy machine. I do hundreds of copies every year with designs and reduction in size is very common. I deal with architects and designers and blue print details I can only verify size by using actual dimensions. Even VERY Slight reductions can create layout problems.
Welcome to the forum...This is THE PLACE for building info.

Kent

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

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I also copy the plans then cut out parts to use for templates which I make by using some 3M spray adhesive to attach the pattern to 1/8" plywood. This is a big no-no in the engineering world but just be sure to check the dimensions on the copy and correct any errors before cutting your template. I use my outside mold to determine the body shape no matter what the plan says. Some parts of the guitar I just layout directly using the measurements.

Once I settle on a design for a particular model then I'll probably make up a set of polycarbonate templates as Todd recommends.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

To get lines directly on the wood without gluing a paper template on, I use tracing paper and draw on both sides of the paper. It takes a little time, trace the pattern on the tracing paper, then turn the tracing paper over and trace on the back side, then put the tracing paper on the wood and trace it again, the pencil marks on the back side of the tracing paper make decent lines on the wood. It is real easy to position the clear template on the wood, but it will only be as good as your tracing by hand is.
Rob

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You guys are awesome. Keep those ideas coming. I would like to thank Todd Stock for introducing me to this wonderful, helpful and kind forum.
Kevin