page 3
Determine the center of the neck block and tail block and
draw centerlines in pencil on their outer faces (their gluing
surfaces) and on the tops and bottoms of the blocks.
Place the bent sides on the flat workboard to approximate
the shape of your guitar. The top of your guitar will be facing
down (either edge of the sides can be used as top or back).
One at a time, glue the sides to the neck and tail block. No
trimming to length is necessary; simply butt the ends tightly
together on the centerlines penciled on the blocks.
Throughout these instructions we will use clamping “cauls” to
protect the wood from clamp marks, and to apply even pres-
sure over a glue joint. The outer (gluing) surface of the neck
block is flat, so use a flat caul when you clamp it. However,
the tail block is radiused. The simplest clamping caul for
squeezing the sides against the radiused tail block is a scrap
of 1/4" plywood or wall paneling as the outer curved caul,
and a scrap wood caul on the backside of the tail block.
The neck block and tail block have beveled corners on their
inner sides. The inner backing caul at the tail block should be
wider than the block itself so the clamps put pressure where
it’s needed to pull the sides into the curve
(1)
. The 1/4" outer
caul, being longer than the block, flexes and forms the sides
to the block. A layer of wax paper between the sides and the
caul will keep them from being glued together accidentally.
During gluing, the neck block and tail-block should rest flat
on the work surface, and flush with the face down top edge
of the sides. A weighted block of wood laid across the sides
helps keep them flat on the table during gluing.
TIP: Use a glue brush
Applying glue with a brush eliminates most of the
glue squeeze-out because the brush spreads just
the right amount of glue. We use are flux brushes,
inexpensive hardware store items used in plumb-
ing. Or, you can spread the glue with your finger!
After the neck and tail blocks are installed and the glue has
dried, use a 9/32" drill bit to drill through the sides to open
up the neck block’s bolt holes. Clamp a piece of scrap wood
over the sides before drilling to minimize tear-out as the bit
breaks through the fragile side wood.
Assembling the body
Gluing the sides to the neck block and tail block
1.
The simplest clamping caul for squeezing the sides against the
radiused tail block is a scrap of 1/4" plywood or wall paneling as the
outer curved caul, and a wooden caul on the backside of the tail
block.
