SIMSCal
Stringed Instrument Makers of Southern California
Course Information for Students in the 2012 SIMSCal Classical Guitarmaking Class
Welcome to the 2012 SIMSCal classical guitarmaking course.  For this course we will be building a nylon string, classical guitar in the Spanish tradition.  The instrument will be built using a workboard called a solera.  In this manner the guitar is built "upside down" with the top, or soundboard, clamped face down on the solera.  To this will be joined the neck and heel. The sides, once bent to the proper shape, will be fitted into slots which have been cut into the heel block portion of the neck.  Once the top, sides, and neck are joined (and all of the bracing carved and profiled, and the kerfed linings glued in place) the back is fitted and glued in place. Only then is the guitar unclamped from the solera/  This process is quite different from the typical method used in building a steel string acoustic guitar, where the top, sides and back are all joined and fitted inside a mold and the neck is attached later using either a dovetail or tenon fitting into the completed body.

While students may acquire their materials from the vendor or source of their choosing, we suggest for a first guitar they purchase a “kit” from Luthiers Mercantile www.lmii.com   Each LMI “kit” bundles, at a discounted price, all of the raw material wood and hardware necessary to build a complete guitar.  While the “traditional” Spanish guitar consists of a spruce soundboard, rosewood back and sides, Spanish cedar neck, and ebony fingerboard, students can customize their kits with options of different woods for soundboards, backs and sides, neck woods, etc.  Purchasing materials via the kit not only provides a discounted price, but also insures each student will have all of the materials he or she will require to build a complete instrument.

Students will also need to acquire a minimum number of hand tools (chisels, files/rasps, rulers, utility knife, scrapers, razor saw, etc.) for use both in the classroom as well as for certain procedures which can be completed at home.  A complete list of suggested/recommended tools will be provided to each student.

All power tools used in the course, including table saw, router, drill press, bandsaw, and thickness sander are available for the students use in the classroom setting.  All students will be instructed on the safety procedures and proper use of each tool and required to sign a liability waiver.  Copies of the general shop safety rules and the liability waiver are included below.  These documents should be printed out by each student and brought to the first class.

      •   Shop Safety Rules
      •   Safety Waiver
      •   Liability Waiver
      •   SIMSCal Property Loan Agreement

For 2012, we will be building a guitar based on the current, present-day plantilla and bracing pattern of José Romanillos.  Plans for this instrument are not commercially available.  As such, all of the necessary templates, dimensions, jigs and specifications will be provided for student use in the class.  A plan for the 1973 (ex. Julian Bream) Romanillos guitar is available from LMI.  While the exact dimensions and other specifics differ somewhat from the instrument we will be building in class (we do not use this plan or any other commercially available plan for the class), students might find it a useful reference to understand the principles of his design

For their use during the course, each student will be issued, a solera specifically prepared for the Romanillos style guitar.   These soleras are the property of SIMSCal and must be returned at the end of the class.  Integrated into the design of each solera is a go-bar deck and associated fiberglass go-bar rods which will be utilized during the gluing and clamping of the various braces as shown below.












Course Outline

The following is a tentative outline of the steps and procedures we will follow during the 15 sessions of the 2012 SIMSCal Classical Guitarmaking course.  As each student will work at his or her own pace and comfort level, and depending on one's ability to perform certain tasks at home between sessions, I expect that after the first session or two, not all students will be at the same point.  As such, the following should be viewed primarily as a guideline to the sequence of the steps to be performed rather than specific points in time. 

  • Review of safety procedures and tools and jigs that will be used in the class.  Overview of the course, discussion of the properties and characteristics of tonewoods and their grading.
  • Prepare and join soundboard halves.
  • Rout channel in joined soundboard for rosette and glue in place.
  • Thickness sand soundboard, trace body outline template and brace locations, cutout soundhole and trim top to size.
  • Prepare and dimension all top braces, bridge patch, fingerboard patch, soundhole stiffeners and harmonic bars.
  • Place soundboard on solera and glue patches and fan braces in place using the go-bar deck.
  • Profile all braces.
  • Prepare tunnel openings in harmonic bars and glue/clamp in place.
  • Profile harmonic bars.
  • Make lock down clamp and bridge patch caul and secure soundboard to solera.
  • Prepare neck blank and cut scarf joint for headstock and glue/clamp together.
  • Prepare and glue/clamp headstock veneers and heelblock to neck.  
  • Cut/rout headstock to final shape.
  • Position tuner location on headstock and rout headstock openings for strings and drill holes for tuners.
  • Cut slots in neck/heelblock for sides and wedges using the tablesaw, trim/taper heelblock on bandsaw to make the “Spanish foot”.  Carve heel to finished shape.
  • Rout “shelf” on neck/heelblock assembly to fit neck to soundboard, glue in place and clamp to solera
  • Prepare and join back halves, inserting backstrip if appropriate.
  • Transfer body outline template to back, trim to size (oversize), thickness sand to proper dimensions, and glue back reinforcement strip.
  • Prepare and dimension back braces, radius sand braces, and glue/clamp in place.
  • Profile back braces.
  • Prepare and dimension end block.
  • Prepare and bend sides and bindings/purflings to shape using the side bender jig.
  • Fit and trim/taper sides to soundboard/neck/solera.  Glue in place to neck with wedges and soundboard/endblock.
  • Install kerfed linings to join soundboard and sides, and linings for the sides to back.
  • Using a hollow form radius dish, sand back linings, Spanish foot, and endblock to conform to radius of back.
  • Position the back, trim/chisel openings in back bindings for fitting back braces.
  • Glue/clamp back in place.
  • Remove guitar from solera.
  • Rout channels for bindings and purflings, glue/tape in place.  Prepare end graft, cut channel and glue in place.
  • Prepare and thickness sand fingerboard.  Cut fret slots.
  • Taper fretboard to final dimensions, cut/trim to fit around soundhole and glue/clamp in place.
  • Trim excess material from neck.  Rout flush to profile of fretboard.  Taper back of neck and carve/shape to finished profile.
  • Level sand fretboard and install frets.  Level and trim/dress all frets.
  • Prepare bridge blank.  Cut and profile to shape, drill string holes, radius sand bottom of bridge to radius of the soundboard.
  • Locate and position bridge in place with registration pins.  At this point the bridge may either be glued/clamped in place or removed so guitar finish may be more easily applied.
  • Prepare nut and saddle
  • Final setup will be dependent on whether you install the bridge and string up the guitar before the finish is applied, or after finish is applied. 

** You may or may not complete all of the above steps during the 15 sessions of the course.  Following completion of the course we will offer several "open shop" sessions throughout the summer months where you can continue or complete any unfinished tasks along with access to the instructor(s).  Although we will discuss issues of intonation and finishing of the instrument during the course, it is expected that these final steps will be completed outside of the course, or during the "open shop" times that may be scheduled.


Pre-Course Preparation – Recommended Reading

While we will not be following any one specific construction method, any of the following books will be helpful in understanding certain of the procedures you will be performing as you build your guitar.

  • Making Master Guitars - Roy Courtnall (a bit pricey, but excellent reference)
  • Classical Guitar Making, a Modern Approach to Traditional Design - John Bodanovich
  • Guitarmaking Tradition and Technology - William Cumpiano


2012  Class Dates: 15 Tuesdays

    January  17, 24, 31
    
     February  7, 21, 28

     March 6, 13, 20, 27

     April10, 17, 24

     May           1, 8


I hope that this will be a challenging, but rewarding and fun class for all, and that we each are able to learn from one another.  As the instructor, I will be showing you my approach to the various facets of the construction process, but welcome discussion of alternative approaches, pros and cons, etc.

Bill