Story and Clarke Piano sound board ready to cut into guitar tops

These tops start like this after the piano is disassembled. This piano, according to the serial number was produced in the year 1911. The sound board was made from red spruce of varying grain widths. The issues I face with this type of material are that the boards used during original construction (of these pianos) were sometimes off the quarter and always three to four inches wide. Run out is not really considered and the sound board on the whole is about 8mm thick. On the other hand, this is well seasoned red spruce. I have made three guitars with this material and the sound quality has been great.

Top layout

Finding the top within the old sound board

Top cut out

Here the top is cut out readed for thicknessing

Peices

Some of the long boards are thickened along with the tops

The four tops

Got four tops from one and a half sound boards.

Hand planing

I use a scrub plane to start with then a jac plane and then a 4 smoother. Finally number 7 joiner

Ready for thicknessing sander

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Altering the Guitar Mold

The guitar that I am building here is loosely based on a Gibson L-1, 0, or 00. I have made five of these before and have been quite satisfied with the look, sound and playability. These two guitars are going to be cut-away types so I have had to alter the rib frame mold. A piece of thick oak, a dowel, a thread box and matching tap and this is what I came up with.

One back joined with holly strip

Back from my luthier freind Mitch Keown who graciously let me use his thickness sander

Thicknessed and center seam shot

Center seam glued up

Ready to cut peices for X bracing

Mapping out the rosette

Binding the sides

Base side first

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With the arrival of wood and supplies the fun stuff begins. This guitar will be made from Indian rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck and red spruce top from a piano sound board. The top finish will be a dark sunburst. We have decided on holly for binding. The holly will be set off by the dark rosewood and the dark burst.