Making Your First Guitar
A Tutorial
The following are names and terms I have used within the Making Your First Guitar Tutorial. I feel they are items with which you should be familiar in order to be able to make some of the decisions necessary when building a guitar or other wooden instrument. Additional items will be added, but this should give you a good start!
Please select the first letter of the item about which you wish to know more:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
A
Abalone - a natural shell material occuring in a variety of colors with an irridescent sheen when viewed from different angles. Used as a popluar inlay material in musical instruments.
Acrylic Lacquer - a two-part catalized lacquer popular with some manufacturers of stringed instruments.
Action - the feel of the instrument as determined by the closeness of the strings to the fingerboard (frets) and the ease with which notes and chords can be fretted; influenced by many factors such as the accuracy of the fretwork, flatness of the fingerboard, truss rod adjustment, height of strings at the nut and saddle and the neck angle.
Aliphatic Glues - also called carpenter's glues and come in white or yellowish formulations; an excellent general purpose glue.
Amplitude - the height of the curve, or wave, produced by a vibrating string.
B
Bastard File - a file with a cutting groove in two directions on the surface.
Biscuits - also referred to as "plates"; football-shaped wafers of compressed wood, generally beechwood. A biscuit or plate joiner is used to cut a slot in two adjacent edges of wood into which glue and a biscuit are introduced. The edges are glued, then brought together and clamped. The biscuits line up the edges of the pieces and the compressed wood swells with the moisture of the glue to produce a very strong joint.
Bridge - the bridge, or saddle, is where the string height is adjusted at the body of the instrument and where the strings are usually anchored to the body of the instrument. The term "sadddle" is often used on acoustic guitars while the "bridge" is the term applied to electric guitars. This is not absolute! Height, compensation and string spacing are determined here.
Bubinga - a beautiful, reddish colored wood from the Rosewood family which has gained some popularity in the instrument making field.
Bushing - a sleeve inserted into a hole flush to the outside diameter.
C
CAD - Computer Assisted Design/Drafting
Calipers - a gauge that opens to allow the measurement of a dimension, either internal, external or a depth, etc., from simple to bernier scale, allowing very small and precise measurements.
Carpenter's Glue - white or yellow aliphatic resin glue; good general purpose glue.
Caul - a structure that can be used to support an item while working on it, such as in gluing; or one the shape of a curved fret to back it while it is pressed into a neck (in the context used here).
Chatter - repetitive markings made by a file (and some other tools) as it vibrates during use. Not desirable.
Cocobolo - an exotic wood from Central America and Mexico which has a slightly oily resin, is quite dense and has a beautiful red to yellowish color.
Compass - a device used to scribe out circles or parts of circles.
Compensation - a slight adjustment made at the bridge to "compensate" for the difference in mass between the narrowest gauge string and the heaviest gauge string so that the harmonic will land on the twelfth fret and give proper intonation.
Compound Radius - as applied to fingerboards, has a different radius at the nut than at the opposite end of the neck. The transition from one radius to the other occurs gradually over the length of the neck.
Crown - the top portion of the fret that is curved along its width, above the tang.
Crystalac® - a water based finish becoming popular in luthery as it is non-toxic, cleans up with soap and water and builds quite well, allowing it to be rubbed out.
Cyanoacrylic - commonly known as Krazy Glue® or Super Glue®, it is a glue which dries very quickly, comes in viscosities from water-like to molasses; can be cured with a chemical accelerator; has specific applications in luthery.
D
Dado Head - a table or radial saw blade which has two cutting blades on the outside spaced by an appropriate number of 'chipper' blades between to obtain a particularly wide cut or kerf.
Dowels - wooden pegs of uniform diameter, often with a slotted surface to accomodate glue; driven into equally positioned holes to hold two surfaces together for added strength. Can be used to align and strengthen wings attached to the neck in a thru-the-body designed instrument.
Dremel Tool® - probably the most popular make of what is known as a 'hand rotory tool'. Foredom®, Craftsman®, and numerous other manufacturers make their own version of this handy tool. Very useful for doing fine routing for inlays, small scale grinding, cutting, drilling, polishing, etc., depending on the attachment or 'bit' used.
Dressing - applying an abrasive or polishing material to a cloth or felt wheel in this context.
Dry Fit - temporary assembly of the instrument in order to see if there are any problems not evident in the disassembled state. Making sure all components fit together as planned before you find yourself committed.
E
Epoxy - a two-part glue and catalyst which is very strong; cures from 5 minutes to 24 hours, depending on the variety; is waterproof and sands evenly without gumming up sandpaper.
F
Ferrules - as referred to here are round washer-like inserts that go around a screw head to increase the area, much like a washer does. Countersunk into the wood so that they do not protrude, they are a popular replacement for a neck attachment plate on some instruments.
Figure - the visible pattern of growth in a particular piece of wood which is in addition to the grain. Highly figured woods add an extra dimension to the wood, making it much more interesting. Figures can occur as flames or tiger stripes or as quilting and what is referred to as bear claw. These patterns are highly desirable and command a higher price. Needless to say, they are used in transparent finishes where they can be seen.
Fingerboard - as the name implies, this is the piece of wood, usually quarter sawn, onto which the fingers press the strings to produce notes. Fingerboards can be fretted or fretless. Innovative designs have fanned fret, in which they are not parallel to the centerline of the neck, but make up in compensation before reaching the bridge. The traditional fingerboard woods on guitars and basses are ebony and rosewood, but woods such as Wenge and Pau Faro are gaining popularity. Synthetic phenolic fingerboards are used by some manufacturers.
Finish - the material used to permanently coat and cover the wood of the instrument; used to prevent the unstable and undesirable effects of changing weather and humidity on the wood; to sometimes stiffen the wood; to keep it clean from skin oils and the environment; and to enhance the properties of the wood or decorate the instrument. Finishes can be anything from shellac to lacquers, oils, wax or paints.
Fish Eyes - a term used to describe defects in a finish where due to a surface contaminant, often silicone, the finish is repelled away from the contaminant, leaving a depression in the finish, often mimicking what appears as a "fish eye". Keep your project clean. Don't use lubricants or polishes with silicone in them on your instrument. Washing with naptha may help rid the project of contaminants. A product called, "fish eye flow out" can be added to recover the finish.
Flame - see Figure
Flat Sawn - not sawn on the quarter where the growth rings would be visible from the surface being used, but sawn parallel to the growth rings: ===== rather than |||||||.
Four-O (0000) - the finest grade of steel wool. This can be used in finishing to help cut down a surface or rought it up before applying additional coats of finish. Don't use with water based finishes or small slivers left behind may produce rust spots under the cured finish. Also used in polishing up the frets, etc.
Frets - a "wire" made from a combination of nickel and silver, usually made in a T-shape with the crown on top where the notes are fretted and the bottom portion anchored into the fingerboard.
Fret Slots - slots cut into the fingerboard which will accept the fret tang. Often around 0.22 inches in width.
G
Gassing Out - the process where the volitile solvents carrying a finish diffuse from the curing material until their odour can no longer be detected.
H
Hand Rubbed - as the name implies, using finer and finer abrasive compounds to rub out the lacquer finish until it is brought up to the desired degree of polish.
Headstock - the end of the neck where the tuning pegs are secured. The shape is often a signature of the maker.
Humbucker - a style of magnetic pick up where the windings of the coils run in opposite directions thereby cancelling the electronic hum often associated with single coil pickups.
Hydrocote® - a popular water based finish which has been used on musical instruments.
I
In the White - a term usually associated with violin making, refers to the finished instrument, assembled but without any finish on it.
J
Jeweler's Rouge - a fine abrasive compound, usually available in sticks or bars which is applied to a cloth/felt wheel and used to buff a metal up to a high shine.
K
Krazy Glue® - Trademark name for one of the first commercially available cyanoacrylic glues. Bonds instantly. Now availible from numerous manufacturers and comes in several grades of viscosity. An accellerator can be applied to create an instant cure.
L
Luthier - one who builds stringed instruments.
M
Mahogany - a popular hardwood often used in stringed musical instrument construction, both in solid body and acoustic.
Masonite - a pressed fiber material sold in sheets. A popular thickness is a quarter of an inch and is ideal for making templates, patterns and jigs. Inexpensive and is easily cut with both saws and knives.
Metallic Hardeners - added to finishes such as tung oil in order to speed up the drying and curing process.
MicroMesh® - a 3M® product of micro abrasives bound to a cloth backing, used for polishing and removing scratches from plexiglass, Corian®, etc., and is ideal for doing the final rub out on a lacquer finish.
Mother-of-Pearl (MOP) - a natural shell material, slightly less irridescent than abalone, but used extensively as inlay material in musical instruments.
Murphy's Oil Soap® - not really oil, but rather a vegetable-based soap which is effective, yet mild. Used for general cleaning and added to water for lubrication during sanding and rubbing out the final finish.
N
Naptha - a petrolium derived solvent which is useful in removing heavy grime from instrument parts and surfaces. Always test a small, inconspicuous area first before starting. Use with caution as this is flamable!
Neck Angle - the degree of inclination that the neck has as it comes away from the body of the instrument, measured by a straight edge placed flush on the body.
Neck Plate - a metal plate inlaid into the heel of the instrument, where the neck and body meet. Usually four screws hold the plate to the body to secure the neck. The plate acts like a giant rigid washer keeping the screw heads at the right depth and the neck solid to the body in all planes.
Needle Files - small files used in various luthery tasks. Can be used to file and adjust the slots in the nut which hold the strings.
Nitrocellulose® - a traditional and popular lacquer used in furniture manufacturing and musical instruments. Has a high solids content, therefore, builds quickly. Rubs out to a beautiful deep shine. Lacquer thinner is used as a diluent but the original formulation contains numerous nasty compounds. Very volatile. MUST be used with proper ventilation, explosion proof equipment and a volatile compound cartridge respirator. Sale is being restricted due to enviromental concerns.
Nut - the small bar over which the strings travel when leaving the fingerboard for the headstock. The purpose is to keep the strings at the desired height above the fret (action) and to keep the strings spaced equally by means of the grooves filed into them. Made of various materials such as the traditional bone, to ivory, plastic, Corian®, brass and even high tech materials such as graphite impregnated 'graphtech' nuts.
O
P
Pau Faro - an exotic hardwood becoming more popular for use as fingerboard material.
Pick Guard - thin flat material, often plastic, placed onto the body of an instrument to protect it from strumming with a plectrum (pick).
Plank Sawn - same as flat sawn, where the annular rings run along the long plane of the wood ===.
Pore Filler - natural or synthetic materials used to fill the pores on porous species of woods to make a perfectly flat surface in order to avoid having the lacquer finish run, creating visable pock marks or pin-holes. These can detract from a lacquer finished surface, but may be acceptable on an oil finish.
Pumice - available in two grades of abrasiveness; is used as a rubbing compound to rub out a finish. Pumice is more abrasive than Rottenstone.
Purple Heart - a species of exotic wood which is often found in custom stringed instruments. As the name implies, has a natural purple color to it.
Q
Quarter Sawn - wood cut or split from a log so that the annular rings are running perpendicular to the surface of the board: |||||||||||.
Quilting - a figure found in certain hardwoods, especially Maple, where the growth pattern makes a three dimensional quilt-like pattern on the surface of the wood. This figure is found only in a small percentage of trees taken for wood, so it is naturally more desirable and subsequently more expensive.
R
Rasp - a coarse file-like tool used to remove larger amounts of wood with each stroke. Used in the intitial shaping of the neck or body after finishing with sawing and routing.
Relief - a vibrating string, fixed at its two end points (nut and bridge); will have its greatest displacement in the middle. Relief is a small, purposely introduced dip in the fingerboard, usually between the 9th and 12th frets to compensate for the amplitude here and keep the strings from rattling against the frets.
Rosewood - a hardwood popular in the use of fingerboards. Brazilian rosewood, the most prized, is protected and almost unobtainable now. Rosewoods also come from Africa and India and these make up most of the species now used in luthery.
Rottenstone - a natural abrasive substance which is finer than pumice and is used after pumice to bring out a high gloss shine if desired. Used with water, or, preferably, an oil rubbing medium as a lubricant.
Rub Out - (see Hand Rubbed) The process of using finer and finer abrasives until the finishing material is covered with thousands of microscopic scratches which reflect light in all directions giving a very shiny, polished appearance. Some finishes rub out better than others, harder finishes usually better than softer ones.
S
Scale Length - the length of the string between the fingerboard side of the nut and the fingerboard side of the bridge. For electric basses, 32 inches is considered short scale and 34 to 36 inches is considered to be long scale. The most popular is probably 34 inches, with 35 and 36 inches being more frequent in 5 and 6 stringed basses. The added length has a positive effect on the tone of the Low B string. Theoretically, any string length is possible, but the mass of the strings will limit the practical range. Frets have to be adjusted mathematically for each and every scale length. Formulas, pre-calculated tables, and computer programs are available for this task.
Sealer Coat - usually a thin coat of the finishing material used to penetrate the surface of the wood and seal it so that it stains evenly and soaks up the finish at an equal rate.
Set Up - the process of adjusting all the variables of your instrument to achieve optimal performance. This may include the height of the strings at the nut, the neck angle, the bridge height, the truss rod tension and the compensation of the bridge to get accurate intonation.
Shellac - a natural finishing material made from the shell of the lac bug, hence the name. Used on some acoustic instruments; variations of it are used in French Polishing.
Silicone - a synthetic material found in various lubricants and furniture polishes. Try to avoid silicones with musical instruments as it makes subsequent finishing more difficult. Can cause fish eyes in lacquer.
Solids Content - a term refering to lacquer where the solids are transported by the solvent to the surface of the project. The higher the solids content, the faster the depth of the finish will build as the volatile solvents gass off and leave the solids behind.
Solvent - any material used to disolve, dilute and carry its appropriate finish. Water is the solvent for Hydrocote® or Crystalac® or aliphatic carpenters glue, while mineral spirits, lacquer thiner or turpentine may be the appropriate solvent for other finishes. The solvent will always be stated on the product lablel.
Spoke Shave - a long useful tool consisting of a handle on each side holding a blade in between them at an appropriate angle for the task at hand. Blades may be straight or curved. Material is removed by drawing the spoke shave towards you, along the length of the wood in order to remove long shavings of material. Particularly useful in making necks.
Straight Edge - a very accurate rule (ruler) with accurate graduations and a flat edge. Absolutely necessary for laying out the fret positions.
Strap Button - the metal or plastic button protruding from the instrument at the end of the body and usually the upper horn where the strap is attached in order to facilitate playing while standing up.
String Spacing - the distance you must reach from the outside string to the one on the inside edge. Determined by the bridge and the nut, the size of the musician's hands, playing style (slapping, etc.) are factors to consider when chosing string spacing.
String Trees - and string retainers are T-shaped or disc shaped retainers on the headstock near the nut whose purpose is to keep tension on the strings so that they remain in the slots in the nut. These are usually found on headstocks that don't angle away from the plane of the neck. On angled headstocks, the angle itself serves to put this tension on the strings and keep them in place.
T
Tack Rag - a rag impregnated with a sticky material used to wipe down dusty surfaces and remove minute dust and contaminants prior to applying a finish. This is to get a clean a surface as possible and thereby eliminating any bumps or nubs which may be present and displace the finish. Be careful of the tack rag you use as water based finishes may not adhere properly to a surface cleaned with an oil based tack cloth. You can make your own by putting some old shellac in some cheesecloth and letting it air dry to tackiness. Be careful where you store volatile impregnated rags as spontanious combustion is a possibility!!!
Tangs - the metal lip below the crown of a fret which holds the fret in the fingerboard's fret slot. Barbs on the tang increase surface area and friction increasing its ability to grab the wood.
Thru-the-Body - a guitar construction technique popularized by Alembic® where the neck is not separate and bolted onto the body of the guitar, but actually travels right through it. The horns are attached as "wings" and secured to the neck as it passes through the body.
Tiger Stripes - also known as flames, is a type of figure where there are usually long V-like stripes across the surface of the wood. This figure is usually 'book matched' to make the left side a mirror image of the right side to take advantage of the effect. Found particularly in Maple, this is less common and therefore highly desirable and obviously more expensive than unfigured material.
Trammel - a pencil attached perpendicularly to a piece of wood/metal at one end and a pivot point (pin/nail) at a given distance away. The pencil is rotated around the pivot point in order to draw a curve or a circle. Handy for curves larger than a compass can provide.
Truss Rod - a metal rod inlaid in the neck of a guitar in order to stiffen and provide tension to the neck. These may be as simple as a plain tube of metal to compression-style rods which can be tightened to produce backpressure on the neck compensating for string tension in the opposite direction.
Tung Oil - a popular finish for furniture and musical instruments. Finish does not build very deep, but can be buffed out to a fairly good shine if desired. Easy to repair if the finish is damaged. Some prefer this more earthy, natural feel than the rather artificial plastic feel of lacquers.
Tuning Heads - (Tuning Pegs) - usually geared thereby allowing both easy and fine adjustments. Used to tighten the strings on the instrument and bring them into tune. Common tuning on a four stringed bass is E, A, D, G. A Low B can be added before the E or a High C after the G. Tuning heads are often described with gear ratios such as 20:1, meaning that you have to turn the peg twenty times to get one full rotation of the post on which the string is wound. The ratio allows for fine adjustment of the string.
U
Urethanes - a popular finish sometimes used in luthery. Usually not as hard as Nitrocellulose®, therefore, does not rub out as shiney.
V
W
Walnut - a popular hardwood sometimes used in luthery. Can have wonderful textures and figures as well.
Wenge - a dark brown and almost black exotic wood used in luthery. Gaining popularity in fingerboard material.
X
X-Acto® Knife - a fine, razor sharp knife with interchangable blade styles useful throughout luthery.
Y
Z
