Make Your Own Spanish Guitar - online book

Complete plans & Instruction on how make your own Spanish Guitar.

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	29
	take a large flat file, lay it on the surface of the frets and pass it from end to end of the fingerboard. If this takes off any appre�ciable amount of metal from any fret (or frets), these particular frets should be rounded off with fine emery cloth to restore their correct contour. A final finish can be given to the whole fingerboard by rubbing all the frets�from end to end of the fingerboard�with fine emery cloth placed over a small block of wood. Where the ebony fingerboard overlaps the soundhole of the guitar, cut this away to the arc of the soundhole. If preferred, the end of the fingerboard can be bevelled off with fine glasspaper. To complete the fingerboard, fit small ivory dots in the upper edge (i.e. the bass-string side) midway between the 4th and 5th frets; midway between the 6th and 7th frets; and midway between the 8th and 9th frets. These are a guide to the " positions " when playing the guitar. (See Fig. 32.) frets. Small ivory dot.	rollers into their holes. The rollers should settle into the centre spine of the head to a depth of about 1/16" or 1/8" If they are too short a shaving from the outside edges of the head can remedy this. Do not screw on the machine heads yet. The bridge and nut having been made (full details are given in Figs. 33 and 34) we are now ready to polish the guitar, but before this is started the whole instrument should have a final cleaning up, and for this you will need various grades of glasspaper ranging from Fine 11/2 to Fine 0. Glasspaper all the darker wood first (wiping away the resultant dust as you go along) for if you, say, clean the face of the guitar first you will find that dust from the darker wood will (however careful you may be) have stained the face and then you will have that job to do over again. POLISHING Before the bridge is fitted it is necessary to varnish or French polish the whole of the instrument�except the face of the finger�board! Before starting to polish the instrument, lightly mark the correct position for the bridge on the face of the guitar and glue a piece of thin paper over the area to be occupied by the bridge. (When the polish is hard, this piece of paper is stripped off and the bridge glued on. Temporary internal struts or stays are placed inside the guitar under the bridge so that the necessary pres�sure can be applied whilst the glue is setting). Although the amateur guitar maker is unlikely to produce the high gloss "piano finish " of the skilled french-polisher, with a little patient practice he can produce excel�lent results. It might be advisable to start by using an odd piece of wood to practice on. When fairly proficient, the actual guitar can be polished. It might be desirable to stain the wood of the back and sides of the guitar and if this is to be done the appropriate stain (obtainable from hardware shops) should be added to the filler. "Filler" can also be purchased from hardware shops�but thinned down " Ala-bastine" may be used.
	Fig. 32.�Small ivory dots are inserted in the upper edge of the fingerboard between the 4th and 5th frets; the 6th and 7th frets; and the 8th and 9th frets. These act as position guides when playing the guitar.
	FITTING THE MACHINE HEADS You are now ready to fit the machine heads. Various types of machine heads can be purchased, and having bought the best you can afford�with bone (or plastic) rollers� you may find they have inside rivets slightly protruding from the plates holding the rollers. These will have to be countersunk into the wood so that the machines fit flush to the sides of the head. The machine heads should fall easily into position without any forcing of the