Guitar Assembly Workboard in-Process
Source: Tools and Materials
Tools and Materials Required:
3/4″ Cabinet Grade Baltic Birch Plywood
Guitar Template or Plan Outine
Band Saw
Cordless Drill
Set of Drill Bits
1-1/2″ Stainless Steel Screws
The Guitar Assembly Workboard:
The Assembly workboard is another of the major tools or jigs that you will need to make for your guitar building endeavors. It consists of a 3/4″ piece of plywood, cutout in the shape of your guitar, so you will need an assembly workboard for each guitar shape you intend to make.
While the Assembly Workboard is not used nearly as often as the Inside Form in my shop there are a certain few duties that would guitar building much more difficult without it.
Workboard Related Tasks
Use the Assembly Workboard primarily to glue the purfling and binding on the guitar edges for the back and top plates. Because of the steeper angle it has from the top of the guitar edge to the connection points, it allows you to place more downward force on the bindings and purflings.
Another operation that works well with the workboard is cutting the purfling channel and installing the purfling in the guitar bottom or butt.
How to Make a Guitar Assembly Workboard:
The Guitar Assembly Workboard is very easy to construct. Take the 3/4″ Cabinet Grade Plywood and set your Plexiglas or lexan template on the plywood.
Now trace a line around the edge of the template about 1/4″ – 1/2″ larger than the template. This can most easily be completed with a wood shim taped to a pencil and carefully traced around the template – or use a compass that you can fix the width. The dimension for the neck support should be about 1/4″ less than the dimension from the guitar body to the nut.
Take the plywood to the bandsaw and carefully cut the form out right to the marked line. Use a belt sander or hand sander to smoothen the edges.
Install 1-1/2″ stainless steel screws around the perimeter of the workboard. Space them 1 inch to 1-1/2 inches apart. I would recommend using a screw that has about 1/3 to 1/2 of the shaft unthreaded. Screw them in until the threads are buried in the plywood.
Be sure to use a drill and drill pilot holes prior to driving in the screws. This way all the screws will be straight. If you do wind up with a few crooked screws they can be “coaxed” with a few taps of the hammer.
Knock off the edges of the plywood a bit to protect your fragile projects and you are all done.
Guitar Form Plans:
Guitar Form Set for 0-28VS
Guitar Form Set for 00-28VS
Guitar Form Set for 000-28VS
Guitar Form Set for 000 Concert
Guitar Form Set for Dreadnought
Guitar Form Set for Dreadnought 12
Guitar Form Set for GA 12
Guitar Form Set for GA
Guitar Form Set for GS 12
Guitar Form Set for GS
Guitar Form Set for HD28VS
Guitar Form Set for J45
Guitar Form Set for Jumbo 12
Guitar Form Set for Jumbo
Guitar Form Set for Ramirez Classical
Guitar Form Set for Kasha Classical
Guitar Form Set for Torres Classical
Guitar Form Set for Bouchet Classical
Note that the inside form/workboard is the same for the Kasha, Ramirez, Torres, and Bouchet are all the same shapes. Therefore if you order one set, they will work for all the guitars.
Also note that the Grand Auditorium 6 and 12 String Guitars and the Jumbo 6 and 12 String Guitars use the same Inside Form and Workboard.
Tags: guitar assembly workboard, Guitar Building Articles, guitar building tools, how to build a guitar, luthier tools
