Build it

  1. Work Bench
  2. End & Heel Blocks
  3. Side Bending Iron
  4. Bending Sides
  5. Gluing Sides
  6. Gluing Kerfing
  7. Top & Back
  8. Headstock detail

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Building an Etribe Travel Guitar

Below you can see some photos of the guitar in its early stages, when I used actual wood and glue.

For the current state of the design, look at these pictures.

You could actually build the guitar without buying the plans, just from looking at the pictures, as at least one person has done. There have been some changes to the design since I took the photos, like the soundholes, they didn't work at all, so I opted instead to hollow out the whole section and maximize the vibrating area of the top and the resonant space inside the body. Actually, the end blocks are totally different now, laminated together instead of made in one piece. This simplifies construction immensely.

1) Workbench

05_bench

Plans, metal templates laying on top of guitar blocks.

10_bender

Bending iron in one vise, propane torch strapped to other vise.

2) End & Heel Blocks

03_lwr

End Block

06_upr

Heel Block

3) Side Bending Iron

10_bendiron

Bending Iron

15_flameadjst

flame adjustment

4) Bending Sides

10_bendiron

bending sides

15_flameadjst

one side is bent

5) Gluing Sides

20_sides.jpg

end & heel blocks are ready to be glued to sides

18_set

end / heel blocks, Plan vs. Outcome

25_sides

Gluing sides to blocks

6) Gluing Kerfing

Gluing kerfing with clothes pins

7) Tracing & Gluing Top & Back

tracing

Tracing

traced

Traced

Guide blocks

Guide blocks

Bracing

Bracing

Bracing

Bracing

control space

control space drilled out

Gluing top

Gluing top on

8) Headstock Detail

headstock

cut off and reinforced headstock