Making a guitar from scratch post 1

I have always loved playing and listening to guitar music. I have played in many bands and had lots of fun over the years I have also had a desire to build a guitar for many years. My wife had found a guitar school and for my 50th birthday my friends and family organised for me to do an acoustic guitar building course.

The course is run by a guy called Chris Wynne at Thomas Lloyd Guitars. Located in an historic artist enclave in Eltham called Montsalvat.

Montsalvat has the most beautiful grounds and provides the most amazing setting for this fine luthiers workshop. I remember when I first went to Thomas Lloyd workshop I said to Chris you must really hate coming to work in the morning and he laughed and cheekily replied yep.

Below are some pictures of Monsalvat ground and buildings

The guitar making workshop is pictured below.

When I first rang Chris to book into the course I told him that I wasn’t much of a wood worker he assured me it did not matter.

I enrolled in a course of 10 Saturdays. The first day and it was straight into the fray.

The first job you get is to decide what sort of guitar you want to make, I have chosen to make a 12 String Guitar. Next select the woods you will use for your back and sides. This is far more difficult than you may think. I eventually settled on a wood called Cooba.

This is a small acacia which grows in Australia and is very similar to blackwood in its characteristics. Farmers often bulldoze and burn this stuff it is hard to believe when see the final polished product and hear the sound of the completed guitar.

I have chosen Bunya pine for the sound board or the top.

The next job is to glue to back pieces together.

We choose our wood for the neck of the guitar this is Queensland maple.

I move onto sanding the sides in the drum sander to get them to the correct thickness.

The day winds up and I feel like I have actually achieved something. Chris is a great encouragement and his laid back style makes learning easy.