Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello,

I am new here, and have been lurking, and learning for a little while.
This is a fantastic site, and I have learned much already.

I have a few questions that I could not find an answer to in my searches.

I plan on building a roundneck resonator from scratch.

I have ordered the Beard plans for both square, and round neck resonators.

I would like to build a biscuit bridge resonator.

I would like to build my first guitar with plywood, but I really don't care for the look of raw plywood, and don't
want to just paint it. My thought was to use some nice veneers for the exterior surfaces.
The thought of subjecting really nice solid woods to my inexperienced hands just doesn't seem like a good thing to do.
Is it possible to bend plywood on a pipe, or do I need to construct a side bending jig?
Is there a proper adhesive for laminating veneer, and bending?
I was thinking of using 3/16 birch ply for the back, and top, and 1/8 birch ply for the sides. Does this sound reasonable?

While I love the look of a traditional shaped resonator body, I was thinking of something shaped more like an OO.

Any input will be truly appreciated.

I'm sure I will have many more questions to come, so thanks in advance for your patience. I will use the search function as
questions arise.
Is that a crazy idea? How would the shape change the sound?

Bryan,

Unfortunately I do not have any answers, but would greatly benefit by looking over your shoulder. I am currently planning a very similar build and would love to watch yours come together. Thank you for taking this on and please, please, please post your progress.

Good luck!!!

_Mike

_________________
_Mike Tracz
MCT Guitars
https://www.instagram.com/mustcreatethings/
https://www.youtube.com/mustcreatethings

Bryan-
Decent solid wood (mahogany or even Indian Rosewood) is quite inexpensive ($50 or less for b+s- check out Allied or contact them for practice/beginner sets), and will be much easier to work with than plywood, and look and sound better as well. It's not that much money when compared with the hardware cost for your guitar. My atitude is: considering the # of hours you are going to spend on this project, isn't it worth a few cents an hour to work with nicer materials?

I've never had much luck bending plywood, unless it was 'bending plywood', which is designed to bend (without heat).
It is really difficult to work with thin veneers without sanding through, especially if you are inexperienced and your instrument may need some 'adjustments' to get things 'perfect'.

It is possible to make laminated sides/top/back for guitars but I think most folks start 'from scratch', and often use thicker veneers than the commercial standard. It's a lot more trouble (gluing press or vacuum press, etc) than using solid wood.

Cheers
John

I agree with John here. I don't even think after you figure the cost of plywood veneer it would be cheaper in the first place.

John,

My thought was not so much the expense as much as it was wasting valuable wood.
I do see your logic though. I think I will follow your advice.

Thanks,

Bryan

You can always go get some Poplar or Maple or Oak from one of the home stores, and resaw it -
I just got 3/4 inch thick wood (1x6) and cut it down the middle to get two boards - 5/16 each - 7 feet will get you a set of back and sides (3 piece back) for about 15 bucks depending on the price of the wood. That's pretty cheap - plus you will get lots of practice. I use my table saw to slice it in half- but it can be done with a hand saw too...
I hate to waste wood as well - but it is plentiful when you go to these stores, and some of it you will find in the scrap bin. If you don;t waste it - someone else surely will.

_________________
It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

Bryan-
Don't be unnecessarily humble. You will not be wasting wood with your project, if you use 'standard' guitar wood. (If you were using an old brazilian Rosewood set for your project, it would be different.)

Mahogany is being 'wasted' in junk plywood, making paper towels, being burned etc all the time. Your little project will be a small instance of not wasting the wood- somebody will be playing that guitar 50 or 100 years from now.

Cheers
John

You probably won't save a lot using plywood over solid wood, as you want to use a good quality Birch ply. But, Birch ply makes a killer reso and a lot of the commercial resos available are birch, either veneered or finished with a darker stain. Check out the finish closeups on Paul Beards site to see stained Birch ply guitars, especially the Auldridge signature model.
I have used solid maple sides with birch ply top and back with good luck, as the grain is very similar and under a dark stain looks great. I have also laminated two 1/16" Birch ply sides in the form and that worked excellent. I have heat bent ply, but never for a guitar, but there was an article in an older American Lutherie on making a low cost string bass. They used plywood for that and heat bent it. They suggested that 1/8" was max thickness that could be bent and that the bend could only be done one time. Apparently the glue may break down with too much heating and changing direction if you bend it the wrong way. So bend right and bend once. I think you can bend ply into a guitar form without much heat. I buy my ply from Wicks Aircraft Supply and get the metric aircraft Baltic Birch stuff and makes a great reso.
Good luck
Kent

You can also consider Walnut as an excellent choice for a reso. I recently completed a round neck in Walnut and the customer was very satisfied. I used Paul Beard's plan for the body shape and neck set and Gary Dusina's excellent article on the open soundwell construction. Good Luck and have FUN!!!

Ron Belanger