Official Luthiers Forum!

I am putting on a top and a back. I have used barbecue skewers (1/8") to register the top by going into the neck block under the fretboard and into the heel block so the hole in the top is within the purfling.

I am not putting purfling on the back of this one - is there a way to use register pins for the back??

Ed

I leave a excess tab on the plates, drill the pin holes into that and register them into my mold.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I've left a tab on the plates both end (you can offset them from the center line) and used Hide Glue to attach a small blocks to the body so pins can be registered into them.
Just saw off the excess before trimming and use a chisel to remove the blocks down to just above the glue line.
Then hot water takes the last traces off.
You can also register small pins into the binding area, it's removed anyway, but I'm not brave enough for that.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I favor though brace ends top and back -- I found that when notches are done precisely the top and back are pretty much locked in place. If width-wise adjustment is necessary I use binding tape to keep the center-lines mated.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I'm with Ken on this one......my bracing notches are what I use for lining up tops and backs for gluing as well.

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Blue Ring Acoustics
blueringacoustics.ca

That's how I have been doing it on the few I have built, so I guess I keep on keepin' on.

Thanks

Ed