Hints and Tips

The following is a selection of techniques or tricks that I have found useful. Feel free to contact me if you would like to share your tips, and I will update the page periodically.

Blind Nailing.

This is a neat trick stolen from Melvyn Hiscock to stop glued parts sliding out of true as the clamps are tightened on them. Simply drive a couple of small veneer pins into a part of the wood which will either be removed as waste, or will be otherwise out of contact with saw blades and routers, then cut off their heads very close to the surface of the wood. Line up the piece to be joined and press it into place, causing the pins to push into its surface, then remove. When glue has been spread (watch the fingers with those pins!) and the parts are reunited these depressions will allow you to locate the pieces accurately and prevent movement when clamping.

Danish Oiling.

I love Danish Oil as a wood finish. As a teacher I find that it allows students to produce a professional quality finish with ease, and as a woodworker and guitarist it provides a beautiful finish to play an instrument, as well as being easy to maintain and 100% natural. Unlike ‘plastic’ finishes it is also fully and invisibly repairable.

As with any finish the key is in meticulous preparation. I always sand flat surfaces with a cork block, and run through the full range of papers from around 120, through to 400. I then burnish the surface with 00000 grade steel wool to remove any finger marks. I wash my hands regularly to prevent these.

I always oil away from the workshop to keep clear from dust. The job is usually done in the spare bedroom where movement is at a minimum. I hang bodies and necks from a portable clothes rail so that I can access all parts at once and to avoid unoiled patches. Wood screws are inserted into the lower strap button hole on the body, which is hung from one of the neck holes, to help hold it when applying the oil.

I use a section of an old 100% cotton t-shirt to apply the oil straight from the tin (the opening of which must be kept free from stickiness). I apply two coats a day (early morning and evening), and work in the direction of the grain, ensuring the oil is worked in well, applying enough to just wet the surface of the wood (bright lights and windows are useful to check application). Oiling needs to be done fairly quickly as it soon goes ‘tacky’. When I have oiled a whole body or neck I lightly run over it again with a damp part of the cloth to even out any streaks.

I usually apply four or five coats, and between each I lightly rub 00000 steel wool over the surface, going with the grain, to remove any dust which may have settled.

When the last coat has fully hardened wax can be applied, in my case Renaissance micro-crystalline. 

Sellotape double-sided tape

This is, in my mind, one of the guitar builders’ essentials. It is available in several widths and is amazingly sticky, yet leaves minimal residue when removed. I use it for holding most templates in place, and for holding fingerboards onto MDF sheets when sanding them (just be careful when inserting that chisel to remove them!).