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Construction
Luthiers predominantly make instruments out of wood, with a few exceptions. Common wood types across instruments include spruce, cedar, ebony, rosewood, or maple for their beneficial sonic and mechanical properties and for their appealing look.

Acoustic Guitar
Acoustic guitar construction begins by cutting an approximately hourglass shape from a thin sheet of wood (usually spruce, cedar, or redwood ), one for the top plate and one for the bottom plate. A rosette, an interlocking set of small wooden squares, is then assembled to decorate the sound hole, and is inserted into a circular groove cut into the top plate. Once the rosette has been set, the sound hole can be drilled out of the top plate. Braces are set up on the inside face of the top plate, usually with an x-brace, and the back plate is reinforced with braces arranged horizontally. The ribs (or sides of the guitar) are typically formed of two bent segments joined together to make the full perimeter of the guitar. Small pieces of wood called kerfing are added to the inside of the ribs to reinforce the bond between the ribs and the plates, and the plates are then glued on.

The neck is fashioned out of two pieces of wood joined together, and a headstock for tuning is added to the end. The neck is traditionally attached with a dovetail joint inserted into a small removed section of the body, and a fretboard is attached with glue.

Finish is applied to the guitar, and a bridge is attached to the body for strings to be fit into. Wire is placed into the fretboard to form the frets, and a metal truss rod is inserted through the neck to prevent excessive bending once it is strung.

See also: Guitar Construction

Violin
Construction begins with the ribs, the term for the sides of a violin. The ribs of the violin are bent around a mold in four separate parts, one for the neck-side of the violin (or upper bout), one opposite it (the lower bout), and one for each "C" rib on the sides. These are glued together. The back and top plates are cut from maple sheets typically, and arching is cut into these to give the plates height. F-holes are added to the top plate as well as a bass bar running vertically along the plate for support, and both plates are glued to the ribs. Purfling is then added to the perimeter of the top and back plates.

The neck is cut from a solid rectangular block of wood into the general shape of a violin neck. The scroll at the end of the neck is then cut down to the traditional shape with repeated passes, and the middle section is hollowed to allow the addition of tuning pegs. A fingerboard made from ebony is cut into a curve to fit onto the neck and is attached with glue. A section is cut from the body to accommodate the neck, and the neck is attached. A thin dowel called a sound post is inserted near the middle of the violin for stability.

Finally, a tailpiece, bridge, and pegs are added to the violin, and the violin can be strung.

See also: Violin construction and mechanics

Mandolin
The ribs are formed in several separate parts, and they are attached to one another directly or with the use of body blocks in the more complicated corners. The plates are carved into the traditional shape of a mandolin, and hollowed to create height for the mandolin. F-holes are added to the top plate, and a scroll is carved into the top corner. Tone bars are attached to the inside face of the top plate, running vertically and fanning outwards with each progressive tone bar, typically three. The plates and ribs are glued together, and a binding is attached around the perimeter of both plates.

The neck begins as a solid rectangular block of wood, and is cut into the general required shape with a dovetail joint at its end. The peghead is carved from a block of wood and attached to the neck, which after additional sanding, is attached to the body.

See also: Mandolin Construction