“A Guitar Malker’s™ ManwallA Guitar Malker’s Manwall Jim Williams First Printing April 1986 Second Printing August 1987 Third Printing July 1990 ISBN 0-95890-750-2 All rights reserved. Exclusively distributed throughot 10 Albury St 2290Preface. When the idea of writing a book on guitar making was presented to me several yearsago, Ihad many reasons for being reluctant to undertake sucha project. One of the main reasons was the number of books on the subject already available, especially considering the limited readership. What finally prompted me to go ahead was the fact that I felt ‘something was lacking in the approach taken by many writers on the subject. Writing technical books is not to be taken lightly and I was greatly inspired by Roger Siminoff’s Constructing a Bluegrass Mandolin and John Muir’s How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive because they adopt step by step approach that is both practical and easy to follow. This is what I have endeavoured to do. This is not a “Build a Guitar One Rainy Weekend” book,but a method of constructing an acoustic steel string or nylon string guitar that should result in an instrument which is appealing in both sound and appearance. One of the main ingredients required is patience,another is perserverance. The time it takes to construct the special jigs described will be more than rewarded as these help you maintain control over the process and produce a consistent result. Avoid the temptation to rush ahead,read each chapter carefully before commencing work on that section; also,develop the self discipline to repeat any part of the process you're not satisfied with as you're going to have live with these faults for a long time. Having said that I should also warn against having too great an expection,skills are developed over time so don’t be too critical of your first effort. The method I have laid out is adapted from that which I have used to guide many students through their first guitar. It is the product of what I was taught,coupled with my years of experience in guitar construction and repair plus the input of my fellow luthiers whose knowledge has been shared unselfishly on many occasions. | trust that you will derive as much satisfaction from guitar making as I do. Acknowledgements. This book would never have happened without the following people; Richard and Mary Williams,my parents,who always supported and encouraged my interest in the guitar. Ray Johnson, my first guitar teacher,whose enthusiasm for the instrument proved infectious. Toni Jones,who encouraged and supported my desire to become a guitar maker. Robin Moyes,a good friend as well as being the first guitar maker I ever met and a constant source of inspiration. George Morris,who taught me guitar making and instilled an enthusiasm that has endured. Charles Fox,who organised the course in guitar making that changed my life. Mike Davidson and Richard Widows,who believed in me at the beginning. My fellow luthiers, Gerard Gilet, Teen Goh, Dan Kellaway, Graham McDonald, Peter Richardson and Greg Smallman, all of whom have contributed in some way to my methods of work and some of whom browbeat me into writing this book. Friends, aquaintances and ex-students who assisted in many subtle ways. A special thank you to Robin Moyes for his assistance with the chapter on finishing, Graham McDonald for modelling for the photographs, and Tony Nicholls for his advice eae assistance in the production of the book. ‘Thank you all!