Below left, the wild cherry back is ready to glue on and close the interior of the guitar..."box it up." It is carved into a 5mm thick arch from a one inch thick, bookmatched blank. A shellac washcoat seals the wood. Below right, note the reinforced jack hole with spruce braces and cherry laminate. Check out how the vertical grain spruce brace is cut into the tentelones and linings. See also the traditional tentelones joining the top to the sides - glued in one-at-a-time with hot hide glue. Hand kerfed mahogany linings help reinforce the join between sides and back. Spruce cleats, with grain running perpendicular to the grain of the top, reinforce corners of the soundholes.

The neck/footer system is glued to the top (below left). Note the ledges for top, back and sides cut into the layers of neck stock that make up the footer. Note how the hard maple block, with grain running perpendicular to the top, is inlaid into the top with a 3mm ledge around it. The outside of the block will be routed to make the pickup cavity. Below right, Lady Sprite is ready to receive her back - to be "boxed up." Note the tone braces. They are inlaid into a "rise" in the underside of the top on one end and held with linen/glue patch on the other. The inlaid end is directly beneath the height adjustment posts of the Schaller Roller bridge on the outside. That's where the bridge rocks (..and rolls). The tone braces are also hand fit to match the compound concave surface of the underside of the top. The braces are made of a very tight grained conifer from a piece of a very old pipe organ. Linen/glue patches help to reinforce the sides. A washcoat of shellac helps to seal the top. Spruce tentelones and mahogany kerfed lining help to join the sides to the top and back. Another view of the hard maple pickup block inlaid into the underside of the top.

The spool clamps of the primary mold help glue the sides to the top/neck system (below left). Extra strength (rubberbanded) clothespins clamp the mahogany hand-kerfed lining into place (below right). The linings are cut into mortises at the corner and end blocks.

Lady Sprite Links VIDEO: Chuck With Lady Sprite on Youtube (224mb video) Introducing Lady Sprite Lady Sprite Hardware Some other links at the Hollow Road Guitar Shop, Chuck's Instrument Website: Back to Chuck's Home Page Introducing Lady Sprite (January 2015) Meet DragonHart (May 2013) On to the Finished Archtop Page (Semi-hollow electric, 2000) Octave Mandolin (Spring 1992). Steel String Cutaway with Custom Rosette (Spring 1985). Mando Uno: Mandolins (Feb 1983). Classical Guitar: Rosewood with Heart Rosette (Summer 1982). Classical Guitar, Walnut, Chuck's First Guitar (Summer 1981). Appalachian Dulcimer (Spring 1981). A few things in this old page not included above: rosettes, tools and finishing.

Two pieces of epoxy graphite (1/8" x 5/16") reinforce the neck. She is slim for playing and strong for sustain. Below, cleaning up the nutline of the faceplate. The neck includes thin veeners of walnut between the curly maple and mahogany. The kind of detail that accents the work, but is noticed only upon close inspection.