Making My New Guitar

This is my new guitar. It’s extra special because I made it with my dad. He owns a business that makes and repairs guitars. Stringed instruments have a long history. People in ancient Egypt and ancient Greece played plucked-string instruments. The first guitar was probably made in Spain in the sixteenth century.

Early guitars had fewer strings and were shaped differently than today’s guitars. Modern guitars have longer necks, and most have six strings. The top of the body is flat with a round hole in the middle. Making the body was hard work, and it took a long time. First Dad let me pick out the wood. This is an important step since the wood helps make the sound.

Woods like spruce and cedar are often used to make guitars. These woods are strong, and they vibrate easily. I chose a piece of spruce with a nice pattern in the wood. But this piece wasn’t ready to cut yet. We had to dry it first. If the wood is not dry enough, it might shrink and crack after the guitar is made.

When the wood was ready, it was time for the next step. I traced outlines on the wood. Then Dad used a machine to cut out pieces for the sides, front, back, and neck. He did this part because the machines can be dangerous. Have you ever wondered how a guitar’s curved sides are made?

Dad took the pieces for the sides and quickly dipped them in very hot water. This made the wood easy to bend. Then we had to clamp the pieces to a mold. This kept the wood bent as it dried. While the sides were drying, we cut an opening in the neck for a long, thin piece of metal. The metal supports the neck and makes it strong.

The next step was gluing. We glued all the pieces tightly together, then left them to dry overnight. When the glue was dry, we sanded all the surfaces of the guitar to make them smooth. To protect the guitar, we brushed on several layers of protective coating. This also helped bring out the pattern in the wood. We had to wait overnight for each layer to dry.