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.

这是我的新吉他。这是特别的，因为我是和我爸爸一起做的。 他拥有一家生产和修理吉他的公司。 弦乐器有着悠久的历史。 古埃及和古希腊的人们演奏弹拨乐器。 第一把吉他可能是在16世纪的西班牙制造的。

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.

早期的吉他弦更少，形状也不同于今天的吉他。 现代吉他的琴颈更长，大多数有六根弦。 身体顶部平坦，在中间有一个圆孔。 制作琴体是一项艰苦的工作，而且需要很长时间。 首先，爸爸让我挑木头。这是一个重要的步骤，因为木头有助于发出声音。

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.

云杉和雪松等木材经常被用来制作吉他。 这些树林很结实，很容易震动。 我选了一块云杉，木头上有一个漂亮的图案。 但这块还没准备好切割。我们必须先把它擦干。 如果木材不够干燥，吉他制作完成后可能会收缩并开裂。

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?

木材准备好后，就到了下一步的时候了。我在木头上描出轮廓。 然后爸爸用机器切出了侧面、正面、背面和颈部的碎片。 他这样做是因为机器可能很危险。 你有没有想过吉他的曲边是如何制作的？

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.

爸爸拿着木材片的边，很快把它们浸入滚烫的水中。 这使木头容易弯曲。然后我们必须把这些碎片夹在模具上。这使木材在干燥时保持弯曲。 当两边都干了的时候，我们在脖子上开了一个口子，用来放一块又长又薄的金属。 金属支撑着颈部，使其更结实。

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.

下一步是粘合。我们把所有的碎片紧紧地粘在一起，然后让它们干燥一夜。 胶水干后，我们用砂纸打磨吉他的所有表面，使其光滑。 为了保护吉他，我们刷了几层保护涂层。 这也有助于在木材中形成图案。 我们不得不等待一夜，等待每一层干燥。