Mind you, you may be surprised at how often I have received drawings from professional draftsmen showing objects that can't actually be made. Beautiful front elevation, sexy as you like in plan and from the side, but unfortunately all three views show different objects, a bit like a woodworking equivalent of an Escher!

Darren

Why does nobody build one like this?

because it is a zillion times harder - you'd have to mark out and cut that by hand.

Which is nice. :)

So, if a traditional archtop guitar dovetail joint looks like this: 

1654

Why does nobody build one like this?

1655

I can confirm that the drawing on this thread is all my own work. This is easily demonstrated when I show you how I managed to draw a dovetail joint before I knew what one looked like.

Exhibit A - misaligned headstock on the side elevation reveals:

1653

Exhibit B - that the whole neck had got knocked out of true somehow

1652

Once the neck is moved back into the correct position the joint is gone.

1656

Can I just say that drawing the guitar is a superb way of ironing out a lot of the issues which would otherwise pop up half way through the build. I’m being forced to think through stuff like bridge height and neck angles, neck joints and extensions long before ruining a perfectly decent piece of wood.

Meanwhile, in my defence...

You’re absolutely right that I should be starting out with something simpler, but I have done some guitar-building before - admittedly with a sanding block, an electric drill and possibly a sharpened spoon.

Through no fault of my own, I seem to have accumulated a lot of guitars. I learned quite early not to sell guitars after the debacle with the ’66 Strat - sold for £180 in the seventies.

So, my plan is to make exactly the right guitar, rather than another guitar. I know, it won’t be a year before I’ll be hankering after something else. But for now...

1647

here's the link for those who missed it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kljww7Z4kTU