Ciluzzi Fine Handcrafted Guitars

		The top begins as two bookmatched pieces of cedar or spruce about 8" x 22" x 1/4" thick, which are 'flipped open' and glued together on one edge so that each side is a mirror reflection of the other. This symmetry is necessary for uniform resistance against the pull of the strings on the top, as well as the best possible dispersion of sound across the top, which actually "radiates" sound when a string is plucked. The top is planed to a final thickness of about 1/10". While I try to hand pick all of the wood I use to build with, the top is the single most important acoustical element of the entire guitar, and I use only the finest "master-grade" cedar and spruce available.

		After the guitar shape (above photo, white pattern) and soundhole have been marked on the top, the soundhole rosette is inlayed (not shown) and the top shape and soundhole are cut out. The top is then braced in a traditional "x-bracing" style, and modified to maximize it's ability to 'move' and respond to the vibrations that are caused every time a string is plucked, while retaining enough strength and rigidity to resist the tremendous pressure exterted by the pull of the strings.

		The back also begins as a "bookmatched" set of wood (sapele mahogany in this case) that is glued together along one edge. On the left, the back has been braced in a traditional "ladder" pattern with the standard addition of a 'backstrip' for added strength and resistance to seam-splitting.

		The guitar sides begin as bookmatched blanks measuring about 36" x 6" x 1/10". I lightly spray each side with water, and then bend it over a heated form. When the wet wood hits the extremely hot surface of the form, the water turns into steam, and it is actually the steam that carries the intense heat deep into the wood and makes it possible to bend at all. Pictured at left is a 'Fox' bending machine; basically consisting of a form (the same as "1/2 a guitar shape"), a heat source inside the form, and spring clamps to hold the side against the form, the Fox bending machine is used in guitar shops around the world, and is called that because it was invented by my teacher and mentor, the highly-regarded luthier, educator, and innovator Charles Fox. Along with the bending machine, he has developed numerous devices and processes that have helped to revolutionize the art of modern guitarmaking.

		Next, the sides are placed in a "workboard," which holds the sides in the proper shape while kerf-cut cedar linings, or "kerfings," are glued in place, as are wooden blocks at the heel- and butt-ends of what eventually comes out of the workboard as a "rim." I use oversized double-thickness kerfings in the rim, which along with a double-footed "neckblock" (the u-shaped block to the left) create a rim that, when taken out of the workboard, retains its shape independently of the top and back, and exhibits a high degree of rigidity and structural integrity. As opposed to standard practices in guitarmaking, the resulting superior strength of this technique enable me to brace the the top and back more lightly, effectively enabling both plates to vibrate more freely, and ultimately creating a more open-sounding guitar with greater volume and projection.

		Once the top and back planes of the rim have been radiused to give both the top and the back a "spherical" surface, the back is glued to the rim...

		...and so is the top.

		The guitar body, or "soundbox," is clamped down in a cradle (shown at left) and the top and back are trimmed flush to the rim with a laminate trimmer, the base of which is secured to a swivelling, telescoping arm (also pictured at left) that helps to keep the trimmer parallel to the rim and perpendicular to the sides and top, so the resulting cut is perfectly square to the increasingly complex number of surfaces of the soundbox.

		With the same laminate trimmer and "binding jig" (the telescoping arm and swivelling base) I cut channels for trim, or "bindings," along the corners of the top, back, and sides.

		With all the necessary binding channels cut, wooden bindings and "puflings" (very thin laminated strips of wood that border the bindings) are taped and glued in place on the back...

		...and then on the top. The bindings are then scraped and sanded flush to the top and back.

		Next comes the neck. A mahogany blank about 24" x 3" x 3/4" is scarf-cut and planed flush to form a perfect jointing surface...

		...and the smaller piece is flipped over, glued, and clamped to form the "peghead" joint. A thin piece of ebony is glued to the face of the peghead and becomes the "faceplate," also adding an important element of strength to the peghead. The Peghead shape and tuning machine holes are then cut out (seen to the left of the next photo)...

		...and a "heel block" is glued and clamped in place, which will eventually be cut and shaped to the rounded taper of the neck "heel."

		The next step is to make the fretboard. I begin with a piece of ebony planed down to about 1/4" thick; I measure out the fret positions and cut the fret slots with a very thin pull-saw (a saw that cuts on the pull stroke rather than the push stroke for added accuracy) and a miter box to keep the saw perfectly square to the fretboard (not shown).

		Once the fret slots have been cut, binding is glued along the edges and the fretboard surface is radiused, so that if you were to look across it the frets arc up and back down under the strings; this creates a more ergonomic and comfortable surface for the player , as well as improving string intonation. Also shown is the neck ready to be glued to the fretboard, with a two-way adjustable truss rod (to adjust string action and fine-tune the neck's counter-pull against the strings) and dual high-strength low-weight graphite reinforcement rods installed to help keep my necks from ever warping.

		The fretboard is glued and clamped to the neck with epoxy. I use epoxy for this joint because it creates a permanent bond that neither expands nor contracts while drying, or with changing enviornmental conditions, i.e. the variations in temperature and humidity that can cause the various wooden components of a guitar to react in very different ways, and ultimately wreak havoc on an instrument's structural integrity.

		Once the fretboard has been glued in place I begin carving the shape of the neck with the main "arm" section.

		Next I carve the heel...

		...and finally fine-tune the shape of the peghead.

		In this photo I am roughing out the shape of a bridge from a piece of Macassar ebony. The shape is then fine-tuned with various sleds on router-table. Because ebony is such a dense, stable, and resistant wood, I do not apply any kind of finish or sealer to the suface (the same is true of my ebony fretboards); once it has been sanded to a very fine grit I polish the unfinished bridge to a beautiful satin-sheen.

		Once fretting is done and the completed neck has been fitted and secured to the soundbox, the bridge position is carefully layed out (shown at left) and the bridgepin holes are drilled through the top. These holes are used to re-position and glue the bridge after the body and neck have been sealed and sprayed with about a dozen thin coats of catalyzed polyester finish, and finally everything is buffed to an ultra-high gloss

		The last step is to carve the saddle and nut and to "set up" the guitar, at which point the string action and intonation is fine-tuned. I set the string action (the distance between the strings and the frets) on every one of my guitars low enough that you don't have to press down very hard -- which makes playing one a very enjoyable, effortless experience -- but high enough that you can play the guitar with some force at a high volume and the strings won't buzz against the frets. The final result is an exceptionally well-built, effortlessly playable guitar with superior tonal balance, clarity, and projection.