b'Body AssemblyOpposite page: This the bowl sander. The idea is to sand the edges of the sides, complete with linings, to a shape that fits the curve of the back and soundboard.Every maker has to do this in their own way. Most think of this as a radius, but the guitar body is longer than it is wide and the soundboard will curve more across the grain than it will along its length, so a simple radius cannot do the job.Even so, standard radiused dishes, (bowls) are used by many individual makers, but my solution is to have a set of five interchangeable curves which we use in combination to produce the shapes that we need. Its different for front and back, and from one style of instrument to another.The machine is powered by an invertor drive, we can start and stop it with an elbow, it starts slowly so we can steady the work, and stops quickly so we can get out of the way!Above & Left: The body, ready for assembly. The front and back have been marked in position, the braces trimmed to length, and the sides notched to fit. The back is glued on first, the front is put in position without glue, and the whole assembly placed in the press. About two hours later we take the body out, lift off the top and clean up all the little traces of glue that will be so obvious through the soundhole. Then we glue on the top, and place the assembly back in the press, upside down so that if there is a tiny little bit of surplus glue, it will stay where it was intended and not run down the sides and make a mess. Trade secret! 171'