How to model Carved Tops in Fusion 360 in under 15 minutes.

Today I'm going to show you my technique for modeling carved top guitars in under 15 minutes using Autodesk Fusion 360. This is a faster paced, straight to the point, video compared to my usual hyper-detailed content.
This method works well for establishing the shape you want quickly and efficiently (without using forms), but may need some refinement for actual production purposes. With just one contour, one center section, and 3 rails, these shapes can be achieved quite easily.
Give it a try on your designs and let me know what you think!
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Chapters:
0:00 Short Introduction
0:50 Disclaimer
1:18 Body Contour Sketch
3:05 Centerline Sketch
4:20 How the loft works (without rails)
5:03 Creating planes for internal rails
5:51 Sketching internal rails
10:02 Lofting (with rails)
10:48 Converting to flat Drop Top
11:05 Converting to a Hollow Body Top
13:32 Zebra & Isocurve analysis
15:04 Quick tip for adding flat sections
16:11 Final Thoughts

[@Gryphon1980]

This channel is gold! You are gold! Just starting out my journey in fusion 360, and want to do a guitar at some point, and so far your channel is the absolute best I have found on the subject! Thank you!

[@ghash5158]

Thanks for another great video Austin! Just in time for new design I'm working on. Hope for more details on this subject in the future.

[@pipwerks]

Great video, Austin. You have a talent for making 3D modeling very approachable!

[@brianframe7949]

Bro! This is so good! Incredible to find tutorials for Fusion360 just for guitars. Thank you so much for doing these. Liked and subbed

[@raytristani]

This was awesome. Thank you!

[@jez6345789]

Austin thank you so much your works is always informative and educational thanks

[@hveguitar]

Really awesome, I managed to do this using 3D sketches, but this seems much easier so thanks so much for sharing Austin !!

[@MarkGutierrez]

I always learn something new. Excellent.

[@nathanking2484]

Great video, thanks for sharing!

[@Mister_G]

Thanks a lot - that's very clear & really useful!

[@brewbuilds]

awesome video Austin, and thanks for sharing.

[@Rockingoodman]

Thank you. This is great

[@samwalker4442]

excellent video man!! Thanks for the great content

[@msamov]

Exactly what I was looking for! Great video!

[@WardInstruments]

Thanks, Austin! Great stuff. Major propers on the concise approach. Personally, I'd rather watch four 15-minute videos than one hour-long one.

[@patricknewill558]

I learn a ton from your videos brotha, thx!

[@akinatronic8946]

struggled for years to do that, really good video

[@dantahoua]

Oh oh, can't wait to see your way of doing it! 😊

[@austinshaner]

I almost showed your method as well! I think your version may be better depending on the circumstance. I like this for the simplicity and lack of helper surfaces though :)

[@dantahoua]

@@austinshaner That's great I love it, very simple. Don't know if it would work with my more complex design (neck plane and pickup plane, neck plane as to be perfectly flat on two axis). Will try it when I have some time. :)

[@homemade_vancity]

Amazing Austin! Thank you, now I have to figure out how to apply this to an asymmetrical top ... fun times ahead! If I ever make it down to Seattle, coffee and/or lunch is on me :D

[@luisownerbr]

Great to see you diving into this subject man. I've modeled a les paul using something similar which I took from a french guy here on youtube, but I am very curious to see what you're adding to this foundation. Btw if you ever get to actually carving one of these on a cnc, consider not creating the pickup cavities, knob holes, neck pocket etc on the carve top model as fusion tends to create some weird paths for the carved surface operation, in my experience at least.

[@joecarpenter5602]

Love your videos.

[@PavelGoldberg]

Thank You!!!

[@Jeff034]

Thanks. Not sure it’s exactly what I’m after but doing violin tops roughing out (machines can’t do the nuances of final carving of violin tops as it’s done on feel) but splines is how we hand carve so will save a bunch of hard yakka getting to the fun part of tuning. Tks.

[@joeyoung5710]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

[@MagicAtticGuitars]

Awesome. Very simple solution. A bit different than how I did it. I wonder how it will work with cutouts. I need will give it a try. Thanks Austin

[@austinshaner]

Cutaways add a bit more complexity to it. If it's a simple Gibson Lespaul single cut then you can simply extrude a cut after the top is created. Other designs (like PRS for example) that have unique geometry in the horn need some extra steps.

[@grandadsworkshop2455]

Brilliant thankyou Austin. I wonder if you would consider doing your drawings with the blue background as I find it difficult to see some of the definition? I'm using a MacBook and I've played with the contrast but no better? Old eyes you see🙂

[@Bill-gb9kf]

Great video on using the loft command for carved tops... I have built a number of F-style mandolin models using patches... the difficult part for me is connecting the scroll to the main body of the mandolin. My current models require a bit more hand work around this transition than I would like. any thoughts adapting your technique to build an F style mando/scroll?

[@studilio]

Thanks a lot (again) Austin! I'm on the verge of building a L5 style guitar so this is really great. I already did some stuff but I'm having difficulties with the cutaway. Would love to see tutorials on how to approach that. Cheers!

[@LMOTO3130]

Coincidentally my mentor as a boy was none other than Jim Hutchins at Gibson who signed the best L5's. BUT I digress. Create the overall shape of a guitar leaving it flat where the tips stick out, then loft the the entire surface. Then create a single shape on a plane above your guitar face that will be shaped right where you want your cutaways to be, then extrude down thru your guitar face. And Wahlah you have it! Hope I've helped... check out some of our fun creations at Lyrones Instruments.

[@alan4401]

Great video as usual. As with the neck I have been going along these lines but you simplify things. You know now a lot of people are going to ask this - what about a cutaway?

[@austinshaner]

Hey Alan, yes I've been getting questions about cutaway using this method. At some point I'll produce another video on the topic and include that. In the short term, if your design permits, the easiest way to have cutouts is simply to extrude/cut them through the body after its already been lofted. So loft the more general shape then slice off the cutaway. Designs like PRS that include unique curvature or beveling in the horn may require a bit different approach. Otherwise you just need to get creative with your rails and the order or direction in which you loft, but the essential process is the same, but different in the details.

[@leecraftsmen5702]

I have a video showing how I do it. Hope it helps.

[@bobmvideos]

6:10 "project-include-intersect" prevents the dreaded "Warning: The selected rail does not touch all of the profiles."

[@Jimbojam]

very cool, but does it allow for varying thickness? such as 5mm in the middle, to 4mm going toward the edge, then 3mm at the re-curve, then back to 4mm at the edge?

[@mariannelerbs7581]

Austin, Sweetie, would you post how to make the right arch top cutout? TY!

[@tomlockwood5335]

I have been following your KZbins on carved tops. I am interested in building a cello using a CNC machine and Fusion 360. The procedures are very similar with the exception of the outside shape. Could you address how to program for a cello (also a violin, bass, viola). Thanks.

[@Martin-4D]

🎸

[@MidnightMike1]

How did you add the texture in the thumbnail? Highly interested in learning how to do that

[@tomlockwood5335]

Austin- I am trying to figure out the procedure to CNC machine a cello top. This involves a much different edge profile than an arch top guitar. Do you have any intention of approaching this program? Same procedure for a violin and a double bass.

[@chefmadewoodwork]

Great video, very informative. How would one go about adding that textured bit there in the thumbnail for the video.

[@austinshaner]

Thanks! The texture is called quilted maple in the appearance tab. It's just an appearance applied to the model for rendering purposes. The model is smooth.

[@chefmadewoodwork]

@@austinshaner awesome, thank you for the response!

[@glasgowguitarist3636]

Hi Austin. Thank you for all your wonderful videos. I have learned a huge amount from them even though I am still struggling as a relative beginner. I wonder if you could answer a question (or maybe even make a video about it) please. I can understand how rails can be used to loft an archtop as the ribs (sides) are typically level and the arch changes to meet the top edge of the rib. However, I am really struggling to model a “flattop” acoustic. In this case neither the top or back are actually flat. Instead they effectively have a consistent radius of say 28’ which means that the height of the sides must actually rise and fall to intersect the top at the appropriate point on the radius. The only way I can find to do this is to model a solid sphere or a surface section of a sphere then draw the body shape and extrude an intersect through this to create the top (and repeat the process for the back). Is there any other more effective/efficient strategy to model an acoustic?

[@austinshaner]

Hey mate, I actually think that is a really simple and effective way to model acoustic tops and backs... and also the most parametric friendly...since you are using the base geometric shapes to do it. Really all you need is a shape with that radius, and then let the outline fall where it may on that radius. I think the way you are using let's fusion do that math for you, rather than trying to direct model with lofts and rails etc.

[@austinshaner]

That being said, there are a few people on my discord who have done a ton of acoustic stuff and they may have a more refined approach. I'd encourage you to join and ask. I'm sure they'd be happy to help!

[@glasgowguitarist3636]

@@austinshaner thanks for the input. Much appreciated. I joined the discord group last night so will ask there today. 👍

[@tomlockwood5335]

Gents- Could you explain further what the "Project "command is used for in offset plane operation?

[@austinshaner]

Hey Tom, sorry for the late reply. The project intersect command brings in the portion of our previous sketches that cross through that plane. The purpose is to give our new sketch something to snap to, so that way we know the curves we are drawing "connect" to the Sketches we did previously. If we didn't do this, the loft command would give us an error when we try to utilize those rails saying "Selected rail does not touch all profiles"

[@SCCatelo]

Hello. I'm new on this cnc world. I've just start using Fusion 360 and making some progress, but I still can't do 3D works. I can do 2D but can't create the CN program for this kind of tops. Can somebody help me?

[@esk1020]

Hi Austin. I am using your method here to try to model a carved solid top, but running into issues as my shape has a cutaway similar to an LP. As it is not symmetrical, I am having issues with lofting as it says bad geometry, intersects with itself, etc. Any suggestions on how to do this method but for a guitar with a cutout?

[@austinshaner]

If using a cutout there are a couple different ways. First, is you could model the initial top the same way as in my video, but then with a separate sketch simply extrude to remove the cutout section. Another way is to break the loft/patch into more manageable chunks, instead of one large one. You can use G2 curvature option to make sure it matches the larger surface. You can also use the form workspace as well if you are comfortable with it to shape the entire top. But I've found that the most difficult.

[@esk1020]

@@austinshaner Thanks, Austin. I followed your advice and did the cutout after the surface loft. I found that when I did a solid loft between two rails there was part that didn't extend to the boundaries all the way (like a crease). So I did the surface loft and it worked. The issue is after the cutout extrude, there is a slight opening where the top meets the bottom in the curve of the cutout where the height from the loft is a bit higher than the body. If I patch it, it seems like it is a sharp transition. Is there a better way to fill in that space so it follows the curve? Sorry if this is confusing. Hard to state without a screenshot.

[@Rimorox]

Does this apply to asymmetrical designs? I’m reverse engineering a pick guard from a 1930s guitar and it has a bevel similar to what you created here but it is not symmetrical, it should be easy enough to accomplish but all I want to do is create a similar symmetrical bevel but on a asymmetrical shape. What are your thoughts?

[@austinshaner]

Yes it can apply to asymmetric designs, but you may need to alter how you set up the planes so the rails point in the direction you want.

[@Rimorox]

@@austinshaner I’ll mess around. I got super close using a similar concept using surfacing, although I could only get it to follow the contours as if it was a box, the inner edges didn’t get contoured if that makes sense

[@unskilled_worker]

Can this be done in free version?

[@austinshaner]

The example in this video was done using the free version! So yes!

[@DanteEhome]

That's a very misleading thumbnail.

[@austinshaner]

Not intentionally, I chose a quilted maple top appearance for the render since it highlights the curvature and appeals to guitar and violin makers. But I can see why some might find it misleading. My apologies.

[@DanteEhome]

@@austinshaner Yeah I clicked into the video expecting to use some random patter addons to generate curved top. It's ok man nice video anyways.

[@yagwaw]

@@DanteEhome Exactly the same for me. Useful insights into lofting nevertheless.

[@jaquu]

Where the thumbnail part is?

[@austinshaner]

The only difference between the thumbnail and what I showed in the video is applying a quilted maple appearance and creating a render.

[@jaquu]

@@austinshaner OK, so the video does not contain that part? I came for the thumbnail view, I was interested how to create and carve surface shown in the picture. That's why there are thumbnails, to show the key point and part of the actual video? Just as a feed back ;)

[@alexanderkartsonakis]

xD it's only a matter of time where other fusion yt channels will become obsolete... Mark my words 😆

[@austinshaner]

LOL, if that day comes I expect you to start your own channel. I don't have the time to be the only channel out there 😜

[@alexanderkartsonakis]

@@austinshaner if I ever start a yt channel, it'd be about cooking the perfect burger 😅

[@austinshaner]

*3d modeling it in Rhino and machining the frozen patties you mean

[@alexanderkartsonakis]

@@austinshaner yeah...more like eating them 😆

[@octimus2000]

Not at all what I thought based on the thumbnail

[@rpatrick2]

I send people to see your videos. You and name not important should be required watching.

[@austinshaner]

Namenotimportant is great!! #Honored Thank you!!

[@romannumeral5547]

Fantastic video Austin. Wish I'd had this around when I was first trying to learn Fusion to build a carved top guitar. Would have saved me a lot of time and headaches for sure. Just wondering if you could show how to create the flat center block portion of the carved top to mate up to the body some time. Hollow bodies need material there to mount the bridge and pickups. Thanks for the great video.

[@austinshaner]

I will definitely do a follow up video at some point that models a proper carved body. This video was just intended to get people familiar with the general technique and inspired to give it an attempt.