How to safely cut f-holes in an archtop guitar | Glueing up the body and neck

With the Great Guitar Build Off coming in fast I thought id best try and get this archtop finished fast! So in this video we look at a fantastic way to cut f-holes in your thin archtop top without it splitting. I found this technique from watching ‪@HovingtonInstruments‬ Check out his channel!
This build is part of the #usewhatyouvegot challenge. Here’s some of the other channels taking part!
Miles McNally
/ miles_mcnally_luthierie
/ milokai1
Ray Baggett
/ baggettcustomguitars
/ rayrayokmusic
Saul Goode Guitars (Corey Muxlow)
saulgoodegu...
/ @saulgoodeguitars
Novak Guitars
/ guitarsnovak
/ @novakcustomguitars656
Magic Attic Guitars (Izak)
/ magicatticguitars
/ @magicatticguitars
Mike Mahaffey
thistle_ins...
Dave Dickens
footstepgui...
/ @davedickens
Steve Walker Guitars
stevewalker...
/ @stevewalkerguitars
Bogdan Bacila
/ bogdanbacila301
/ @bogdanbacila301
Chris Franklyn
/ chrisfranklyn
/ @chrisfranklyn
Winter Guitars
winter_guit...
/ @winterguitars
Jason Makes
jason.makes...
/ @jasonmakes
Bonehead Guitars
bonehead_gu...
/ @boneheadguitars
J-Bird Customs (Jesse Garland)
jbirdcustom...
/ @jbirdcustoms
4th Avenue Guitars
/ 4thavenueguitars
/ 4thaveguitars
Derik Nailz Fenstermacher
/ nailz1111
/ @derikfenstermacher1073
Please check out my Merch site to help support this channel
teespring.com/stores/king-bes...
and have a look at my website, especially if you would like me to create a custom carved guitar for you!
www.kingbespokecreations.uk/
#luthier #archtopguitar #Kbc

[@HovingtonInstruments]

Thanks for the shoutout Chris, I must give credits to where it’s due. The f holes patch come from Roger Siminoff’s book on how to make a Mandolin. In my Mandocello build series I kept track of components weight and did a weight before and after glue up and confirmed that it doesn’t add a lot of weight. It will add stiffness though ( brightness to the sound and projection) Have fun with your build, just Subbed 🤙🇨🇦

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Thats great, thanks Tomy! 👍

[@rocketpoolpki]

Oh man, that looks the mutts nutts mate. I really dig the shape of the sound holes, they totally suit that guitar down to the ground. You could fix a baffle that drops down from the sound hole, in between the hole and the pots,...paint it matt black...or a shroud to cover the pots. Run the carving down from the neck and let it fade out where the control panel starts.

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Some top tips there, thanks!

[@realitystudioscustomshop]

Carve the roses! definitely! looking great so far

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Thanks for the vote!

[@jonahguitarguy]

Tomy is a very skilled builder in deed. His videos skills are top notch as well. As for the reason traditional F holes have holes at the ends, probably has more to do with the likely hood of the top cracking without them than tone or tradition. The reinforcing cloth should help with that however.

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Definitely a great way to keep it all together!

[@4thAvenueGuitars]

F holes are your excuse to play and express yourself. looking great.

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Thanks. I looked in the history a bit and it’s all a bit vague. No one could give me a reason why they all have circle holes at the end?

[@4thAvenueGuitars]

@@KingBespokeCreations I think it’s probably partly that a circle is a stronger shape and less likely to split than a sharp point. But as with most things tradition takes over and it becomes a ‘that’s just how it’s always been done’

[@simonmoore2549]

Really coming together Chris, Looks good. I hope it sounds as good as it looks

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Me too! 🤞

[@ArturBrzozowski444]

It's a guitar! I'll steal this fabric f-hole trick In terms of this floral "binding" carved one seems more cohesive. Pyrography is cool too

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Thanks Artur. 👍

[@yazman4040]

How do? Heyo Chris, looking really good so far my dude. As for my vote for what you should do. As every of Ben's intros says, "Burn it".

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Cheers man! Thanks for the vote!

[@yazman4040]

Of course dude.

[@saulgoodeguitars]

Looking schmick, what about recessing normal pots in the side, and just have them poking out the bottom , you could probably still do your thumb wheel idea And then you could have the wires follow the rim of the guitar?

[@KingBespokeCreations]

🤔 I’ll look into that...

[@mark64tanner]

Love the substrate reinforcement, would maybe consider Gauze or a Silk intead of that thick bandage and maybe CA instead of Aliphatic glue to give a nice hard edge. Is the cling wrap neededif you just dont put glue on that area? Just some thoughts, not criticism. take care mate and all the best. 👍✌😎 Burn the designs in would be my leaning, less chance of compromising the grain structure ✌

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Thanks Mark. It did occur to me to just not glue that bit, but I didn’t want the glue to spread across either. 👍

[@mark64tanner]

@@KingBespokeCreations the biggest thing I'd look at is what you glue under the "F" holes, reckon some silk and superglue would be 👍

[@robmarmaduke]

Pyrography would look great on that grain

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Thanks for the vote!

[@ChrisFranklyn]

Ah, I saw those gluey fabric patches in another video or instagram and was really curious about that!

[@ChrisFranklyn]

You looks so happy at the end! There's a man who is glad it all worked out :)

[@KingBespokeCreations]

There where times I was properly scared! But love the fact it seems to be working so far!

[@jenex123]

This is probably a stupid question.. why did you not cut the holes before you glued the side on ? I think a long stemed rose would look good 👍

[@KingBespokeCreations]

No great reason really. Other than it provided a flat surface x

[@crazyrees23]

Anybody make a acoustic f hole guitar with center sound hole?

[@KingBespokeCreations]

There’s no reason why you couldn’t, but the f-holes would probably be more decorative by that point.

[@glennlilley8608]

The cutting of the f holes It's a good while ago, but I seem to remember me dad steaming the wood to soften it before cutting out whatever shapes they were Anyone in the know, want to break an old man's heart, and tell him his memory is crap? (asking for a friend)

[@KingBespokeCreations]

That’s a new trick on me! Apparently the bandage is used to fix old guitars and cellos etc when they’re broken 🤕

[@joshuaglaude1549]

There's a custom mandolin and guitar maker, Jerry Rosa, does the same sort of thing for his f holes. He's a very picky guy on what he uses, so I suppose it works. Rosa string works.

[@KingBespokeCreations]

Good to hear more backup for this! I couldn’t think of how to get round the issue of splitting wood!