Using a CNC machine is not as simple as putting in a chunk of wood, clicking a mouse and out spits a guitar 10 minutes later. You still have to put in a LOT of time behind a monitor to learn the software and design files on the front end. Once you have made your CAD and CAM files, it does save you time down the road (IF) we choose to run that same part file again. That is where the time savings is actually realized. However, since most of the guitars we build are one-offs it is rare that we can use many of the files we create more than once.
I do find our CNC very useful for building tools, jigs and forms that we will use to “hand craft” our guitars. It’s just another tool in our toolbox that allows us to SEE the end result before we’ve spent hundreds of hours to build by hand.
We can render what the guitar may look like in different scale lengths or with different number of frets to the body. Here is an example of how 12 and 14 fret necks might look on a Tottie model and how the bridge placement shifts on the top. This software allows me to see where the bridge will be in relation to the center of the lower bout.
Its our hope as you read this thread, it will allow you to understand a bit of the thought process that goes into how we build our guitars. Keep in mind that there are LOTS of other ways to build guitars with no absolute right or wrong way to arrive at the final product. This is just the path that we have chosen to follow.
Thanks for following along and questions, comments or participation are always welcome.