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#1
05-06-2023, 09:03 AM
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Tapering the sides simple question
I have read this older post:
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=106376 It gives me a few good options of how to taper the sides. The only thing I am unclear about is do you cut the taper off of the top or bottom of the sides. I have looked at a few guitars and it looks like it comes off the top, when I look at guitar plans it looks like it comes off the bottom. I just want to be certain it is the top or I could end up trashing the whole thing if the top and bottom is glued on only to find I have a backwards body wall hanger Last edited by Mungo Park; 05-06-2023 at 09:12 AM. 
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#2
05-06-2023, 09:53 AM
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A backwards wall hanger can still play just fine, actually. In a normal guitar built using contemporary methods, the side are tapered to fit the curvature of the radiused plates, with the the back plate being generally more dished than the top plate. Usually, the sides are more or less plumb to the top and the body taper is put into back. Methods for accomplishing this are surprisingly varied.
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#3
05-06-2023, 10:06 AM
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Thank you Bruce, I am thinking I will make a template and then cut a slice off the sides as they are plenary big. I would rather have a slice of straight wood to reuse than a curved one. I will leave extra so when it is bent up I can sand it down with a radius dish. I understand that the waist is higher/wider than the lower bout I am going slow with this until it all makes sense for me.
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#4
05-06-2023, 01:18 PM
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Are you going to use an outside body mold and a radius dish that has the back radius in your build? If so, I can post a couple photos of a simple method to make a side template that incorporates an accurate profile/taper for the edge of the side that goes with the back of the guitar.
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#5
05-06-2023, 01:22 PM
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Quote:
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#6
05-06-2023, 01:40 PM
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Quote:
[IMG]  [/IMG]Remove the tape and transfer it to your material of choice for the template (I use poster board). Locate the tape on the material taking into account the overall taper of the guitar body from the tail to the neck (body depth at each end relative to the top). In the photo below, the tail end of the body is at the right and the neck end of the body is at the left. Then cut along the scribed line. The shape of that edge of the template will be very close to the final side profile. Before removing the tape from the template, transfer the locations of the upper bout, waist, and lower bout to the template. When I cut a side accurately along that line, it makes "driving the bus" on the radius dish to get to the final profile pretty fast. [IMG]  [/IMG]
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#7
05-06-2023, 02:41 PM
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Thank you very much excellent explanation, great photos, I will have no problem following this method and will get me very close so not a lot of dish sanding. Also I will have the cutoff for somewhere else on the guitar. Ticks all the boxes.
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#8
05-06-2023, 03:01 PM
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Quote:
m
__________________
Mark Hatcher www.hatcherguitars.com “"A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking". Steven Wright
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#9
05-06-2023, 10:28 PM
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So far, all the plans I have used, e.g. Grellier, have included the side profile. I make a template and cut out the sides with a router before bending. I then only have to make minor adjustments once the sides are in the mold to make sure they are symmetrical.
All I have done, the top of the sides were straight and the back tapered. I don't use a radius dish, just a radiused Sanding stick on the edges.
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| side taper. side template |
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