Dogwood Guitars

  • Home
  • About
  • Guitars
    • Dogwood Models
    • Guitar Galleries
    • Ordering your Dogwood Guitar
    • FAQ’s
  • Services
  • Lutherie Classes
  • Pictorials
    • Repairs
    • How to Correctly String a Guitar
    • Building A Monarch
    • Making a Spalted Maple Rosette
    • Pearl and Abalone Inlay
  • Articles
    • Technical
    • Viewpoint
  • Testimonials
  • YouTube
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Building A Monarch / Building a Monarch: The Box

Building a Monarch: The Box

Bending the sides begins the process of making a guitar body. A bending form is required for each type and size of body, and the appropriate form is installed in the bending machine. This jig uses a heating blanket and spring loaded cauls to gently bend the sides to shape. The sides are carefully laid out and matched for best use of grain and figure prior to being bent. The bent sides are clamped into a building mold that is unique to each body type, and the head and end blocks are glued into place. A parabolic sander contours the top and back sides of the rims, and kerfing is installed to strengthen the rims and to provide more gluing surface for the top and back.

Dogwood Guitars are voiced and tuned as part of the boxing process. The braces are tapered to fit notches in the rims and the top is glued on. The top braces are carved while Greg voices and tunes the top using FFT analysis software to verify the progress. When the back and top are fully voiced and tuned to the correct fundamental resonances the back is glued on, closing the box. The back and top are flush cut and the box is sanded smooth. The photos below show the progress as a Monarch body is made.

[Show as slideshow]
dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_18_box
dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_19_box
dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_20_box

dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_22_box
dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_21_box
dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_23_box

dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_24_box
dscn1138
dscn1141

dscn1145
dscn1147
dscn1143

dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_25_box
dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_26_box
dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_27_wedge

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Customer Testimonials: European Maple Eminence

"Several years ago when I found out that Greg was starting to make hand made guitars, I knew that I wanted one. Did I need one? No, but that didn't mean I wanted it any less! This past January my wife out of the blue said I should contact Greg and … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonial: Dogwood Monarch

"I loved my handcrafted Yamaha LX5 until I played my brother's Larrivee. So I bought a Larrivee. The Dogwood acoustic makes my Larrivee sound like my old Yamaha. The Dogwood is superior to my Larrivee D-03R in every way - tone, action - even looks. I … [Read More...]

Building a Monarch: Top and Back

The building of any guitar begins with selecting the woods to be used. A bookmatched set of Spruce or Cedar is selected for the top, and a back and side set is chosen for the body. Standard woods for the latter are Rosewood, Mahogany, or Maple. Many … [Read More...]

Lutherie Classes: Voicing and Tuning

Acoustic Guitar Voicing and Tuning Class This is an advanced class that explores the principles behind great acoustic guitar tone. This class is intended for the experienced builder, and knowledge of acoustic guitar construction is essential … [Read More...]

The Importance of a Good Setup, Part Three

In the first two parts of this article, we have looked at basic setup services, which include setting the neck relief and string action, as well as new string installation and other basic adjustments. We have also discussed some improvements and … [Read More...]

Blog: Jumbo inlay

Work continues on the Rosewood Kingston Jumbo this week, with the gold Mother of Pearl and Abalone fretboard inlay work. These crown type position markers are beautiful and I love the old-school appearance that calls to mind the Gibson SJ-200 and … [Read More...]

Visit us on YouTube…

Follow Dogwood Guitars

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Technical Articles

Why do old guitars sound better?

Why do some old guitars sound so good? Even inexpensive guitars can age into really good sounding instruments, and some old guitars attain legendary tone. Why is this? The answer can be found in one of three factors and the best … [Read More...]

More Technical Articles

Viewpoint Articles

Exploring Common Guitar Myths

I am going to divide this article into two sections: Myths and misunderstandings about playability and care; and myths about tone. We will take these two topics in order. Playability and Care So, your guitar is a little hard to play, the … [Read More...]

More Viewpoint Articles

Copyright © 2023 Dogwood Guitars