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Class Photos

Woburn Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Woburn
Jerry Brown, Scott Dixon & George Vondriska
Teach the Teacher Class - Wild Earth School in Hudson, WI
Teach the Teacher Class - Wildearth School in Hudson, WI
Teach the Teacher Class - Wildearth School in Hudson, WI
March Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Wilmington
June Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Wilmington
May Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Leesburg, VA
May Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Milwaukee, WI
August Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Nashville, TN
November Class of 2006
Teach the Teacher Class - Pinkerton Academy - Derry, NH
March Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Portsmouth, NH
June Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Portsmouth, NH
August Class of 2008
Woodcraft of Portsmouth, NH
November Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Portsmouth, NH
April Class of 2007
Woodcraft of West Springfield, MA
June Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Springfield, VA
Teach the Teacher Class - Jacksonville, FL - November 2007
Teach the Teacher Class - Woodcraft of Jacksonville, FL
Teach the Teacher Class - Portland, OR - January 2009
Teach the Teacher Class - Woodcraft of Portland, OR
Teach the Teacher Class - Virginia Beach/Norfolk, VA - January 2007
Teach the Teacher Class - Woodcraft of Virginia Beach/Norfolk, VA
Spokane class of 2009
Woodcraft of Spokane, WA
Boise Class of 2009
Woodcraft of Boise, ID
Class of December 2007
Woodcraft of Manchester, CT/Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking
Woburn Class of 2008
Woodcraft of Woburn
Woburn Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Woburn
Woburn Class of 2009
Woodcraft of Woburn
Woburn Class of 2007
Woodcraft of Woburn
Orlando Class of 2008
Woodcraft of Orlando
Seattle, WA acoustiv guitar building class photo
Woodcraft of Seattle, WA
US Guitar Kits Instruction Manuals

View &/or download a complete set of US Guitar Kit instructions.

US Guitar Kits Instruction Manuals

View &/or download a complete set of US Guitar Kit instructions.

US Guitar Kits Instruction Manuals

View &/or download a complete set of US Guitar Kit instructions.

Guitar Making Overview with Scott Dixon

This video provides an overview of the US Guitar Kit contents, and the basic guitar building steps. Our other videos will detail specific steps and the use of specialized tools.

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US Guitar Kits American Woodworker segment
The American Woodshop with Scott Phillips featuring U.S. Guitar Kits and Scott Dixon.
U.S. Guitar Kits Kit Marking Step 1, Part 1

Marking is a critical step to getting off to a good start.

Be sure to review Step 1, Part 1 & also Step 1, Part 2.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Kit Marking Step 1, Part 2

Marking is a critical step to getting off to a good start.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Top Bracing Step 2

The video will show the marking, trimming and scalloping of the braces to prepare for the final fitting of the top.

Shaping of the top braces makes the biggest difference to the tone and volume produced by the guitar.

Templates included in the instruction manual will provide a general guide to shaping.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Lining Pockets Step 3

This video will show the final marking and cutouts of the pocket in the lining for the ends of the top braces.

A final step before gluing and clamping the top.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Top Gluing and Clamping Step 4

A review of this video will show the critical steps to ensuring the neck plate is in complete contact with the top.

This step is important to the neck angle and overall fit for the neck in the later steps.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Cutting Neck Tang Pocket Step 5

Once the top is glued on, it is covering the neck tang pocket.

Having the right tool for the job will make easy work for this step.

With the cut complete, the neck tang to fit into the pocket.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Neck Fiting Step 6

This is the most critical step in building the kit.

Getting the neck to lie in plane with the top will allow the playability to be adjusted perfectly in the later steps.

The explanation in the video will really clarify the adjustments and measurements.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Bridge Step 7, Part 1

This step is broken into 2 parts with the first part focused on marking the location of the bridge.

Another critical step to ensure the guitar will play in tune with itself.

Scale length is easily accomplished with a simple yet unique jig included in the kit.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Bridge Step 7, Part 2

The second part of this step is focused on clamping the bridge using a unique clamp.

Having the right clamp will make easy work of this step.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Neck Prep Step 8, Part 1

This first part of this step is focused on fitting the truss rod and correctly positioning the fretboard on the neck.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Neck Prep Step 8, Part 2

This second part of this step will focus on final prepwork for the neck and fingerboard as well as the glue up process to attach the two.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Fretboard Radius & Fretting Step 9, Part 1

Establishing the radius and relating that to the bridge is key to good action and playability.

This first part of this step will focus on radiusing the fingerboard using a special radius sanding block.

Also shown are the steps to gluing the abalone inlay fret dots and the 12th fret marker without getting glue in the fret slots.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Fretboard Radius & Fretting Step 9, Part 2

Final work is done to level the abalone inlays and final sanding of the fingerboard using the high frit foam sanding pads.

Without any finish at all, the fingerboard will really come alive.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Fretboard Radius & Fretting Step 9, Part 3

Hammering frets takes a careful touch using the right hammer so as not to flatten or damage the frets.

Once the fret are installed, the video shows trimming and filing the ends as well as angling the frets on the edge of the fingerboard.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Binding & Purfling Step 10, Part 1

Cutting the channel on the top and back requires a special router bit and bearing set.

See how the router bit combinations work to cut the channels in preparation for the binding & purfling.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Binding & Purfling Step 10, Part 2

The final part to this step is gluing on the binding and purfling.

The back is fairly simple with only one piece being glued on at one time.

The top requires patience and preferably a second set of hands to get all the pieces glued at one time.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Scraping Step 11

This step will provide some good tips on using a cabinet scraper to level the binding and purfling on the top, back and sides.

With an understanding of the scraper and a little bit of practice, this step will reveal the details of the thin strips of the binding and purfling.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Machines and Headstock Modification Step 12

There are many ways to customize the headstock and this video shows you where those options can be made and truly make your guitar unique to you.

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U.S. Guitar Kits Setup, Tuning & Finale'

The final setups determine the playability and the video reviews those steps to get you to understand where the adjustments can be made.

A final tuning and a quick tune!

If you are just watching the videos for fun, we hope it has sparked your interest enough to dive in and build one yourself.

If you are using the video as a supplement to the instruction manual, we hope that you can visually see some of the steps better.

Either way, get out there and make some music!

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Testimonials

Guitars contributed by US Guitar Kits Builders and Students

USGK Cutaway
John Kotrosa Leesburg, VA Student
Tim includes the Rooster inlay on many of his guitars. His shop is named the Rooster Run Workshop in Newark, DE.
Rosette Detail on Spruce Top
Tim Trimble Custom Monogram Heastock - Newark, DE
Tim Trimble Abalone Top Detail - Newark, DE
Tim Trimble Abonole Top Side View - Newark, DE
Tim Trimble Abolone Bridge Trim Detail - Newark, DE
Veneered Headstock Front & Sides - Woburn, MA
Veneered Headstock Back & Sides - Woburn, MA
Neck Heel Detail - Woburn, MA
Sunburst by Alan Feldman Roanoke, VA
Sunburst by Alan Feldman Roanoke, VA
Herringbone by David Smith Clinton, ME

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