A particular aesthetic

A particular aesthetic infuses a traditional guitar making workshop. It is an aesthetic of simplicity and purpose, most commonly shared and understood by woodworkers who practice crafts like Japanese sliding door making. The joining of the tops and backs of guitars from two pieces of wood provides a good example. This aesthetic finds no place for a clumsy metal clamp when some sticks, a block of wood or two and some string suffice. Here is how the task of joining the top or back of a guitar is undertaken.

Take two bookmatched pieces of wood, approximately 21" by 7.5" by 1/4" and a long shooting plane and join the matching edge of each piece until no light can be seen between them when held up to the window. Have the glue pot ready with a good grade of hide glue at the correct temperature. Take 4 hardwood sticks, each approx 1" by 1/2" by 20" and two lengths of sisal string about 8-10' long each with a loop tied in one end. Lay two sticks out on the bench in parallel, in such a way that each supports one end of the bookmatched pair when laid upon them as if already glued. Run the loop of each piece of string over one end of each stick. Place a slip of waxed paper over each of the two sticks where the joint between the two pieces you will glue touch the sticks.

Now, take one of the two bookmatched pieces, quickly run glue from the hot gluepot along the entire edge, place it on the sticks waiting to receive it, place the second piece of the bookmatched set in position, two more slips of waxed paper over the glue joint, the remaining two hardwood sticks atop the first so that your glued bookmatched pieces are sandwiched between them, then quickly wind the sisal string around one end of the hardwood sticks, across the boards, around the other ends of the the hardwood sticks and back again as many times as the length of string allows.

The string can now be pulled tight by inserting a wood block between the string and the hardwood sticks and pulling it tightly to one side or the other, thereby applying closing pressure to the glue joint of the bookmatched pair while also holding them flat and ensuring no mismatch between the two pieces. Set this assembly aside until the glue has dried completely at which time you can begin preparations to inlay the rosette. This is also how Japanese screen makers join large thin panels of wood for sliding doors.