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Robert O'Brien Online Acoustic Guitar Building Course

Welcome to my Online Acoustic Guitar Building Course. In the course I show you how to build your own steel string guitar from beginning to end. Each video lesson contains high quality video and audio with simple to understand, very detailed instructions. It is like actually being in my shop working with me. Not only do I explain what to do but also what not to do and problems to avoid. I offer advice that has taken me years to learn and will no doubt shorten your learning curve. The course is over 25 hours and is divided into 15 chapters that contain video lessons about every step in the guitar building and finishing process. You can purchase each chapter separately or the entire course at a discount. You can start at the beginning and work at your own pace or start at any point throughout the course.

I have included some free videos and sample lessons for you to preview the course. To begin, just register and purchase the video lessons. If you purchase the entire course you get a special bonus I have prepared for you. First you get a free copy of the professionally drawn plans for the neck angle jig I use in the course, a $20 value. You also get a buy one get one free coupon for a CD from Steve Devries, a $15 value. I use Steve's music throughout the course and after hearing it you most certainly will want to own his music. www.stevedevries.net You also become eligible to join my invitation only chat group. Here I offer advice and support as you build. There is a wealth of information available to you for free!

Please read the FAQ page before beginning.

It has never been easier to learn the art of guitar building.

Happy Building!

Complete Course:
Introductory Promotional Price:

Course Content


 Construction Notes for Steel String Guitar is an in-depth, step by step, handbook designed as a companion to my “Online Acoustic Guitar Building Course”. It has over 180 pages of detailed instructions and each chapter contains hyperlinks to all of the lessons in my online course as well as links to my free YouTube “Luthier Tips du Jour” instructional videos.

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Chapter 1 - The Sides - 3:39:36

  1. Cutting Sides to Width - 10:02
  2. Thicknessing - 20:11
  3. Scraping - 6:31
  4. Sanding - 4:37
  5. Molds - 2:38
  6. Intro to Bending - 7:28
  7. Tapering the Sides - 7:55
  8. Bending - 23:15
  9. Bending Part II - 8:31
  10. Heel and End Blocks - 23:12
  11. Cutting Sides to Length - 6:53
  12. Gluing Sides to Blocks - 11:21
  13. Radiusing - 21:24
  14. Kerfing - 17:50
  15. More Radiusing and Kerfing - 8:37
  16. Crack repair - 10:40
  17. Side Struts - 12:41
  18. End Wedge - 15:59

$25

Chapter 2 - The Soundport - 26:33

  1. Soundport Overview - 5:41
  2. Making Veneers - 5:24
  3. Attaching Veneers - 8:32
  4. Routing the Soundport - 6:57

$10

Chapter 3 - The Back - 2:19:57

  1. Joining the Back - 12:39
  2. Making Back Braces - 21:43
  3. Thicknessing the Back - 8:52
  4. Reinforcement Strip - 11:48
  5. Gluing Back Braces - 18:24
  6. Voicing the Back - 27:29
  7. Radiusing Back Kerfing - 3:50
  8. Fitting the Back - 21:58
  9. Attaching the Back - 13:26

$15

Chapter 4 - The Top - 4:43:48

  1. Joining the Top - 11:40
  2. Prepping for the Rosette Part I - 4:23
  3. Hand Plane Setup - 3:21
  4. Prepping for the Rosette Part II - 11:42
  5. Installing the Rosette - 23:57
  6. Installing the Rosette Purflings - 13:00
  7. Thicknessing the Top - 20:09
  8. Binding the Soundhole - 20:05
  9. Top bracing Overview - 4:22
  10. Making Braces - 18:44
  11. The X Brace - 17:30
  12. Tone Bars and Finger Braces - 16:07
  13. Upper Braces - 12:26
  14. Soundhole Bracing - 2:02
  15. The Bridge Patch - 17:09
  16. Braces Discussed - 10:42
  17. Voicing Part I - 18:25
  18. Voicing Part II - 19:51
  19. Voicing Part III - 14:14
  20. Closing the Box - 24:12

$30

Chapter 5 - Bindings - 1:47:24

  1. Bending - 10:18
  2. Setting Up the Binding Cutter Jig - 13:44
  3. Cutting Binding Channels - 17:07
  4. Install Prep - 7:48
  5. Installing the Bindings - 21:24
  6. Installing the Back Bindings - 17:41
  7. Scraping the Bindings - 19:34

$15

Chapter 6 - The Neck - 2:27:06

  1. Cutting the Scarf Joint - 10:56
  2. Laminating the Neck - 10:31
  3. Gluing the Scarf Joint - 7:54
  4. Thicknessing the Peghead - 8:14
  5. Truss Rod Slot - 10:15
  6. Peghead Veneers - 10:46
  7. Trimming Peghead Veneer - 3:18
  8. Veneering Back of Peghead - 10:31
  9. Shaping and Drilling the Peghead - 9:27
  10. Heel Block - 3:23
  11. Calculating Neck Angle - 10:40
  12. Tapering the Neck - 6:22
  13. Neck Joint Jig - 3:26
  14. Cutting the Mortise - 7:38
  15. Cutting the Tenon - 20:37
  16. Attaching the Neck - 9:21
  17. Truss Rod Slot Extension - 3:49

$20

Chapter 7 - The Fretboard - 49:56

  1. Slotting the Fretboard - 9:55
  2. Tapering the Fretboard - 6:44
  3. Binding the Fretboard - 8:54
  4. Fretboard Length - 5:43
  5. Positioning the Fretboard - 11:33
  6. Attaching the Fretboard - 7:07

$10

Chapter 8 - Neck Carving - 1:15:8

  1. Making the heel cap - 7:14
  2. Carving the heel - 16:29
  3. Neck Width - 10:49
  4. Neck Thickness - 4:38
  5. Shaping the Neck - 15:30
  6. More Shaping - 13:08
  7. Sanding and Scraping - 7:20

$20

Chapter 9 - The Fretboard II - 1:12:31

  1. Radiusing the Fretboard - 8:57
  2. Leveling the Fretboard - 5:45
  3. Fret Markers - 13:24
  4. Side Fret Markers - 6:56
  5. Fret Installation Overview - 3:20
  6. Fret Installation - 12:17
  7. More Fret Installation - 16:40
  8. Beveling Fret Ends - 5:12

$15

Chapter 10 - The Bridge - 44:11

  1. Bridge design - 3:19
  2. Bridge Thickness and Shape - 6:55
  3. Bridge Pin Holes - 3:17
  4. Bridge Bottom Radius - 3:03
  5. Tapering the Wings - 4:11
  6. Bridge Top Radius - 3:47
  7. More Shaping - 4:15
  8. Saddle Slot - 8:25
  9. Sanding - 6:15
  10. Bridge Weight - 1:44

$15

Chapter 11 - The Finish - 3:14:24

  1. Finish Overview - 2:56
  2. Rounding the Bindings - 4:11
  3. Gap Filling - 1:20
  4. Sanding the Neck - 8:37
  5. Sanding the Body - 8:35
  6. Masking for Bridge - 7:40
  7. Pore Filling Prep - 9:38
  8. Pore Filling - 19:06
  9. Masking the Fretboard - 5:36
  10. Spray Equipment - 5:55
  11. Spraying Sealer - 10:05
  12. Spraying Explanation - 5:15
  13. Sanding the Sealer - 19:36
  14. Spraying Lacquer - 12:14
  15. Sanding the Lacquer - 18:58
  16. Final Spraying - 7:38
  17. Leveling the Finish - 24:45
  18. Buffing the Finish - 22:05

$40

Chapter 12 - Attaching the Bridge - 25:43

  1. Positioning the Bridge - 8:29
  2. Preparing for Gluing - 7:07
  3. Gluing the Bridge - 10:07

$10

Chapter 13 - Fretwork - 17:41

  1. Removing Masking Tape - 5:44
  2. Leveling Frets - 4:34
  3. Crowning Frets - 5:53
  4. Final Fretwork - 12:30

$10

Chapter 14 - Nut and Saddle - 27:37

  1. Fitting the Nut - 5:42
  2. Shaping the Nut - 5:24
  3. Slotting the Nut - 9:02
  4. The Saddle - 7:29

$10

Chapter 15 - Setup - 1:04:02

  1. Bridge Pin Holes - 7:10
  2. Installing Tuners - 6:32
  3. Installing Strings - 11:49
  4. Neck Relief - 3:26
  5. Nut Action - 9:13
  6. 12th Fret Action - 4:12
  7. Intonation - 11:42
  8. Initial Playing - 6:05
  9. Final Thoughts - 3:53

$25