LMI Cutaway Template - Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag
In this episode, luthier Robbie O’Brien talks about cutaway and neck carving templates, specifically the ones designed by LMI.
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag]
Mailbag question: I found the LMI Cutaway Template very helpful, and thought others would benefit if you talked about it
Robert O'Brien: Today's Tips du Jour Mailbag question comes to us from Alabama.
"Robert, I recently built a guitar, using your online Venetian cutaway course for reference. During the design stage I had some difficulty laying out the cutaway portion. Recently I found a template from LMI that makes this step much easier, and I thought others would benefit if you talked about it. John in Alabama."
Yeah, John, thank you very much for bringing that to my attention. Let's step over to the bench and I'll show the viewers what you're talking about.
LMI cutaway templates
So John, these cutaway templates are made to be used with either the LMI Dreadnought or the LMI OM plans. The first thing you do is use the acrylic template from LMI to trace the shape onto either your top or your back. Next, you take the cutaway template, line it up at the center line on the front edge of the guitar here, where the neck's going to go, and then just trace the cutaway area. That takes all the guesswork out of the heel block when you're designing it, how wide it needs to be, how wide your fretboard's going to be. It's all right here on the template. Just place it on there and trace it.'
LMI heel cap templates
John, another template that you may not be aware of that LMI recently came out with is to design the heel cap. Now you can just place this and it helps you design and lay out the heel cap. If you've ever had trouble keeping that symmetrical, this certainly helps. It also has the neck contour, at the peghead, the center, and up by the heel, so if you've ever had trouble keeping the neck carving symmetrical, that will certainly help as well.
So John in Alabama, thank you very much for your question, and you're right, I think if people use the cutaway template and the net carving and the heel cap layout templates from LMI, that'd take a lot of guesswork out of those steps, so happy building.
[on-screen text reads: More Luthier Tips and online courses available at www.obrienguitars.com. Private and small group guitar building and finishing instruction available.]
