Comfort Zone
Alex Bishop discovers that ‘less’ turns out to be ‘more’ when it comes to making a comfort arm bevel
For me, making bespoke acoustic guitars is all about crafting a unique instrument that looks as special as it sounds. But how exactly is this achieved? Every maker has their own style; just like the brushstrokes of an artist, every pass of a luthier’s chisel carries the identity of its maker. But sometimes we have to look for other ways to stand out from the crowd.
Back in 1989, William ‘Grit’ Laskin was the first builder to introduce the concept of an arm bevel to an acoustic guitar. This feature was designed to alleviate the pressure on the picking arm by breaking up the corner of the instrument with a deep chamfer. Soon after, luthier Kevin Ryan developed this idea into the ‘transitional’ bevel, a similar idea that sees the binding blend away into the body of the guitar to create a similar effect.
When I was approached last year to build a guitar, the client challenged me to do something to improve the ergonomics of the traditional acoustic guitar. It seemed a fitting opportunity to try out one of these styles of bevel and embrace learning a new process. I had actually attempted the arm bevel a couple of times before but with mixed results. My first try relied on a curved block of maple forming the junction between the top and side at the lower bout. By filing away this section of the guitar when the body was finished, the figured maple would become exposed and the corner of the guitar would get blended away.
Around The Bend
It all seemed to go well up to this point, but what I didn’t count on was the challenge posed when I got to adding a decorative binding to the outside corners of the body. How was this binding going to curve around the outline of the guitar and yet flow up and down the bevel at the same time? I looked again at my reference pictures. Some kind of guitar-making sorcery was at play here. Further research was needed!
With the help of esteemed luthier Kent ‘Carlos’ Everett (thank you!), I learned that the curve of the bevel had to be cut into the rib and the top before the internal block went in. Not only that but a decorative veneer would be glued over the top so the internal block could be made of any wood. This meant that, rather than using a rock hard piece of lumber like bird’s eye maple, I could opt for something lightweight and easy to carve such as lime or spruce.
The block itself would have to be tapered at each end and undercut to reduce weight. Not an easy task with such an awkward, curve-shaped piece of wood. The resulting artefact was rather like a wooden banana, and in more ways than one. I’m sure any woodworker out there would agree that trying to create perfect joinery becomes quite the challenge when your workpiece is
“How was this binding going to curve around the outline of the guitar, and yet flow up and down the bevel at the same time?”
sliding out from under the clamps like a banana peel under the sole of a shoe.
But armed with the right approach, I could see things were beginning to head in the right direction. Once the soundbox was closed, it was clear how the binding would seamlessly flow around the arm bevel in one continuous unbroken line, and it would just take a bit of ingenuity to work out how the purfling lines would be held in place where they diverted away from the binding at either end of the bevel. Fortunately, I’d recently seen a clever trick somewhere online using scalpel blades inserted into the bevel block to wedge the purfling firmly against the outline of the guitar. With a bit of reinforced tape added for good measure – and despite the array of blades making it look like the final scene from a horror movie – everything was looking just right.
The finishing touch of the outer veneer was all that remained. Few sensory experiences match the satisfaction of trimming away the oversized veneer with a sharpened chisel to reveal the simple flowing lines of wood beneath. Crafted with precision and finesse, the arm bevel seamlessly blends form and function, offering both aesthetic elegance and enhanced comfort.