Construction

All CB guitars feature:

All solid woods - no laminates or synthetic materials
Hand-scalloped braces & tap-tuned tops
Hand-shaped necks to customer's specifications
Hand-crafted genuine bone nuts & saddles
Genuine bone bridge pins
Hand-rubbed Nitrocellulose Lacquer finishes
Quality hardshell case
Limited Lifetime Warranty

Chris' craftsmanship and attention to detail and tone quality assure you of the finest instruments available today, and Chris' artistry and his eye for aesthetics assure that his instruments will be as beautiful to the eye as they are pleasing to the ear.

The following pictures are meant to show you some of the craftsmanship that goes into the creation of each CB guitar.

Click this link for sound samples of CB instruments.

Click Here for Step-By-Step Construction of a CB Model J

 

 

Chris' first step in constructing a CB Guitar is bending the sides. Here Chris is removing a quilted Mahogany side from his boiling trough. Boiling time varies by wood species and amount of figure; typically, figured wood must be boiled for a longer period of time to allow the wood to bend without cracking. Some species require no boiling at all, only a short soaking.

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Chris bends the side wood over a heated bending iron of his own design & construction.

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A steady hand and a practiced eye are required to bend the sides without cracking the wood...

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 ...and to achieve the closest possible fit to the body form without twisting or distorting the wood.

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Chris clamps the side wood into his hand-made body form. Carefully bending the wood to closely fit the form eliminates the possibility of the wood cracking while in the form.

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The center spreader blocks lock the body into the form, and hold the gentle curve of the waist area.

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Adjustable clamps allow Chris to adjust the tension of the body form as necessary.

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The body will remain clamped in the form until it is able to hold its shape on its own, without distortion. Clamping time varies by wood species.

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Chris assembles the body of an Indian Rosewood "Herringbone" Cutaway.

 

Guitar top awaiting tuning and scalloping of braces.

All CB guitars feature hand-scalloped braces of select Sitka Spruce and tap-tuned tops for maximum tonal response and volume.

 

Chris hand-fabricates kerfed lining from Mahogany stock.

Lining is glued to sides in body form.

 

Back braces are located and glued in a gluing jig fabricated by Chris.

Chris clamps the guitar braces to the back in the gluing jig.

 

Indian Rosewood "Herringbone" Cutaway body in form.

Indian Rosewood "Herringbone" Cutaway back awaiting hand-shaping of braces, shown with body in form. All CB guitars feature hand-shaped back braces of select Sitka Spruce.

 

Front view of unfinished Mahogany "Herringbone" body.

Rear view of unfinished Mahogany "Herringbone" body.

 

Front view of unfinished Indian Rosewood "Herringbone" body.

Rear view of unfinished Indian Rosewood "Herringbone" body.

 

All CB guitars feature hand-fit dovetail neck joints. The dovetail neck joint, while harder to accomplish properly than modern "shortcuts", is still the finest method ever devised for neck attachment.

The dovetail neck joint allows for maximum tone transmission from neck to body, maximum strength, optimum playing action, and ease of future neck repairs.

 

In order to introduce an adjustable truss rod that adjusts neck tension through the sound hole, some manufacturers drill a hole through the transverse brace that lies underneath the fretboard extension. This weakens this major brace in its most critical area, and leads to problems such as top distortion and neck block displacement.

Beware of guitars featuring this type of neck adjustment!

This picture, taken with a mirror looking at the underside of the top at the neck block through the sound hole, shows Chris' solution to this problem. Rather than drill through the transverse brace to allow access to the truss rod adjustment nut, all CB guitars feature an adjustment nut that is accessible through the end of the neck block by simply reaching inside the guitar behind the transverse brace. This allows for easily-accessible neck adjustment while maintaining the structural integrity of the guitar.

 

"Standard" acoustic guitar cutaways used by other makers are typically just that: the upper treble bout of the guitar is simply removed to allow more access to the upper frets. Most makers do not take the extra care to follow the angle of the heel to the back of the guitar. This results in an unsightly "wedge" of wood by the treble side of the neck heel that really gets in the way when playing in the higher positions.

The CB cutaway follows the angle of the neck heel to the back of the neck for easier access and a better appearance. This requires a great deal of work, as a "compound radius" is required, but the playability and beauty of this cutaway is worth the extra effort. Because of this compound radius, CB cutaways are a "Florentine" (sharp) design rather than a "Venetian" (rounded) design.

 

Chris hard at work, cutting pearl for inlays.

All inlays are hand-cut and hand-inletted by Chris.

 

Chris buffing the finish of a CB-ROM.

Final cleaning & setup of a CB-ROM.

 

 

Last modified: November 28, 2015

 

Telephone - 615-799-9217

Postal address - 7151 New Hope Road, Fairview TN 37062

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Last modified: November 28, 2015