Martin Taylor’s guitar – ‘The Chet’ Part 3/10 – Celtic Knots

…How I made the Celtic Knot lattices for Martin’s guitar…

Jun 5, 2009 @ 11:32

Martin liked the pics of the test pieces I sent him and chose the Koa over the ebony for the lattices to replace the original nasty plastic cover plates. That decision made I got on with making them. Each one is made from two separate pieces – the knot-work is carved into a ‘panel’ and this is then glued to a ‘frame’. Here’s how I did it:

Making the Celtic Knot panels:

1. To make the pattern I printed the design from the computer scaled to the right size, and then used spray glue to stick it to the workpiece.
2. I used a small router to remove a layer of material outside the pattern, so the carving will stand out, and to give a flat surface to glue it to the frame.
3. I used a drill to make hole right through the piece in between the knot-work, then filed down to the line with a set of needle files.
4. A sharp chisel held at 90 degrees cuts down, and then in at an angle, to join up and remove the wedge shaped pieces for where the knot goes ‘under’
5. Final shaping and sanding to clean it up and it’s done

Making the Frames:

1. First I cut a hole using a router for the middle of the frame
2. Then I used a band-saw to cut out the outside shape of the frame
3. The shelf around the edge of the frame is made using a small router
4. The shelf is shaped by hand to match the curve of the body – they are all different!
5. I Rounded the corners off and sanded them

Gluing ’em up

The panels were then glued to the frames and held in place with small spring clips until dry. A coat of sealer was applied, before a final coat of matt lacquer.

Gluing ’em in

To fit the finished ‘lattice’ into the guitar I had to remove the lacquer underneath where they sit so that the glue would stick:

1. I Test fit the panel and scored around the edge to mark it’s position
2. The small router removes most of the lacquer to reveal the bare wood necessary for a good bond
3. A razor blade cleans up the rest
4. I spread glue over the contact area and refit the ‘lattice’
5. The pieces were held in place while the glue set with a combination of clamps and magnets – whatever worked…. Sellotape in the case of the triangular knot to hide the jack socket

The side panel in the last picture was left unglued so I could still get acces to the inside for wiring the guitar up …..