The lenght of the construction process of a guitar depends on the model and the climate. Normally it varies between 50 and 100 hours and can be summarized into the following stages :

The different parts of the guitar are made from wood of the highest quality and from various parts of the world.

The wood is stored subject to a rigid control of such parameters as humidity, temperature, etc

The rings (sides of the guitar) are folded and are mold to delimit their lenght, thus configuring the characteristics "eses" which determine the shape of the instrument.

The harmonic lid is cut and the harmonic bars are glued to the lid. They are then allowed to dry under pressure until they are perfectly glued.

Once the glue has dried the edgings needs to be placed and is joined to the handle and the harmonic lid, always making sure that the pieces are perfectly aligned.

The moded rings are placed over the harmonic, the chains and the pawns are placed as well and the guitar will begin to adopt its typical shape. Everything is held together with tongs until it is firmly fixed.

The glued back of the guitar is placed next. The whole structure is held with rubber bands to avoid any deformation. A waiting period of approximately three hours is needed for everything to be glued firmly.

Ornamental outlines are placed on the sides for aesthetic purposes. The fingerboard and the bridge are placed and the handle is given its final shape. After this, the entire piece is polished and varnished many times. Depending on the wood the polishing and varnishing must be done between eight and ten times until a perfect finish is obtained.

Once the guitar is finally polished and varnished the frets are placed on the handle and the pegbox is screwed on. In the case of a flamenco guitar a "golpeador" must be added.

When the pegbox is fixed two strings need to be placed, the first and the sixth. This is what really puts the guitar to the test. If the sound is the correct one the guitar is approved and the other strings may be placed.

Valeriano supervises all the guitars once they are finished and all the strings have been attached, making one final sound test as a last quality control measure.

 
 Guitarmaker

 El Luthier de la Sierra