Video from "behind the scenes" at Kauer Guitars

dougk

b00b


Hi everyone- so I've been working on a much larger video project for the last few months with a friend but for now decided to at least take some of the footage we've shot and put together a simple video. I hope you all enjoy it and don't find it too boring! It's basically the first half of the process and even though I show our CNC's in use, I wanted to show how much hand work still goes into each guitar. This barely scratches the surface.
 
Let me see...

Does the CNC move the bit or the piece when it's carving?

What kind of router is in your table?

Tite-bond?

Just the one shop assistant?

How much do you pay the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man to do your spraying?
(sorry, could not resist that one) :helper:

Why are you aggressively removing the finish on the brown cedar body?
 
Great video. I was actually surprised (and never realized) that the Banshee body core is one piece and that the "wings" are a pair of tops glued onto the front side wings of the guitar. Interesting.
 
I saw that on FB and just got done watching. It is a good thing I don't build guitars for a living. After watching all the work you do on them, if I were to build them, they would cost 1 million dollars. That is how much it would take for me to do all that work.
 
Does the CNC move the bit or the piece when it's carving?

The table is fixed (ie the guitar) and the head of the router moves. You can also see the sawblade (though the fret saw was not in it) and just offer camera is the drill heads.

What kind of router is in your table?
Craftsman honestly. They generally hold up for about 2-3 years before they shit themselves. Just about time for a couple replacements.

Tite-bond?

Yep. Regular Titebond 1.

Just the one shop assistant?

For this portion of filming yes. I have 2 employee's now both are part'ish time (4-5 days a week but about 6 hours a day). My new guy has taken over 95% of the assembly work.
How much do you pay the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man to do your spraying?
(sorry, could not resist that one) :helper:
Not enough!

Why are you aggressively removing the finish on the brown cedar body?

That's actually just leveling the sealer coat (or maybe one of the rounds of clear). It'd get sprayed again, leveled then buffed. The average guitar spends 2-3 weeks in the booth. Spray isolante, next day grain fill, wait 24 hours, remove excess filler sand guitar with 320, spray high build sealer, wait 48 (24 in the summer), level with 320, spray high build again, wait 48, level with 400.

Then prime it if solid color, or mix up tints to spray bursts. If the guitar is one color this can all be done in a day. If it's two colors (like a Starliner with a burst top / brown back) you mask off one half, spray the burst. Wait till the next day, scrape binding, mask the top, spray the back. Peel the tape fix and bleed thru and then go to clear.

Spray 2 sessions of clear a day. First day spray, wait 24, scuff with scotchbrite pad, spray again, wait 48 hours, level with 800, spray final round of clear.

Wait 10-14 days, level with 1000, 1500, 2000 then buff.

So if I quote you 3 months to build a guitar, 1 solid month of that is just finishing. :wink:

Great video. I was actually surprised (and never realized) that the Banshee body core is one piece and that the "wings" are a pair of tops glued onto the front side wings of the guitar. Interesting.

Yep sort of. It's actually 5 pieces: The neck is 2 pieces + the headstock (3) and the wings are separate but glued on to the neck section at the same thickness as the neck, we then mill them down to form the step. I do this mostly because my CNC uses vacuum pods to hold the bodies on the machine and with out a flat back surface to "suck against" I wouldn't be able to put them on there. To do the back side we have a jig that the body physically fits into and it mills the back side of the wings down, does the rear cavity ect.

I saw that on FB and just got done watching. It is a good thing I don't build guitars for a living. After watching all the work you do on them, if I were to build them, they would cost 1 million dollars. That is how much it would take for me to do all that work.

Sometimes I think the same thing :wink:

Thanks guys! I'm glad you are all enjoying it!
 
Craftsman honestly. They generally hold up for about 2-3 years before they shit themselves. Just about time for a couple replacements.
My main router is an older Craftsman Professional...I would have figured Porter Cable for a shop like yours...

For this portion of filming yes. I have 2 employee's now both are part'ish time (4-5 days a week but about 6 hours a day). My new guy has taken over 95% of the assembly work.
I would love to work in your shop...too bad I have a mortgage...and am on the wrong coast..m

Probably just leveling the sealer coat (or maybe one of the rounds of clear). It'd get sprayed again, leveled then buffed. The average guitar spends 2-3 weeks in the booth. Spray isolante, next day grain fill, wait 24 hours, remove excess filler sand guitar with 320, spray high build sealer, wait 48 (24 in the summer), level with 320, spray high build again, wait 48, level with 400.

Then prime it if solid color, or mix up tints to spray bursts. If the guitar is one color this can all be done in a day. If it's two colors (like a Starliner with a burst top / brown back) you mask off one half, spray the burst. Wait till the next day, scrape binding, mask the top, spray the back. Peel the tape fix and bleed thru and then go to clear.

Spray 2 sessions of clear a day. First day spray, wait 24, scuff with scotchbrite pad, spray again, wait 48 hours, level with 800, spray final round of clear.

Wait 10-14 days, level with 1000, 1500, 2000 then buff.

So if I quote you 3 months to build a guitar, 1 solid month of that is just finishing.
I know what you mean...the secret to a good finish is prep...and more prep...and then some prep...and about the same for each coat as you build the finish...

It kills me when I see guys dipping foam brushes into gallon cans of polyurethane and call it finishing...
 
Very cool video, thanks for posting it. There really is a lot of by-hand work involved isn't there? The neck seems especially labor-intesive.
 
Your assistant looked a little apprehensive using the router table, was this because you were standing over him filming?

Awesome music in the video, are Rival Sons Kauer users besides just pot users?
 
My main router is an older Craftsman Professional...I would have figured Porter Cable for a shop like yours...

I have lots of old PC's that are just unkillable. Only reason I don't use them in the router table is the craftsmans have a really nice microadjust that is MUCH easier for setting the height.

Very cool video, thanks for posting it. There really is a lot of by-hand work involved isn't there? The neck seems especially labor-intesive.

SO much hand work. The CNC is maybe 10% of the total time on a guitar we build. There's still tons and tons of hands on time and that's with 2 CNC's and a Laser.

What's the music? Because I kind of dig it.

www.rivalsons.com They freaking rule.

Your assistant looked a little apprehensive using the router table, was this because you were standing over him filming?

Awesome music in the video, are Rival Sons Kauer users besides just pot users?

Apprehension while using a router table is a good thing :wink:

Scott Holiday from Rival Son's is probably my biggest artist. Well, atleast top 2-3. He owns and tours with 3 Banshee's (4th in the works). The first track of the video IS recorded with a Kauer Banshee. (The other two were recorded before we started working with Scott.
 
The amount of wood that you literally turn to dust between routing and sanding is astonishing. Pretty cool to see various stages of the process. How much does a CNC machine cost...more rhetorical than a real question.
 
Thanks everyone!!

The amount of wood that you literally turn to dust between routing and sanding is astonishing. Pretty cool to see various stages of the process. How much does a CNC machine cost...more rhetorical than a real question.

CNC's vary, the big one cost us 105k back in 1999. Honestly, it's worth almost nothing now it's being the Comodore64 of CNC's. Last time I priced out a similarly equipped new machine it was about 50k. My small Shopbot that I use just for neck profiles was much cheaper at 7500. It's open loop, sans tool changer and vacuum table so that helps with the cost a lot.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top