Carving the Heel & Foot

After finishing work on the guitar's head, it's time to 

work on the heel/foot structure.

The 'foot' is inside the guitar, and the 'heel' is on the outside.

There is a slot between the heel and foot that defines where the

body joins the neck.  The block that form this structure is made by

gluing up the leftover chunk from the length of the board used

to make the neck.  Shown below, the lines indicate where the slot

will be sawn that defines the connection between body and neck.

The next picture shows the slot (sawing it is a tricky bit).

Another view of the slot.  The sides of the guitar will fit into this slot.

A lot of wood is now removed as the heel is shaped. 

Both sides have been carved and leveled.

The foot is narrowed by sawing the sides at an angle.

Final shaping of the foot.

Carving the heel...

Almost there...

Finished heel, foot and slot.

Different takes on the heel/foot.  The lower is Hauser style, upper is after Miguel Rodriguez, Jr.

A couple more photos comparing Hauser and Rodriguez styles...

Now we can put the neck aside and begin working on 

the 'top' (soundboard), which is the subject of the next post.

Next post: The Soundboard: the Soul of the Guitar!