I saw the sides from larger boards and then sand to the thickness I need. I mist the sides with a spray bottle and use a heat blanket to bend.

After the sides are bent, I plane to a 15 foot radius for the back and a 30 foot radius for the top. Then I glue the kerfing to the sides.

I glue and clamp the braces and tone bars onto the top and back.

This is only a brief overview of the construction of a guitar. I spend a LOT of time with each guitar. Every guitar is babied along from rough raw materials to a fine instrument. A Saeterbakken Guitar is a quality of life investment.

Note the initials PAB branded into the scalloped spruce brace at the upper bout. This will be visible through the sound hole and is the authenticating mark of every Saeterbakken guitar.

The top and back is glued to the sides.

If it is a cutaway model I cut the sides away from the cut out. I am partial to the Florentine style of cut away.

I cut a shelf in the body for the wood bindings. I glue them in place wrap them snugly and clamp.

I finish the guitars, let the finish cure for two weeks then buff to a high gloss.

Now I turn my attention to the neck, peg head and inlay work. I use a jewelers saw and router to inlay some discreet work.

This is the time when tap tuning becomes a very important part of the development of my guitars. Each guitar body is tuned using a piano striker hammer and an electronic tuning machine. The actual tuning is slowly accomplished with a wood chisel and sander, it does not take much. You will notice the scallops in the braces, they are there to reduce mass in those areas. Each brace is precisely tuned on an individual basis. The top itself will be fine tuned until I am satisfied. DO NOT EXPECT THIS FROM A MASS PRODUCED GUITAR, no matter how much you pay for it.