Adhesives
play key role
in guitar
construction
A variety of wood glues are used to assemble the 175 pieces
in a six-string guitar. Matching the proper adhesive
with the application is important for Taylor Guitars.
When Leo Kottke plays his Taylor 12-string guitar,
the audience isn’t thinking about the role that
adhesives play in the
music.
In fact, adhesives
play a key role in the
construction of the
instruments, says Chris
Wellons, vice president
of production at Taylor
Guitars. Nearly all of
the 175 pieces that make
up a six-string guitar, and the
250 in a 12-string instrument,
are hand assembled using a
number of different glues.
Wellons says about 95 percent
of every guitar manufactured
at Taylor’s plant in El Cajon,
Calif., is assembled with yellow
aliphatic resin glue.
The Taylor Guitars factory
in El Cajon is where raw wood
is cut, milled, sanded, bent
and finished to create the
musical instruments.
Adhesives play a
vital role in the
construction of a
quality guitar. A
variety of glues
are used in a
Taylor Guitars
instrument.
Plant Facts
Taylor Guitars
El Cajon, Calif.
The company makes 80,000 guitars
and 15,000 guitar cases annually, and
95 percent of all pieces are hand-glued
after parts are cut. Taylor uses different adhesives for various applications,
including Franklin Adhesives Titebond,
Multibond 2015, Assembly High Tack,
Titebond 50 and Titebond Melamine.
The use of Franklin Adhesive products
in Taylor Guitars goes back nearly 20
years, according to Wellons.
“Other than the industrial yellow/
woodworking glues that are commonly
found throughout our factory, we also
use double stick tapes/adhesives, UV
cured glue, epoxies, cyanoacrylates
and an ultrasonic welder for adhering plastic parts, as is the case with
adhering our Expression System top
sensors,” says Wellons.
Product: Guitars
Gluing the bridge to
the guitar body. A
six-string guitar has
175 separate pieces.
www.taylorguitars.com
Guitar construction
At the El Cajon factory, the process
of constructing a guitar begins with
seasoned, raw wood. Mahogany is the
wood of choice for necks and pegheads.
Once both parts have been milled,
shaped and sanded to their final form,
