W hen he built an instrument
for H ood, Baxendale scruti-
nized videos o f H ood playing.
It was tim e w ell spent. “Like
many self-taught players,’’H ood
says, “I didn’t necessarily learn
the proper ways o f certain tech-
nical things.” Baxendale built
the guitar to accom m odate
H ood’s quirks, his style, his
habitual m ovem ents.
N inety percent o f Baxen-
dale’s custom work is building
steel-string acoustic guitars.
A guitar is like the human form
- w ith body, neck, and head.
T he body is com posed o f tw o
sides, the back, and the top,
also known as the soundboard
because its construction is a
vital factor in determ ining the
w ay a guitar sounds. A signa-
ture feature o f a Baxendale
guitar is the soundboard’s
bracing, w hich consists o f n
strips o f crisscrossing spruce,
glued in place, then scalloped
w ith a razor-sharp chisel, all
to create superior tone.
M ost Baxendale guitars also
have several intricate inlays.
T he guitar’s neck is a laminate
o f tw o pieces o f mahogany,
w ith rosew ood or maple in the
middle. It’s attached to the
body w ith a dovetail joint, then
the fingerboard is glued to the
neck. Baxendale cuts and
shapes the headstock, which
holds the hardware to tune
the strings. For this he uses
several tools - including a rasp
designed for shoeing horses
- that make precisely the cuts
he w ants. Baxendale finishes
his guitars by spraying on and
sanding dow n coats o f nitro-
cellulose lacquer before polish-
ing the surface to a mirror gloss.
It’s this m eticulous process
and 38 years o f experience that
Baxendale now w ants to share
w ith others. T h at’s w hy, above
his storefront and workshop in
A thens, a new space is taking
shape: A thens Luthier A cad-
emy. Over the next few m onths,
Baxendale w ill begin teaching
as many as five students w ho
w ant to learn guitar repair,
restoration, or construction.
H e is passionate about
teaching custom construction,
because as C N C w oodw orking
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D e t a i l p h o t o s ( 5 ) : P a m e la R a x e n c la le
