An adventure in lutherie by Ciaran McNally | Parlor Build

Ciaran McNally is a lutherie student orginally from Armagh, N.Ireland. He started playing guitar at the age of 13 and began to look into lutherie around the age of 15/16, first through electric guitar kits, then moving on to acoustic kits. At 17 he enrolled in an evening course in Belfast with Sam Irwin, where he began making guitars from scratch. After a year of the course in Belfast, and having just finished school, he decided to attend university in London where the only instrument making degreee in Europe runs. He is now 20 years old, reading a BSC Musical Instruments at London Metrolpolitan University. where he spends most of the time either in the workshop or teaching guitar. Apart from required projects, he makes 2/3 other instruments per year. After the degree finishes in 2012, he is hoping to work for another Luthier for a few years to hone his skills and develop personal designs before starting his own brand!
Here is a photo update on the Parlor Guitar (After Washburn) that I’m currently making as part of my Degree in Musical Instruments.
Specifications:
- Top – Spruce
- Back and Sides – African Mahongany
- Neck – Sapele
- Headplate – Ebony/maple veneer with MOP logo inlay.
- Fingerboard – Ebony
- Machineheads – Gotoh slotted classical
To Follow:
- Bridge – Rosewood
- Bindings – Curly Maple (ebony purflings)
- End pin Inlay – Ebony
Soundboard with soundhole cut and Rosette fitted
Ebony, Maple, Mahogany, Maple, Ebony
Bracing Glued on Go bar Deck
Bracing Carved
Bracing Carved
Back braced and shaped
Inlay filled with black superglue
Slotted, shaped with inlay
…With machineheads
Part carved neck
Neck Heel
Mahogany sides
Sides bent
Spreader clamps
Interior preview
Planing fingerboard
Smoothed fingerboard
Cutting fret slots
Fret slots cut
Gluing end block
Gluing end block
- Gluing in the top block
- Profiling the sides
- Kerf lingins
- Side support strips
- Soundboxing etc…..



































