stewmac.com
And finally, while you’re probably excited to get started, you
need to take a little time to acclimate your kit . Thin pieces
of wood (like the ones you find in acoustic guitars) are ex-
tremely sensitive to changes in humidity and temperature .
The ideal building environment is 70-80° Fahrenheit (21-26°
Celsius), with a controlled relative humidity of 45-50% . The
woods in your kit should be laid out and allowed to acclimate
in your shop for one week before you start your build . Flip
the wood daily to neutralize excessive warping .
Depending upon your location and the season, you may
need to humidify or dehumidify your shop to maintain the
desired relative humidity . It is highly advisable to purchase
a decent quality thermometer/hygrometer to monitor your
shop’s climate . If you’re unable to control the relative humid-
ity in your shop, we discourage building the guitar during
the transition from dry to wet seasons, or vise versa .
Radical changes in humidity, especially during season
changes, can cause warping, splitting and other serious
complications . You’re going to put a lot of love into this build
and this small preventive effort is well worth the extra effort .
And finally, be safe when using tools, glues, and chemi-
cals. Wear eye protection and gloves when needed, and
always use proper ventilation.
Congratulations . We wish you all the best on your build, and
remember, if you get stuck or have any questions along the
way call us . We’re here to help .
You’ve probably dreamed about owning a pre-war herring-
bone OM . Most of us have . Many guitarists consider these
instruments to be the greatest acoustic guitars ever built .
However, the originals are VERY expensive, and VERY hard to
find . Those two facts alone make these guitars inaccessible
to most musicians .
However, while you might not be able to BUY one, you can
BUILD one (or at least a very accurate replica) . We’ve meticu-
lously reproduced an original pre-war 1933 OM-28, down to
the smallest detail!
Not only does the StewMac Icon Guitar Kit capture the cor-
rect period LOOK of the original, but it also faithfully repro-
duces the “bones” of the instrument, so you can get as close
as possible to that authentic, revered tone .
When you’re done with this project you’ll have a true heir-
loom that you’ll enjoy for years and proudly pass down to
future generations .
We designed this kit for the small shop builder with a mod-
est tool budget . With the exception of a few specialty guitar
making tools, you probably already own most of the items
you’ll need to build this guitar .
A few notes before you get started:
Please read all of these instructions before starting your
build . The instructions and plans were developed specifically
for this kit . The video that’s included covers the essential
steps for building an acoustic guitar, but it was developed
for our standard acoustic guitar kits, not this pre-war Icon
kit . Therefore, you should always reference these instruc-
tions and the included blueprint for specific details while
building your Icon .
Speaking of the blueprint; modern printing technology
doesn’t always faithfully reproduce measurements down
to the tolerances we need in guitar building . As a result,
always refer to the printed measurements versus measuring
the template directly . As small as these differences are, they
can make a difference .
Getting started
Welcome to guitar building!
5
