This form is designed around what I consider the “standard” four-course bouzouki (tetrahordo) size and shape.  You can make a closed (solid) form or an open form.  Each has its advantages and disadvantages.  An open form is a little easier to make, takes less wood, it allows you to see and feel under the staves while you are building the body and it makes it easier to use tape to hold the staves together (although I use push pins).  This form is made of Basswood, but you can use just about any wood that is easy to carve (Mahogany, Poplar, Pine, etc.).  Seal the form with a few coats of any type of finish, and then coat with wax to prevent the glue and staves from sticking to the form.

I started building another bouzouki.  This bouzouki will be donated to my church, St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church of Northern Virginia, in Falls Church, Virginia, in memory of my father, who passed away in 2004.  My father was a psalti (cantor) in Massachusetts for many years, and loved music.  St. Katherine is undergoing a major renovation, and I thought building a special bouzouki would be a good way to not only honor the memory of my father, but to help the church pay for the renovations. 

The bouzouki will have a Curly Maple body with Bloodwood stripes, Curly Sitka Spruce top, Curly Maple neck with Bloodwood laminations, Rosewood headplate and pickguard, Bloodwood plate on the back of the head stock and inlays related to the church and the Greek Orthodox religion.