Tag Archives: Fleishman¸ Harry

Simple Things: Marker, Scalpel, Straw and More

2023
AL#150 p.66               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Snip a drinking straw at an angle to make a great tool for clearing wet glue squeezeout. And there’s a “sharpee” that’s better than a Sharpee-brand sharpee. Plus more simple things. Like, get the good brand of pencils.

Simple Things: Heat Gun for Brown Tape

2023
AL#149 p.67               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Warm up that brown paper tape with a hair dryer before you pull it off. Softens it up and makes it less likely to tear out wood fibers. That’s a simple thing.

Meet the Maker: Denny Stevens

2023
AL#148 p.34               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The late Denny Stevens was one of the earliest self-taught guitar makers of the American Lutherie Boom. He was also a mentor to author Harry Fleishman, who goes back in memory and imagination to interview Denny as he never did in life. Mentions Dale Bruning, Paul Killinger, Tony Jacobs, Richie Furay, Johnny Smith.

It Worked for Me: Fret Pressing Order

2022
AL#146 p.69               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ When you are pressing frets into an unmounted fretboard, it matters what order they go in, though that’s counter-intuitive.

Letter: Appreciating Charles Fox and John Calkin

2021
AL#143 p.2               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Harry praises Charles Fox for his decades of work as a lutherie teacher. He also encourages communal lutherie projects such as the cigar-box swap described by John Calkin in AL#142. Mentions Bryan Galloup.

Vise on a Stick

2021
AL#143 p.54               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Start with the cheap half of one of those little bench-top drill presses. Add a small piece of plywood with some holes drilled in it. Bolt on a vise. Now you have Vise on a Stick, which can clamp to any bench top and can swivel and tilt all over the place. It’s especially great for bringing a good solid vise up to eye level.

If You Want to Build Guitars, Build Guitars

2020
AL#139 p.56               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Harry has been a lot of places and made a lot of instruments in a lot of shops. Now, after fifty years as a luthier, a lutherie teacher, and a hired-gun designer, he’s right back where many folks started: in a spare bedroom. He encourages us (and himself) not to let a humble shop space be an excuse for inaction. Just do it (registered trademark)!

A Bridge to Many Tones

2019
AL#138 p.54               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Harry teams up with the owner of one of his flattop guitars to try some major changes to the bridge and evaluate the results. He reaches conclusions about the relationship between saddle height and bridge beefiness. And speaking og beef, Harry shows how he makes individual tapered saddles out of chopsticks.

Delrin Frets

2019
AL#136 p.52               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Many years ago, innovative classical guitar maker Richard Schneider made instruments with frets made of rod stock set in wide saw kerfs. Fleishman updates the idea by having round-bottomed slots cut by CNC and laying in Delrin rod.

Let’s Catch up with Harry Fleishman

2018
AL#134 p.42               
Michael Bashkin   Harry Fleishman                                                                                       

▪ Everybody knows Harry Fleishman, right? We first “Met the Maker” in 2001, but by then Harry had already been an active GAL author and convention attendee for some time. Now we are catching up with him. This recent chapter of his story is a doozy, with major moves, businesses opening and closing, fruitful collaborations, international travel, and new beginnings.

Tiny Files for Fret Work

2017
AL#131 p.65               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Harry loves to learn, and then to teach. Although he has been leveling frets for half a century, he’s always rethinking it and keeping his eyes open for better ways to do it. Here he shows us his latest tools and tips for doing more by doing less.

Multiscale Fretboards and Fingerboards: The Long and Short of It

2014
AL#119 p.50               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Multiscale fretboards have been around for centuries. Harry Fleishman has been around for decades. In that time he has built a lot of different permutations of the idea. Here he gives us some thoughts on how to do it accurately, elegantly, and efficiently.

Multiscale Peg Head Scarf Joint

2014
AL#118 p.60               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ So you are making a neck with a multiscale fretboard. The nut will be at an angle, not the normal perpendicular. How do you deal with that fact when grafting the peghead? Harry shows you a simple and elegant method of cutting a compound angle that matches the nut.

Total Flame Out, Retopping a Harp Guitar

2009
AL#100 p.38               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Replacing the top on a complicated instrument with as little refinishing and other stress as possible.

It Worked for Me: Saw Magnets

2009
AL#100 p.64      ALA2 p.45         
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Keeping the saw dead straight and perfectly aligned when adding a slot to the fretboard.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Electric Bass Design Considerations

2009
AL#99 p.38               
Veronica Merryfield   David Minnieweather   Harry Fleishman                                                                                   

▪ As a panel discussion at the 2008 GAL convention this must have been the one not to miss. As an article it is engaging and intriguing. Why do electric bass makers get to have all this freedom and the rest of us have to make copies of stuff that appeared before we were born? Bass players seem to always have had more open minds than other musicians, and these three authors have certainly pushed the envelope. With 47 photos.

In Memoriam: Dennis Stevens

2009
AL#99 p.70               read this article
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Remembering Dennis Stevens (1944-2009) who was revered in the jazz community and made fabulous steel string and classical guitars.

Product Review: Samson Zoom H4 Recorder

2007
AL#92 p.62               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Can you think of uses for a small CD-quality, digital recorder that interfaces with your computer? If not, skip this review. If you’d like to demo your latest guitar on your website, or analyze its tonal spectrum, then maybe this machine is for you. It’s fairly inexpensive, very portable, and Harry likes it. With 1 photo.

Brace Voicing Through the Access Panel

2007
AL#92 p.48      ALA1 p.92         
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ This is a transcript of Fleishman’s 2006 GAL Convention workshop.He demonstrated how he could tailor the sound of his guitar by adding, removing, and shaping braces. He also showed slide shows of a similar project by Mark Berry, and the process of cutting an access panel into a finished guitar by Darrel Adams. With 15 photos.

Product Reviews: Schatten Pickup Winder

2007
AL#90 p.62               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer test drives the Shatten pickup winder as well as the Stewart-MacDonald pickup winding kits and finds the road a bit bumpy until the instructions are consulted, but in the end recommends all the equipment whole-heartedly. With 2 photos.

Modern Approaches to Adjustable Neck Joints

2006
AL#86 p.24      ALA1 p.28         
Harry Fleishman   Mike Doolin                                                                                       

▪ This neck joint should eliminate neck resets. Its pretty complex but within the grasp of any guitarmaker. With 23 photos and a drawing.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Product Review: Stewart-MacDonald Fret Scale Rules

2006
AL#85 p.59               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman is at his humorous best here, hunting the past for how frets used to be laid out, why they were often wrong, and why the new Stew-Mac rules are tools worth having. Did you know there are at least three ways to calculate fret spacing? Did you know they vary in their results? Can musicians hear the difference? With 1 photo and a chart.

Amplifying Acoustic Guitars Update

2005
AL#83 p.36               
Harry Fleishman   Mike Doolin                                                                                       

▪ Two experts in the field of acoustic amplification discuss available equipment as well as why few of them seem to work as well as we might wish. They do not dumb down the technical talk, so be prepared to expand your vocabulary and your mind. With 2 photos and 4 diagrams.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Letter to the Editor: Patents and Acknowledgement

2005
AL#81 p.7               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The innovative and energetic luthier has a few thoughts on the nature of patents, original ideas, proper acknowledgement, and the damaging power of rumor.

Product Review: Stew-Mac Measuring Tools

2004
AL#80 p.52   BRB7 p.507            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Toolman Harry examines three new measuring devices from Stew-Mac and finds them all to be accurately made and useful. The tools are the Fret Rocker (for finding high frets), the String Action Gauge (for measuring string height), and the String Spacing Tool (for laying out nuts and perhaps saddles). With 3 photos and a diagram.

Opinion

2003
AL#74 p.58               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Long-time AL contributor Fleishman takes to task contributing editor John Calkin for being a closed minded so-and-so, referring to statements made in Calkin’s “A Heretic’s Guide to Alternative Lutherie Woods” in AL#69. Fleishman’s plea for tolerance is well made.

Product Review: Fossil Ivory Bridge Pins

2003
AL#74 p.64   BRB7 p.505            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Mr. Harry examines fossil ivory as a material for bridge pins, nuts, and end pins, and finds it exquisite. He also checks out the Stew-Mac Bridgesaver tool and finds it useful on a variety of fronts.

Guitar Tattoos: Inlay Harry’s Way

2003
AL#74 p.8   BRB7 p.36            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman’s perspective on guitar design and construction is all his own, so it’s no surprise that his brand of inlay should also be unique. He has a philosophy of inlay (and of working, and living in general) that guides his pursuit of guitar decoration that is just as important as how the work is accomplished. This lecture is Harry at his best, shedding light on a deep subject while flooring us with laughter. Great stuff, with 30 cool photos.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

See No Evil: Super-Safe Binding Router Jig

2002
AL#71 p.42   BRB6 p.398            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Harry can rout his guitars for binding with his eyes closed. Honestly! The system he explains uses a laminate trimmer suspended by a swinging arm and you can build it in your shop.With a photo and 2 diagrams.

Product Reviews: Delta and Performax Abrasive Planers

2002
AL#69 p.56   BRB6 p.481            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Guitar maker and teacher Fleishman compares two thickness sanders, the Performax 22-44 and the Delta 31-250, finding that both are useful, have different peculiarities, and that you are better off with either one than without a thickness sander at all. With 2 photos.

Letter to the Editor: Defending Larry Sandberg’s Book

2001
AL#67 p.3               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Harry Fleishman leaps to the defense of Larry Sandberg. He feels that Ben Hoff was too harsh in his criticism of Larry’s book The Acoustic Guitar Guide.

Product Reviews: Stew-Mac Brown Tape

2001
AL#66 p.58   BRB6 p.480            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman spends an entire column talking about a particular brown masking tape, and darn if he doesn’t make it sound like a fine use of space.

Product Reviews: Fishman Voltage Doubler

2001
AL#65 p.59   BRB6 p.478            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ AL’s Tool Meister reviews a bunch of circuit accessories from Stewart-MacDonald. He rejects the Black Ice crunch-adder but likes the Voltage Doubler, ConducTool, Megaswitch, and Yamaha 5-way switch.

Meet the Maker: Harry Fleishman

2001
AL#66 p.6   BRB6 p.186            
Ken Goodwin   Harry Fleishman                                                                                       

▪ Fleishman has been a guitar and bass designer/builder, a teacher of lutherie and writing, a longtime member of the GAL, a frequent contributor to AL and its current product reviewer. Harry is as well-known for his outrageous sense of humor as for the outrageous instruments he creates. With 10 photos.

Product Reviews: Hipshot Ultralight Bass Tuners

2000
AL#64 p.61   BRB6 p.476            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman returns to this column after a long absence, and finds that he has a strong admiration for Hipshot Ultralight Bass Tuners. He also examines the Earvana intonated nut intended for Fender electric guitars and finds that they do improve intonation, though the installation is not a piece of cake. With 3 photos.

Meet the Maker: Fabio Ragghianti

2000
AL#61 p.40   BRB6 p.28            
Harry Fleishman   Fabio Ragghianti                                                                                       

▪ Ragghianti is an Italian luthier. It’s interesting that luthiers from around the world seem to think of their instruments in the same terms. This easily allows them to immediately find a common ground regardless of their cultural background or language. Ragghianti came to America, then Fleishman went to Italy. The terrain didn’t seem to make a lot of difference. With 3 photos.

Expanding Steel String Design

1999
AL#60 p.6   BRB5 p.422            
Fred Carlson   Harry Fleishman   William Eaton   Saul Koll                                                                               

▪ The market for flattop guitars probably isn’t evolving away from tried and true designs at all, but individual luthiers are working on instruments that would baffle (and hopefully intrigue) Orville and old C.F. These four groundbreaking guitarmakers got together to discuss their work in front of an audience at the 1998 GAL convention, and if their work and philosophies don’t show you anything you must be hopelessly lost in the nostalgic past. This article is a condensed version of that discussion. With 24 photos.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.

Product Reviews: Fretless Bass Strings, Coconut Cup, Duct Tape Lutherie

1998
AL#56 p.58               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The Guild’s toolin’ fool bows out as a regular columnist by reviewing tools that could only exist in an Ideal World. Or Funnier World. Pure satire from a man who knows about purity. With 4 photos.

Product Reviews: Wood Thickness Indicator, Nut Files, Fret Slot Cleaning Tool

1998
AL#54 p.58   BRB5 p.444            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman tries out a tool for puncturing archtop plates to establish depth of cut, likes it, but finds that the standard size tool is for violin makers and guitar makers must special order; the nut files of a lifetime come into his shop; a good tool that Everyman can afford turns out to be nice fret slot cleaning tool.

Product Reviews: Guitar Cradle, Mirror, Fret Tools, Go-Bars, Guitar Neck Removal Jig, Pro 7A Mike

1998
AL#53 p.56   BRB5 p.442            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Harry ‘fesses up: many luthiers are just too darn serious to grok good humor. But he, himself, is serious about testing new gear. In this issue he sort of likes a Bench Guitar Cradle, isn’t very enthusiastic about the Ultimate Guitar Mirror, is ambiguous about a fret slotting miter box and saw, finds a good mini-mic to combine with piezo pickups for not a lot of money, hates a commercial go-bar deck, and raves about a neck removal jig for dovetail joints. Whew!

Questions: Guitar Making Graduated Projects

1998
AL#53 p.59               
John Calkin   Harry Fleishman                                                                                       

▪ A standard series of graduated projects that one can undertake to gain experience in instrument maker.

Semihemispherical Fret Ends

1998
AL#53 p.48   BRB5 p.192            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Who but Harry could design frets that look like half a hot-dog sliced lengthwise? Seriously, though, Fleishman’s method of shaping and installing frets should mark the end of player discomfort and fret end hang-up.Not to mention that his frets look seriously cool. With 1 photo and 4 drawings.

Product Reviews: Crack Repair Set

1997
AL#51 p.58   BRB5 p.440            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The Guild’s tool buster tames two new offerings and enjoys the ride. The first is a knife for opening cracks in guitar tops. The other is jig that thins and shapes the splints to be put into the slots cut by the knife. Along the way he examines the catalog of Luthiers Mercantile International.

Product Reviews: Sewing Shop Finds; Cutting Burs; Spring Clamps

1997
AL#52 p.58   BRB5 p.441            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Ever thought to look in a fabric store for lutherie tools? I’ll bet’cha that Harry beat you to it. He found a deal on aprons, some good layout tools for design work, and bias tape for tying on bindings. Then he opened a Woodcraft catalog and discovered clamps and a carbide burr cutter he couldn’t live without. Just one more column demonstrating why the editorial staff has developed a fatherly concern for their toolman’s life on the edge of lutherie.

Product Reviews: Fret Tang Pliers, Bridge-Slotting Jig

1997
AL#50 p.54   BRB5 p.438            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman examines two tools used for changing the width of fret tangs and a Dremel tool jig for routing bridge slots after the bridge is glued to the guitar. He likes them all. With 3 photos.

Product Reviews: Moto-Tool Bases; Neck-Making Tools: JAWS

1997
AL#49 p.54   BRB5 p.436            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman examines two retrofit bases for the Dremel mini-router, and likes them both for different reasons. He also test drives a set of micro-chisels and JAWS, a hand-powered fretting press, and recommends them. With 5 photos.

Half-and-Half Tops

1997
   LW p.103            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Perhaps Harry didn’t invent the guitar top made from two varieties of wood, but he has certainly made it a trademark of his instruments. The text explains the why of it, and the single photo offers a peek at one of Fleishman’s unique designs.

Product Reviews: Cutting Tools

1996
AL#48 p.49   BRB4 p.440            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The GAL’s Toolman/stand-up comic checks out a potpourri of rasps, a pair of small drawknives, and a specialized chisel, and suggests what you should do with your junky Model 3 or 4 Dremel tool.

Amplifying Acoustic Instruments

1996
AL#47 p.50   BRB4 p.358            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman has worked with all the commercial piezo pickups and has made a bunch of his own. Shop-brewed pickups can be cheap, useful, and instructive, but finding the best use for any piezo can be complicated. Adding microphones or magnetic pickups to the mix can be more confusing than helpful. Fleishman takes a look at all the angles. From his 1995 convention lecture.

This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.

Product Reviews: American School of Lutherie (Charles Fox)

1996
AL#46 p.50   BRB4 p.437            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman attends Charles Fox’s American School of Lutherie and sends back a very enthusiastic report of what he found there.

Product Reviews: LMI Adjustable-Radius Sanding Block

1996
AL#45 p.54   BRB4 p.436            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman test drives the adjustable fretboard arching planes from Luthiers Mercantile International, and finds that they handle the curves nicely. Also, an update on Highlander pickups.

Product Reviews: More Stew-Mac Tools

1995
AL#44 p.52   BRB4 p.434            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ This time the GAL’s Toolman tests a Stewart-MacDonald diamond coated fret file, and the Hacklinger gauge for measuring the thickness of instrument tops and backs. He likes the file enough to recommend it. He likes the gauge, too, but its high price puts him off.

Product Reviews: Stew-Mac Tools

1995
AL#43 p.48   BRB4 p.432            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman examines and enjoys two tools from Stewart-MacDonald, the Bridge Saddle Routing Jig and the Adjustable Fret Slotting Saw.

Product Reviews: Highlander Transducer

1995
AL#42 p.54   BRB4 p.431            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman examines the Highlander acoustic guitar pickup and decides it’s pretty good, but not perfect. He has never met the perfect pickup, so far.

Product Reviews: Sabine Stealth Tuner

1995
AL#41 p.48   BRB4 p.429            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman examines the battery-powered Stealth guitar tuners from Sabine, which are meant to be mounted on the guitar. He finds them useful but aesthetically hard to hide on the instrument.

Ain’t Nobody’s Business But My Own

1994
AL#40 p.28   BRB4 p.102            
Dan Erlewine   Tom Ribbecke   Fred Campbell   David Howard   Sheldon Dingwall   Harry Fleishman   David Colburn   Kathy Currier   Will Bremers   Jack Langley   John Jordan   Dana Bourgeois   Heidi Spurlin   Ken Fallon   Dave Schneider   Cary Clemments   Ron Chacey   Bart Reiter   Mike Jarvis   Greg Hoffman   Dave Lindahl   Tom Costanza   Chuck Erickson   Ralph Novak

▪ Repair pricing workshop from 1992 GAL convention.

Product Reviews: Onboard Preamps

1994
AL#40 p.56   BRB4 p.427            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman tests the L.R. Baggs Micro Drive preamp and the MEQ-932 preamp available from Martin. Both units are for acoustic guitars, and the reviewer found them both to be a good value but not necessarily interchangeable.

Product Reviews: Bob Smith Glues

1994
AL#39 p.54   BRB4 p.425            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The GAL’s tool man examines Bob Smith Industries line of epoxies and CA glues and finds that they shoot down the competition.

Product Reviews: Bourgeois Transducer/Mic Combo

1994
AL#38 p.52   BRB4 p.424            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman has made himself an expert in the field of amplifying the acoustic guitar. Here he examines the Transducer/Mic Combo, from Dana Bourgeois Guitars, and decides that it is a “real bargain.”

Product Reviews: The Apprentice

1994
AL#37 p.52   BRB4 p.422            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman spent a month doing all his repair work on The Apprentice, an instrument holder from WidgetWorks, and declares that he can’t give it up.

Product Reviews: Trem-Setter and Tuning Gizmos

1993
AL#36 p.60   BRB3 p.441            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Toolman tries out the Hipshot Extender Key for guitars, and the Hipshot Trilogy bridge. He finds them to be useful products with specific uses.

Product Reviews: Sperzels and Waverlies

1993
AL#35 p.54   BRB3 p.441            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The Guild’s resident tool and hardware tester takes a look at Waverly vintage-style tuners, Sperzel locking machine heads, and the Trem-Setter stabilizing device. All are given the nod of approval.

Product Reviews: Dan Erlewine’s Don’t Fret video

1993
AL#34 p.56   BRB3 p.439            read this article
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman examines a rash of Stew-Mac fretting tools and their fretting video. He gives the green light to the entire package after extensive testing.

Product Reviews: Dean Markley SST

1993
AL#33 p.54   BRB3 p.437            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman tests the Dean Markley SST acoustic guitar pickup (saddle/transducer) and decides that it may fit certain needs but it doesn’t offer faithful reproduction of the guitar’s acoustic sound.

Product Reviews: Waverly Fret Tang Nipper

1992
AL#31 p.60   BRB3 p.437            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman reviews the Waverly Fret Tang Nipper and finds that for the full-time builder it is an indispensable tool.

Product Reviews: Mini-Flex Microphone System

1992
AL#30 p.52   BRB3 p.435            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman wrings out the line of Mini-flex guitar mikes and finds them wanting. He also tries out the Radio Shack electret condenser mike #33-1063 and likes it.

Review: Fine Woodworking Design Book Five

1991
AL#26 p.59   BRB3 p.464            read this article
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer admires the beauty of the book’s photography, but seems hesitant to recommend it since so little of it is dedicated to musical instruments.

Two Tools for Inside Jobs

1988
AL#14 p.21   BRB2 p.60            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Fleishman’s tools are a rubber band-powered jack clamp for regluing braces, and a homemade wrench for tightening output jack nuts inside an acoustic guitar.

Lost Shirts and Curved Braces

1987
AL#12 p.54   BRB1 p.464            
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ These three articles augment Tim Olsen’s initial bass offering in American Lutherie #9, and as a collection they still offer the largest fund of information on the creation of the acoustic bass guitar to reach print.