2022
AL#147 p.70
Steve Kennel
▪ Specialty files intended for sharpening steel tools are unexpectedly perfect for specific lutherie tasks. In this case we are talking about files made for sharpening brace-and-bit augers, and files made for sharpening Japanese pull saws.
2021
AL#143 p.6
Federico Sheppard
▪ It is a story of mystery, dedication, and destiny. The wide-eyed young novitiate is mentored by oracles, sorcerers, and craftsmen until he finds his great quest and pursues it against all odds. To put it more plainly, but no more truthfully, it is the story of Federico Sheppard constructing a copy of FE08, the astonishingly elaborate early opus of the master luthier Antonio Torres Jurado. Mentions Nick Kukich, Ray Jacobs, Shel Urlik, Jose Romanillos, Richard Brune, Robert Ruck, Robert Lundberg, Abel Garcia Lopez, Nicolo Alessi.
2021
AL#142 p.70
Steve Dickerson
▪ Make your own cabinet scrapers and burnishers from stuff you may easily find lying around.
2019
AL#137 p.70
James Buckland
▪ Straightforward advice for getting the best result with simple hand planes.
2019
AL#136 p.4
Federico Sheppard
▪ Robert Ruck was one of the young self-starters who founded the American Lutherie Boom, and he remained a leading light in the movement until the end of his life. Federico Sheppard was an aquaintence and admirer who became closer to Ruck when they spent time together at Federico’s place on the Camino de Santiago in Spain one summer. In this article, Federico presents a photo tour of Ruck’s shop in Eugene Oregon and explains some of the tools and techniques we see. Mentions French polising with hardware-store shellac. Mentions Richard Brune.
2018
AL#133 p.69
Tom Harper
▪ Sharpening scalpels.
2017
AL#130 p.68
Mark Brenner
▪ Is there a good sandpaper for sharpening edge tools?
2007
AL#91 p.40 read this article
Bruce Creps
▪ Just about everything you’ll need to know about setting up a bandsaw for resawing and getting the most yield from your lumber. The emphasis is on the Hitachi CB75F resaw, but much of the info will translate to other bandsaws. Included is a good side bar on resharpening bandsaw blades. With 10 photos and 6 drawings.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2003
AL#75 p.12 BRB7 p.416
Peggy Stuart Don MacRostie
▪ The author describes her mandolin making class with Red Diamond mandolin builder Don MacRostie, giving us a photo-heavy series that should be of practical use to anyone in the mandolin field regardless of their experience. The emphasis is on hand tools, though power tools are used to add efficiency. With 68 photos and 4 drawings, this is the first in a four-part series.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2003
AL#73 p.40 BRB7 p.2
John Calkin
▪ Everyone develops little work habits or adopts minor tools that together make a big difference in their work and the pleasure they find in it. This is one man’s collection of odds and ends that changed the quality and quantity of his work. With 15 photos.
1997
AL#51 p.53 BRB5 p.490
James E. Patterson
▪ Speeding up the sharpening of bandsaw blades.
1997
AL#52 p.28 BRB5 p.152
Guy Rabut
▪ To non-fiddle people all violins look about the same. To the initiated, however, they are vastly different. Besides offering a thorough description of his scroll carving techniques, Rabut gives us a glimpse into the world of the violin in-crowd where an appreciation for subtlety is the stock-in-trade. Guy is a high-profile maker who has had the opportunity to examine many world-class violins. With 52 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1997
AL#49 p.58 BRB5 p.489
Colin Kaminski
▪ Boggs Tool Processing uses the liquid honing process for sharpening files.
1996
AL#45 p.58 BRB4 p.468
Jess Wells
▪ The reviewer finds that this book is “the one sharpening book on the market today which I find useful as a reference in my library.”
1995
AL#42 p.64 BRB4 p.493
Ric McCurdy
▪ Some tips gleaned from John Monteleone and company about Jimmy D’Aquisto’s scraper sharpening methods.
1993
AL#36 p.46 BRB3 p.416
Robert Lundberg
▪ Scrapers are wonderfully useful tools despite the difficulties they often pose to beginners. Lundberg explains how to tame them.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1993
AL#35 p.6 BRB3 p.352 read this article
Michael Darnton
▪ To the uninitiated, violin setup seems to have way too many steps for the small number of moveable parts involved. Taken one step at a time, the mystery falls away. Darnton explains the tools and procedures he uses to get the most out of a violin. This segment includes fitting pegs, correcting problems with the nut, making a fingerboard, and fitting a soundpost. Part Two is printed in AL#37. With 30 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1990
LT p.22
Dale Brotherton
▪ Traditionally-trained woodworker offers an understanding of the stones and how they are used.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1989
AL#20 p.32 BRB2 p.330
Jeffrey R. Elliott Jonathon Peterson
▪ The 6 tools are: a guitar cradle, a grimel (hand purfling cutter), a hand circle cutter, a shooting board, a circle cutting jig for the Dremel tool, and water stones for tool sharpening.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1989
AL#17 p.54 BRB2 p.481
Christopher Lynch
▪ Vinegar is a cheap, safe, readily available substance for re-etching files.
1988
AL#14 p.56 BRB2 p.76
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Peterson finds a relatively safe method of sharpening files by acid etching. THE ORIGINAL PUBLICATION OF THIS ARTICLE CONTAINED A SERIOUS ERROR. ACID SHOULD ALWAYS BE ADDED TO WATER, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. THIS ERROR HAS BEEN CORRECTED IN THE REPRINTS).
1987
AL#11 p.51 BRB1 p.501 read this article
Ernest Nussbaum
▪
1987
AL#12 p.3 BRB1 p.459
Ralph Novak
▪ Novak offers tips on fretwork, tool sharpening, fitting bridge pins, recycling clogged sandpaper, and admonishes us to get steel wool out of our shops.
1985
AL#1 p.52
Ervin Somogyi
▪ Somogyi comments briefly on the relative merits of oil stones and water stones.
1982
DS#215 LT p.28
Louis DeGrazia
▪ Made from table knives.
1982
DS#217 LT p.18
Lawrence D. Brown
▪ Clean work requires sharp tools.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1980
DS#133 LT p.27
James Fagan
▪ Sharpen your scrapers with a power grinder.
1979
DS#120 LT p.21
Bill McCall
▪ Sharpen the blades while they are mounted in the machine.
1979
DS#105 LT p.23
Dick DeNeve
▪ Belts that are already worn by wood may have a life left for grinding metals.
1979
DS#105 LT p.87
Tim Olsen
▪ Extend the life of your bandsaw blades by five of six times using a Dremel tool.
1978
DS#84 LT p.29
Tim Olsen
▪ Regrind single-edged razor blades into good little scrapers.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1977
DS#57 LT p.20
Shelly Sax
▪ Get the right wheels for your grinder.
1976
DS#32 LT p.14
H.E. Huttig
▪ Short history of steel and its principal alloys, plus a description of sharpening stones, and how to use and maintain them.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.