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.
2003
AL#73 p.54 BRB7 p.28
Mike Doolin
▪ Perhaps you’d care to make all your necks look and feel the same, just as the big factories do. Perhaps you’d like to make them a lot faster while you’re at it. And do it all on a budget? Doolin’s machine may be just what you were looking for. With 8 photos and several diagrams.
2002
AL#71 p.68 BRB6 p.96
R.M. Mottola
▪ Building an archtop bass in the same style as Robert Benedetto’s archtop guitars.
2002
AL#72 p.8 BRB6 p.438
John Greven
▪ Greven’s inlay work specializes in large easily repeatable designs highlighted by engraving of a photographic quality. His pearl-cutting techniques are pretty strange, but no one can argue with the quality of the finished work. With 18 photos and a pair of drawings of graver types and angles.
2002
AL#72 p.32 BRB6 p.417
John Calkin
▪ A small shop can easily make all the nice instrument lining it needs if it already has a tablesaw and a thickness sander and invests in a few simple jigs. It isn’t hard, but it isn’t especially fun, either.
2002
AL#72 p.44 BRB6 p.436
R.M. Mottola
▪ The author has devised a set of layout gauges for positioning the side markers and fretboard dots of his guitars, easily assuring himself that all dots will be nicely and quickly centered. A set of gauges for various scale lengths is included for photocopying.
2002
AL#72 p.60 BRB6 p.486
R.M. Mottola
▪ The reviewer examines the Asturmes ES/RV spray gun and finds that it’s the answer to the finish problems he’s found, and at a reasonable price. With one photo.
2002
AL#72 p.62 BRB6 p.374
Jeffrey R. Elliott
▪ The exact brand of foam used by Jeff Elliott described in AL#70 for making a mold of a top on a guitar being restored.
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.
2002
AL#71 p.62 BRB6 p.485
R.M. Mottola
▪ Mottola likes the Grizzly H2881 pump sander, a handheld drum sander he uses for sculpting neck heels and the like. He doesn’t however, much enjoy doing business with the Grizzly company. With 2 photos.
2002
AL#70 p.48 BRB6 p.344
John Calkin
▪ Using templates and a tablesaw to slot fingerboards in minutes, and how to make your own templates. With 7 photos and 5 fret scales for off-beat scale lengths.
2002
AL#70 p.62 BRB6 p.465
Peter Giolitto
▪ An oak tool used to prepare veneers to the constant thickness required to make the mosaic sections of rosettes and purflings.
2002
AL#70 p.63 BRB6 p.464
Kent Everett
▪ A simple fence made for an old 20″ Delta bandsaw.
2002
AL#70 p.63 BRB6 p.466
Michael Breid
▪ A simple knob puller for removing control knobs from electric guitars and airbrush cleaning tips.
2002
AL#70 p.12 BRB6 p.358
Ralph Novak
▪ The author uses neck making in his example of how gearing up to make small runs of like parts can make the small shop more efficient and profitable. With a photo and 9 drawings.
2002
AL#70 p.16 BRB6 p.328
Jeffrey R. Elliott
▪ Returning a historically important guitar to life is not only a painstaking project but also one that must be done with finesse and a respect for the instrument’s value as an historical document. This restoration took several months and much research and investigation, requiring the use of tools not normally associated with guitar repair. With 43 photos and a magazine-size version of GAL Plan #47 of the instrument under discussion.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2002
AL#70 p.34 BRB6 p.343
Jeffrey R. Elliott
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
2002
AL#70 p.36 BRB6 p.324
Bruce Petros
▪ The author finds that the General Model 15-250 M1, for $1600, may be the most sander for the money that the small shop can afford. With 7 photos.
2002
AL#69 p.8 BRB6 p.305
Larry Mills
▪ An introduction to free plate and fixed plate voicing of the guitar top, the latter using a jig to fix the braced plate much as it will be on the guitar, though tapping is used as the driver, not strings. Interesting, and a good presentation of current bracing notions. With 8 photos.
2002
AL#69 p.36
Andrew Atkinson
▪ The author’s focus is on recreating a lute maker’s shop, circa the late 16th century. Old paintings provide some of his most valuable research materials. He is not only interested in old tools, but in the old ways of making those tools. With 2 photos.
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.
2002
AL#69 p.62 BRB6 p.461
Marc Connelly
▪ A little goofball finger strap flashlight to illuminate the Dremel bit, and a Trac II razor to shave dried glue off fingertips.
2002
AL#69 p.63 BRB6 p.463
Peter Giolitto
▪ A way to plot the contours of the ribs and the back braces as alternative to buying or making a dished workboard for fitting a spherically-arched guitar back.
2001
AL#68 p.40 BRB6 p.266
David Giulietti
▪ The pursuit of engraving skills demands just a small investment in tools but a large investment in determination and time. At least, for those not born to be artists. But the author makes it clear that there is hope for nearly all of us who truly wish to acquire this skill.
2001
AL#68 p.58 BRB6 p.460
Keith Davis
▪ Make a toothed blade for a block plane by annealing the blade, grinding a set of grooves, and re-tempering the blade. Also describes reducing the mouth with J.B. Weld.
2001
AL#67 p.40 BRB6 p.260
Peter Giolitto
▪ Scraper planes are good for dressing down figured wood without tearing them up or following the grain. Here’s how to make one. With a photo and 5 drawings.
2001
AL#67 p.62 BRB6 p.81
Charles Fox
▪ Removing a few millimeters to compensate for the relaxation of the radii when the sides are removed on a Fox side bender.
2001
AL#67 p.64 BRB6 p.459
Robert Steinegger
▪ A jig for slotting bridges, Steiny style.
2001
AL#66 p.64 BRB6 p.457
Skip Helms
▪ 1″ rigid foam insulation is tough, accurately dimensioned, weighs almost nothing, and can be used to help freshly bent sides hold their shape.
2001
AL#66 p.64 BRB6 p.459
Dick Kern
▪ Scrapers from spring steel from a clock spring work really well for leveling plates.
2001
AL#66 p.28 read this article
Mike Nealon
▪ The author offers plans for a jig that uses a router to shape the surface of a conical fretboard. With 11 photos and 5 diagrams.
2001
AL#66 p.57 BRB6 p.538 read this article
John Calkin
▪ The reviewer decides that if you want to make your first knife you just about can’t go wrong with this book.
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.
2001
AL#65 p.10 BRB6 p.82
Paul Schuback
▪ Schuback learned violin making in a small shop in France during the ’60s. This segment of his 1995 convention workshop lecture covers completing the plates and fitting the neck, fingerboard, nut, and soundpost to the body. There’s lots of local French color, old tools, and old ways presented here, as well as a bit of how the violin has changed since the days of the first Italian masters. Part One appeared in AL#63. With 33 photos, a diagram, and a sequence chart for building a violin.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2001
AL#65 p.22 BRB6 p.210
John Calkin
▪ The dished workboard can make it easier to make better guitars. Calkin reveals several ways to make them more versatile, more accurate, and more fun to use. With 13 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2001
AL#65 p.39 BRB6 p.170
Fred Campbell
▪ A large part of the secret to getting a fine gloss finish of any sort is the preparation of the wood before anything is even applied. Campbell has specialized in finish work for years and isn’t shy about sharing what he knows.
2001
AL#65 p.64 BRB6 p.455
Eric Nicholson
▪ This guitar holding device has two main parts; a neck/body adapter and bench-mounting arm.
2001
AL#65 p.65 BRB6 p.456
Peter Giolitto
▪ A method to profile the heads of classical guitars helps achieve a much more accurate shape more quickly than just drawing around a single template and working to the line; instead using shapes of workable metal.
2000
AL#64 p.50 BRB6 p.156
Nathan Stinnette
▪ Stinnette is the Huss & Dalton Guitar Co. employee in charge of converting split red spruce trees into billets of brace wood, and then into guitar braces. The article describes how the rough chunks of wood are converted into quarter-sawn boards and then how the boards are made into braces. With 15 photos.
2000
AL#63 p.20 BRB6 p.82
Paul Schuback
▪ This piece would be important just as an historical document of Schuback’s apprenticeship to a French violin maker in the early ’60s. The inclusion of his current shop practices and building methods makes it an article that everyone interested in the violin should read. With 33 photos and 5 diagrams.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2000
AL#63 p.34 BRB6 p.108
John Calkin
▪ OK, so you’ve got all the parts for your flattop guitar body prepped for construction. How do you get all the pieces to fit together? The author details the construction methods used at the Huss & Dalton Guitar Co, all of which should prove useful to any small shop.With 21 photos.
2000
AL#63 p.58 BRB6 p.452
Peter Giolitto
▪ A simple way to make a guitar mold using only hand tools.
2000
AL#63 p.58 BRB6 p.452
Jim Clay
▪ A modification to the very fine Dremel router base that Bishop Cochran sells.
2000
AL#62 p.46 read this article
Mike Nealon
▪ Nealon’s jig allows a router to fully shape the neck behind the heel, including the diamond on the back of the headstock. With 15 photos and 6 diagrams.
2000
AL#62 p.56 BRB6 p.450
Gerald Sheppard
▪ A small jig attached to a belt sander to thin wood binding, headstock overlays, and other small items.
2000
AL#61 p.61 BRB6 p.448
Peter Giolitto
▪ Making a jig to hold guitar necks while carving them.
2000
AL#61 p.52 BRB6 p.468
John Calkin
▪ Good grades are given to the Stew-Mac neck jig, a fretting aid. The fret nippers intended for jumbo fret wire is greeted with mixed emotions. The Allen mandolin tailpiece is found to offer grace and dignity to any mando with a bridge high enough to allow its use.
2000
AL#61 p.60 BRB6 p.447
David Kempf
▪ An illustrated description of building a uniquely shaped bridge for a steel string guitar.
2000
AL#61 p.61 BRB6 p.448
R.M. Mottola
▪ A way to quickly ‘add’ table space to a drill press, bandsaw, or spindle sander is with a couple of fret bar clamps, such as those made by True Grip.
2000
AL#61 p.61 BRB6 p.448
Michael Breid
▪ An idea from Dan Erlewine: little acrylic blades to lift internal bracing to get glue beneath it.
1999
AL#60 p.19 BRB5 p.417
Ervin Somogyi
▪ How important is the grain orientation of your braces? Is quartersawn wood really the stiffest? Somogyi ran a small series of tests that suggest that information we all trust and take for granted may be little more than lutherie mythology. With 3 photos and a chart.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#60 p.44 BRB5 p.436
Fred Carlson
▪ Hi-Tone instrument cases are reviewed and not found wanting, “a contender for the handsomest case out there, and very solidly built.”
1999
AL#60 p.51 BRB5 p.504
Scott van Linge
▪ A photo of a modification to the Bishop Cochran plunge-router base.
1999
AL#60 p.52
Cyndy Burton
▪ This column updates several source lists that have appeared in past issues. If you need it to build instruments, you should find a supplier here.
1999
AL#59 p.22 BRB5 p.332
Jonathon Peterson George Majkowski Boaz Elkayam
▪ George Majkowski and Boaz Elkayam complete their work on 10 Kasha guitars to honor the memory of Richard Schneider and to keep his work alive. The hand tools involved, the strange method of fretting, and the cool vacuum clamps, as well as the design philosophy behind the guitars, make this a pair of articles not to be missed. The Old World meets the future here and they blend very nicely. With 58 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#59 p.46 BRB5 p.396
Jeff Huss Mark Dalton
▪ Hand carved and compensated bone saddles are a mark of finesse. Fine work is all about the details, and Huss and Dalton discuss a detail that is often overlooked but easy to make. With 8 photos.
1999
AL#59 p.56 BRB5 p.452
Fred Carlson
▪ Carlson checks out Iboney, a specially treated cow bone used for nuts and saddles. Also in this column is an examination of 3 Stew-Mac tools, a fingerboard and bridge heating iron, a purfling cutter attachment for the Dremel MultiPro, and a binding cutter for the Stew-Mac version of the MultiPro router base. Fred likes the Iboney, and decides that both Stew-Mac Dremel attachments are better made than the Dremels themselves. The heating iron passes inspection, too, but the GAL Tool Guy feels a bit luke-warm about it.
1999
AL#59 p.61 BRB5 p.502
Michael Breid
▪ A custom bow-tip-gluing jig built out of necessity.
1999
AL#59 p.61 BRB5 p.500
Gene Simpson
▪ A cardboard tube sliced up for use as radiused pads.
1999
AL#59 p.65 BRB5 p.484 read this article
John Calkin
▪ The reviewer likes this instruction video that is ultimately intended to sell product, and finds that the instruction far outweighs the salesmanship angle of this Stew-Mac tape.
1999
AL#58 p.59 BRB5 p.503
Peter Giolitto
▪ An easy way to make dished forms using plaster to create the dished surface.
1999
AL#58 p.60
Peter Dyer
▪ Universal side bender.
1999
AL#58 p.20 BRB5 p.332
Jonathon Peterson George Majkowski Boaz Elkayam
▪ Boaz Elkayam and George Majkowski extend the work of Michael Kasha and Richard Schneider in a project that entails the construction of 10 guitars. A wide variety of building techniques involving hand and power tools, as well as vacuum clamping, is necessary to make these complicated instruments. An unlikely pairing of craftsmen contributes to our understanding of one of the most controversial instrument designers of our times, and the memory of a respected luthier and teacher. With 26 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#58 p.42 BRB5 p.355
Jon Sevy
▪ If first-year college math pushed your left-brain functions to the limit (been there, done that) you may cringe at the sight of the simplest equation. If so, check out this article. Modern luthiers build arcs into many of their instruments, and if you don’t know how to create them to lay out your own jigs you’ll be forever at the mercy of tool suppliers. Worse yet, when someone asks what the radius of your back plate is you can shrug your shoulders and look like an idiot. Let Sevy solve your problem. You can do it!
1999
AL#58 p.52 BRB5 p.449
Fred Carlson
▪ How would you like a video camera that can snoop inside your guitar? Carlson examines the Chapin Insight guitar inspection camera and finds that it’s loads of fun and probably very useful to a repairman who has the $350 to improve his inspection capabilities.
1999
AL#58 p.58 BRB5 p.501
Andrea Andalo
▪ A simple device to hold guitars during the finishing phase which consists of an upright which can be held in a vise and a workboard which the neck can be secured.
1999
AL#58 p.58 BRB5 p.501
John Monteleone
▪ A good method for finding the height of mandolin family sides using a violin soundpost height gauge.
1999
AL#57 p.11 BRB5 p.297
John Calkin
▪ Calkin was hired by Huss and Dalton to take over their guitar binding. His story includes a description of how to make wood binding, and covers the hand tools he uses during the binding procedure. With 6 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#57 p.14 BRB5 p.302
Frank Ford Don MacRostie
▪ The authors believe that hot hide glue is the best adhesive for virtually all construction and most repair jobs. Here’s why they think so and how they handle this ancient material. Includes diagrams of the customized glue pots used by both men, 15 photos, and a hide glue grading chart.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#57 p.24 BRB5 p.262
Jay Hargreaves
▪ In this installment the top plate is carved and braced. Ribbecke roughs out the plates in a unique vacuum cage that goes a long way toward keeping his shop clean. The chainsaw wheel he attaches to his grinder gives this series its name, and speeds the carving process dramatically. Tuning the top isn’t completed until the guitar is assembled in the next segment. Part 1 was in AL#56. Includes 20 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#57 p.40 BRB5 p.317
John Calkin
▪ Calkin builds a uniquely shaped travel guitar called the True Companion, and here explains its construction as well as the jigs he devised for production building. The plan is a mini-version of GAL Plan #44. With 14 photos, including one of the sternest luthier of the year. Ya’ll remember to smile when it’s your turn!
1999
AL#57 p.43 BRB5 p.321
John Calkin
▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.
1999
AL#57 p.46 BRB5 p.330
Kevin B. Rielly
▪ By now we all know about using dished workboards to create a radius on flat instrument plates. Rielly’s board is easier to make than most, and can be adjusted for either the top or back radius. With 6 photos.
1999
AL#57 p.50 BRB5 p.324
Paul McGill
▪ McGill’s lutherie shop is in his basement, and keeping his house free of fumes and dust involved lots of planning and not a little money. Here’s how he did it. With 3 photos and a drawing.
1999
AL#57 p.58 BRB5 p.436
Fred Carlson
▪ Carlson takes over the GAL test pilot seat for new tools. This time he flies the Turbo-carver, an ultra-speed carving tool similar to (but not as elaborate as) a dentist drill. Carlson likes the tool but can’t seem to find a lot of use for it in lutherie. And though the tool is fairly inexpensive, he also questions its lifespan.
1999
AL#58 p.6 BRB5 p.262
Jay Hargreaves
▪ The final installment in the series, parts 1 & 2 were in AL#56 and #57, respectively. In this segment the sides are bent, the body is assembled and bound, the neck is fitted to the body, and attention is given to tuning the plates. Special consideration is given to making the adjustable bridges as well as Tom’s elegant ebony/graphite tailpiece. With 36 photos and a drawing.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#56 p.65 BRB5 p.500
Kevin B. Rielly
▪ A simple $1 bender design as an alternative to bending frets with pliers or a variable fret bender which takes less than 30 minutes to assemble.
1999
AL#57 p.6 BRB5 p.292
Jeff Huss Mark Dalton
▪ The H&D Guitar Company builds about 100 guitars per year, the great majority of them bound in wood. Here’s how they do it. With 13 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#56 p.6 BRB5 p.248
Lawrence Smart
▪ The demands of contemporary players has forced many changes in the mandolin family since the fabled Loar family of Gibsons was created in the 1920s. Smart has built mandolins, mandolas, and mandocellos to work together as an ensemble as well as separately, and here he discusses the differences that might be desirable in the family as the setting is changed, as well as the changes that players have asked for in his instruments. Accompanied by charts of Smart’s instrument specs as well as those of Gibson. With 5 photos and 5 drawings.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#56 p.36 BRB5 p.262
Jay Hargreaves
▪ Ribbecke is a renowned maker of archtop guitars. He also opens his shop periodically to small classes that wish to learn his formula for successful and graceful guitars. Hargreaves attended one such week-long session and brought back the straight skinny for American Lutherie readers. Part 1 details the construction of a laminated maple neck and associated details. Part 2 follows in AL#57. With 29 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#55 p.45
Ken Sribnick
▪ Sribnick believes that consistent accuracy stems from shop standards. One set of measuring tools, one set of templates, one style of doing things. He makes a good case, too. With 3 photos.
1998
AL#55 p.48 BRB5 p.243
Cyndy Burton Paul Jacobson
▪ Jacobson is a widely respected builder of classical guitars who considers lutherie to be the equivalent of writing sonnets. They are both exercises in controlled creativity. And both can be beautiful.
1998
AL#55 p.54 BRB5 p.497
Filippo Avignonesi
▪ A jig to make joints for attaching necks to bodies; both heel and body are slotted and joined by a flat wooden spline.
1998
AL#55 p.60 BRB5 p.277
Peter Dyer Dennis Abbl
▪ Regarding stainless steel VS spring steel used for the universal (Charles Fox) side bender.
1998
AL#55 p.63 BRB5 p.477
Bishop Cochran
▪ The reviewer finds that this book is weak on pickup design considerations but that it will ultimately set the luthier free to customize his sound and escape the high cost of commercial pickups.
1998
AL#54 p.56 BRB5 p.476
John Calkin
▪ The reviewer finds this set of 5 videos to be useful and complete for those who wish to build an archtop guitar, but that those who lack previous lutherie experience should also have the book by Benedetto.
1998
AL#54 p.57 BRB5 p.477
John Calkin
▪ The reviewer decides that the book should be of use to anyone who is about to purchase their first spray gear, but that other sources of information are more lutherie-specific.
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.
1998
AL#54 p.62
Cyndy Burton
▪ Where to get the gear you need to do what you want to do as a luthier.
1998
AL#55 p.3 BRB5 p.213 read this article
Roger Sadowsky
▪ Sadowsky remembers Irving Sloane as a Renaissance man, and surely just the work he did in the lutherie field would qualify him for that. He designed and produced tuning machines, a slew of hand tools, and three instruction books that no doubt continue to be the worthy introduction many of us have to the world of lutherie. He was also Sadowsky’s father-in-law. This small remembrance is as nice as any man has had.
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!
1998
AL#54 p.26 BRB5 p.198
Graham McDonald
▪ Advice about building an Irish instrument with a Greek name from an Australian in an American magazine. You could get jet lag just thinking about it. McDonald covers the construction of the entire instrument (his neck joint is really slick) but the focal point is his top construction. He steams thick flat plates in the oven and bends them into an arch until they set. After joining there is a minimum of carving yet to be done. All this is in the name of saving time and timber. With 9 photos and a pair of drawings.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#54 p.38 BRB5 p.127
John Calkin
▪ Inspired by his time spent at Fox’s American School of Lutherie, Calkin revamps his whole building procedure. Dished workboards turn out to be easy and cheap to make. Mando, uke, and dulcimer sides are bent with an electric silicone blanket. Molds are revamped. Speed and precision are in, drudgery is out (well, almost). Parts 1 and 2 were in American Lutherie #52 and #53, respectively. With 25 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#53 p.50 BRB5 p.504
Dave Maize
▪ Using innertubes to bundle stickered backs and sides is not a great idea.
1998
AL#53 p.32 BRB5 p.108
John Calkin
▪ In AL#52 we looked at the tools and jigs Charles Fox uses to build acoustic guitars. In Part 2 we examine how that equipment is put to use as Fox takes us through the procedure of building a classical guitar at his American School of Lutherie. Most of this info will be just as useful to the steel string builder, as well. With 55 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#53 p.44 BRB5 p.178
John Calkin George Fortune Jr. Stan Olah
▪ Fortune is a self-taught fiddle maker and instrument repairman in rural Virginia. To many of his neighbors he is known simply as the Fiddle Man. Perhaps Americans aren’t losing their independent spirit, but often it feels like it. Calkin pays tribute to a man who seems to represent a whole way of life. With 7 photos.
1997
AL#51 p.53 BRB5 p.490
James E. Patterson
▪ Speeding up the sharpening of bandsaw blades.
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.
1997
AL#52 p.12 BRB5 p.108
John Calkin
▪ The main thrust of Fox’s American School of Lutherie lies in teaching lone guitarmakers to make better instruments through more accurate tooling and in helping them become more commercially viable by increasing their production. Calkin attended one of Charles’ week-long Contemporary Guitar Making seminars and documented much of the hard info for American Lutherie readers. This segment concentrates on nearly 3 dozen jigs and fixtures that anyone can add to their lutherie arsenal, most of them adapted to power tools. With 57 photos. Parts 2 & 3 to follow.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
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#52 p.42 BRB5 p.144
Tim Olsen R.E. Brune
▪ Brune was an original founder of the Guild, has been a GAL convention lecturer, and an American Lutherie author. He’s also a world-renowned maker, dealer, and collector of classical guitars. In this interview he offers some personal background as well as what he thinks it will take to stay afloat in the lutherie world that’s coming. His insider’s view of high-buck instrument dealing is especially compelling. With 7 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
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.
1997
AL#51 p.16
David Grey
▪ Grey’s nifty jig uses a table router to bind guitar bodies. The classiest part is the micrometer adjustments built into the jig. With 2 photos and 5 good drawings.
1997
AL#51 p.36 BRB5 p.143
Nathan D. Missel
▪ You can build these little hollowing planes for a dollar or two and very little time. With 3 drawings to show you the way.
1997
AL#51 p.42 BRB5 p.104
John Calkin Jeff Huss Mark Dalton
▪ Virginia luthiers Huss and Dalton show off their shop and talk about the business of going into business. They make 7 high-end acoustics per month, and they make it sound easy. With 11 photos.
1997
AL#50 p.44 BRB5 p.41
Michael Hornick
▪ Good lacquer work isn’t mysterious, just a pain in the neck. Hornick has it down to an art and a science, and he offers up his recipe to the last detail.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
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.
1997
AL#50 p.58 BRB5 p.489
Glenn Uhler
▪ A body or neck rest with an interesting history.
1997
AL#50 p.58 BRB5 p.489
Chuck Shifflett
▪ A comfortable handle that works way better on Micro Plane rasps which were reviewed by Harry Fleishman in AL#48.
1997
AL#50 p.59 BRB5 p.490
Dave Maize
▪ Four tool ideas; a small battery powered gooseneck lamp for a router, Bernard’s pliers for removing snug fitting bridge saddles, bamboo shish kebab skewers for glue spreading, and a scraper to clear glue along guitar braces.
1997
AL#50 p.20 BRB5 p.48
Kalia Kliban
▪ Kliban reports on an inlay workshop led by Larry Robinson. Robinson has become a master of shell decoration and an important teacher in the field. This article covers everything from design to engraving, and amounts to a condensed version of Larry’s book on the subject. With 15 photos of the workshop and knockout inlay work.
1997
AL#49 p.10 BRB4 p.4
Woodley White
▪ Baarslag journeys to the American School of Lutherie to teach a week-long class about building classical guitars. White attended, and gives a full report. With 37 photos.
1997
AL#49 p.20 BRB5 p.12
John Calkin
▪ How to make thin-body guitars intended to be plugged in on stage. The bodies are hollowed from solid stock. Design considerations are emphasized. Production jigs are described, as are a set of jigs for making bridges. With 14 photos.
1997
AL#49 p.36 BRB5 p.34
Brent Benfield
▪ So you bought a spherically dished form in which to build your guitars. But how do you go about it? Benfield describes a path notable for its lack of complication. This is a painless way to bring your guitars into the 21st century. Most of the ideas are applicable to flattop guitars as well. With 10 photos and 4 drawings.
1997
AL#49 p.40 BRB5 p.26
Richard Beck
▪ Beck’s theme is to keep the quality but cut the time involved in building acoustic guitars. He shares his jigs for shaping headstocks and arching braces using a router table and heavy aluminum jigs. You may have to get a machine shop in on this job. With 13 photos and a drawing.
1997
AL#49 p.50 BRB5 p.44
Colin Kaminski Jeff Traugott
▪ Neck resetting techniques have changed enormously in the last few years, and they continue to evolve. Traugot has been in the forefront of the evolution. Here’s his up-to-the-minute description of the procedure. With 12 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
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.
1997
AL#49 p.58 BRB5 p.504
Glenn Uhler
▪ This plastic tool box made by Rubbermaid has two stacking trays that lift out together and plenty of room in the bottom for fretting hammers and larger tools.
1997
AL#49 p.58 BRB5 p.489
Colin Kaminski
▪ Boggs Tool Processing uses the liquid honing process for sharpening files.
1997
AL#50 p.4 BRB5 p.60
Frank Ford
▪ Ford has been a preeminent repairman for years, but has recently emerged as a fine teacher of repair topics. Everyone’s refretting tricks are a little different. Even if you have a handle on the general principle you may find that Frank Ford has something to offer you. With 29 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1997
LW p.80
James E. Patterson
▪ This article compresses into less than 6 pages everything you need to know about cutting and inlaying shell, except for how to make up original designs. Creativity is a tough thing to teach. Includes 5 diagrams and 6 photos.
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.
1996
AL#48 p.56 BRB4 p.504
Rod Hannah
▪ Using a mill bastard file to remove excess material when dressing frets.
1996
AL#48 p.56 BRB4 p.504
James E. Patterson
▪ A modified fingerboard tapering jig from an Ervin Somogyi design.
1996
AL#48 p.57 BRB4 p.505
Glenn Uhler
▪ Lutherie tools from a welding supply store, including an inspection light kit featuring an extension/mirror tool, and a nice pin vise.
1996
AL#48 p.57 BRB4 p.503
Leslie C. Sahl
▪ An improvement to a violin peg-hole reamer by using a door knob for a handle.
1996
AL#48 p.14 BRB4 p.386
Jonathon Peterson Bishop Cochran
▪ Cochran is a player/maker of electric and acoustic/electric guitars who uses machine shop equipment and supplies to create his instruments. The emphasis is on precision work, duplicable procedures, and practical designs. With 26 photos.
1996
AL#48 p.22 BRB4 p.394
Ervin Somogyi
▪ This 1995 convention lecture covers the physical nature of the neck. Not how to do the work, but how to make a neck for maximum playability and instrument performance. Both steel string and classical guitars are discussed. With 1 photo and a slough of diagrams.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1996
AL#48 p.28 BRB4 p.408
Cyndy Burton John Mello
▪ Mello is a repairperson, guitarmaker, restorer, and instrument dealer. He apprenticed under Richard Schneider and worked with Jeffrey R. Elliott before opening his own shop.Much of the interview dwells upon the restoration of an 1862 Torres guitar. With 11 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1996
AL#48 p.36 BRB4 p.404
Frank Ford
▪ Ford built an elaborate jig for resetting the necks of valuable and delicate guitars where a slip of the chisel can’t be risked. The contrary nature of guitars may dictate that some hand fitting is required after the jig is used, but much of the danger is removed. With 8 photos.
1996
AL#48 p.42 BRB4 p.400
Phillip Murray
▪ Even in this age of the bolted on neck, there are plenty of guitarmakers who’d rather use a dovetail. Murray’s well thought out jigs cut both the male and female portions of the joint. With 14 photos and 7 diagrams.
1996
AL#46 p.59 BRB4 p.503
Norbert Pietsch
▪ Fret slot sawing guides to resaw fret slots without marring or knocking loose the bindings.
1996
AL#47 p.34 BRB4 p.368
Greg Byers
▪ Finding perfect intonation through deep math and jiggling the string length at both ends. For some luthiers the quest for perfection knows no bounds. The rest of us are just jealous.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1996
AL#47 p.62
Cyndy Burton
▪ A page of tools especially for the luthier, and a page and a half of tools and supplies of a more general nature. Where to get your tools. Or, at least, where to get your catalogs.
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.”
1996
AL#46 p.38 BRB4 p.312
Cyndy Burton Todd Taggart
▪ The driving force behind Luthiers Mercantile International talks about building a business, supplying an industry, and helping to make a guitar town out of Healdsburg, California.
1995
AL#44 p.60 BRB4 p.499
Rod Hannah
▪ Several methods of removing original Fender frets, which were slid in from the side.
1995
AL#44 p.60 BRB4 p.501
Skip Helms
▪ A way to let a router and radial saw do some of the grunt work in building an archtop guitar.
1996
AL#45 p.40 BRB4 p.294
Richard Beck
▪ Beck is a repairman for some heavy hitters in the music biz. Here he offers a sound method of repairing shattered headstocks using a router. With 11 photos.
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.
1996
AL#45 p.56 BRB4 p.500
John Jordan
▪ A second set of hollow radius forms lined with sandpaper for fitting the sides to the top and back radii when binding acoustic instruments with tops and backs made in hollow-radiused forms.
1996
AL#45 p.56 BRB4 p.501
Norbert Pietsch
▪ A vise heavy enough not to teeter when hammered or rasped on and can be easily mounted on a work surface.
1995
AL#44 p.59 BRB4 p.498
Rod Hannah
▪ A clear plexiglas piece as an alignment tool for a Teeter-style bridge slot device.
1995
AL#44 p.20 BRB4 p.230
Guy Rabut
▪ Apparently not every violinist is determined to have a fiddle that looks 300 years old. Rabut has made some interesting attempts to update the violin without sacrificing the tone that everyone demands. Can’t wait until these babies start showing up in symphonic orchestras. With 21 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1995
AL#44 p.38 BRB4 p.248
Fred Campbell
▪ Campbell finishes the guitars that other luthiers build. He has become an expert spray meister with the confidence to give away the tricks he has learned the hard way. This is perhaps the best piece on lacquering AL has ever printed. With 7 photos and a finishing schedule.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
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.
1995
AL#44 p.57 BRB4 p.467
Andres Sender
▪ The reviewer finds that this book is particularly useful for the plane maker, and ultimately decides that it is “. . .a remarkable deal if you can find it.”
1995
AL#44 p.58 BRB4 p.500
Norbert Pietsch
▪ Two rings, one for inside, one for outside, for use with rubber or rope for clamping binding to a banjo rim.
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.
1995
AL#43 p.57 BRB4 p.495
John Miles
▪ A homemade alternative to a commercial polishing product in which grains of abrasive are bonded onto a rubbery layer.
1995
AL#42 p.62 BRB4 p.492
Filippo Avignonesi
▪ An unproduced design for a string tension simulation jig.
1995
AL#42 p.63 BRB4 p.493
Bill Daniels
▪ A simple sander to thickness rib stock for violins and violas.
1995
AL#42 p.64 BRB4 p.491
George Gorodnitsky
▪ Two small metal blocks between two jewelry saw blades to cut straight or curved strips with parallel edges.
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.
1995
AL#41 p.58 BRB4 p.491
Robert Steinegger
▪ Temporary modification of an Everly guitar mold to a Martin 00 size.
1995
AL#42 p.44 BRB4 p.190
Chris Foss
▪ Foss describes his permanent setup for drilling tuning pin and hitch pin holes in dulcimer pin blocks.
1995
AL#42 p.46 BRB4 p.196
Duane Heilman
▪ Heilman offers plans for a drum sander that has a radius built into the drum.
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.
1994
AL#40 p.8 BRB4 p.90
Curt Carpenter
▪ Carpenter tells of his VA-sponsored apprenticeship to a legend of the electric guitar industry. A fine string of anecdotes. Carpenter actually moved in with Doc Kauffman and his wife, relived all the old stories, learned to build guitars, visited with Leo Fender, met Rudy Dopera, and made pickups. Carpenter left the army to enter the Guitar Wars.
1994
AL#40 p.60 BRB4 p.488
Jonathon Peterson
▪ A fir 2X6 screwed to a bench vice to extend the moveable jaw width of the end of the workbench.
1994
AL#40 p.60 BRB4 p.490
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Small fluorescent lights used as inspection lights, small enough to fit through F holes.
1994
AL#40 p.61 BRB4 p.489
Andres Sender
▪ This jig flattens 4 pegs, one side at a time, and is powered by a screen door type spring hinge.
1994
AL#39 p.28 BRB4 p.80
Elon Howe
▪ A nontraditional mold deep enough to keep the ribs square to the top and back plates.
1994
AL#39 p.52 BRB4 p.482
Andres Sender
▪ A $40 design for an oval electric bending iron that can be built in a day from available materials.
1994
AL#39 p.53 BRB4 p.485
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Strips of masking tape twisted into long skinny tubes as alternative to double stick tape.
1994
AL#38 p.55 BRB4 p.484
Merv Rowley
▪ A simple gadget for checking the levelness using nothing more than a straightedge, flashlight, and insulated wire.
1994
AL#38 p.56 BRB4 p.485
John Miles
▪ The use of abrasive tools for various instrument making tasks.
1994
AL#38 p.56 BRB4 p.485
Rod Hannah
▪ A disposable and recyclable nut and saddle spacing jig.
1994
AL#38 p.56 BRB4 p.485
Bishop Cochran
▪ The ‘hurricane blower’, a rubber bulb-type blower used by photographers to keep their equipment clean.
1994
AL#39 p.18 BRB4 p.65
Jonathon Peterson Eric Myer
▪ Meyer’s current gig is the manufacture of violin fittings. He describes his peg making process in detail.
1994
AL#37 p.60 BRB4 p.488
John Jordan
▪ Make quick-and-dirty long drill bits from bicycle spokes.
1994
AL#38 p.24 BRB4 p.34
R.E. Brune
▪ Brune made a map of plate dimensions using a new (and expensive) gizzy called the Elcometer. Then he decides that plate thickness probably isn’t so big a deal. Well, at least you have a model to guide you.
1994
AL#38 p.36 BRB4 p.39
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Sullivan built a maximum performance thickness sander for $800 and 100 hours time.
1994
AL#37 p.58 BRB4 p.482
Willis Groth
▪ A violin fingerboard clamping jig.
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.
1994
AL#37 p.56 BRB4 p.416
Rick Turner
▪ Turner’s column is all about the essential electronic measuring instruments for the guitar shop.
1993
AL#36 p.39 BRB3 p.476
Wayne Kelly
▪ Make your own radiused blocks from auto body filler.
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#36 p.52 BRB3 p.422
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Four repairmen offer a variety of tips about altering mechanical archtop bridges, adding more “pop” to fretless bass necks, soldering and shielding electrics, carbide bandsaw blades, abrasive cord, superglue, cutting saddle slots, double-stick tape, bending plastic binding, beveling pickguard stock, replacing bar frets with T-frets, and restoring headstocks to look old.
1994
AL#37 p.10 BRB4 p.6
Tim Olsen
▪ Olsen travels from the general (in the preceding article) to the specific. He zeros in on D’Aquisto’s soundboard work for a detailed examination. With 47 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1993
AL#35 p.48 BRB3 p.368
Ralph Novak
▪ Good fretwork is complicated, but practice makes it a staple in the repairman’s income. Novak offers advice garnered from twenty-odd years in the business.
1993
AL#35 p.57 BRB3 p.498
Greg Descateaux
▪ Slight additions to Colin Kaminski’s description of how to build a hollow radius form in AL#33.
1993
AL#35 p.57 BRB3 p.498
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Design idea for a simple workstand using a wedge-shaped box. You can make one out of anything.
1993
AL#34 p.44 BRB3 p.313
James E. Patterson
▪ Even the best hygrometer needs to be reset occasionally. Here’s how, and why.
1993
AL#34 p.58 BRB3 p.492
Colin Kaminski
▪ The jig to taper fingerboards, made of 3/4″ plywood.
1993
AL#34 p.58 BRB3 p.491
Colin Kaminski
▪ A modified Blue Point K-1020 vacuum pump to recycle refrigerant from automotive air conditioners, per California state law.
1993
AL#34 p.59 BRB3 p.494
Colin Kaminski
▪ This jig used for clamping fingerboard bindings fixes the problem of clamping the binding against the fingerboard and keeping the white and black lines flush with the bottom edge of the fingerboard.
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.
1993
AL#33 p.57 BRB3 p.493
Taffy Evans
▪ History of the wonder vise.
1993
AL#34 p.18 BRB3 p.328 read this article
George Borun
▪ Not many people make the mental leap from violins to the space age easily. Borun did, and found the connection useful. His list of uses extends far beyond bending the ribs.
1993
AL#33 p.23 BRB3 p.476
Colin Kaminski
▪ Kaminski’s form uses two sheets of plywood of different thickness. They are stacked and screwed together down the center, and the thin sheet is curved by placing rows of wedges between them. A wood frame is built around the plywood, then polyester is poured between the sheets to make the radius permanent. It works, but it can be messy.
1993
AL#33 p.26 BRB3 p.290
Jeffrey R. Elliott
▪ How does one hack a log that’s 11′ wide into 4000 guitar tops? Very carefully! With 9 photos detailing the decimation of Moby Spruce. By the way, this is a log that Steve McMinn rescued from the pulp mill.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1993
AL#33 p.35 BRB3 p.308
David Freeman
▪ Micro-mesh is the latest word in sandpaper. In fact, it’s not even paper and it doesn’t feel sandy. Freeman and his students use it for all wet-sanding chores, including the final gloss finish. It’s that fine.
1993
AL#33 p.36 BRB3 p.303
Wes Brandt
▪ A well-known repairman delivers eight tips, including an alternate way to bend a Venetian cutaway, tool tips, and a way to bend sides more accurately.
1992
AL#32 p.56 BRB3 p.490
Willis Groth
▪ This pivoting work stand really is made of a bowling ball. You have to see it to understand it.
1992
AL#32 p.66 BRB3 p.488
John Higgins
▪ Specialized tools for making nuts, a flat sided tapered scribe, and the equal spacing divider.
1992
AL#32 p.67 BRB3 p.489
Nicholas Von Robison
▪ A fly-tiers vise makes an excellent small parts vise for final cleanup on pearl inlays.
1992
AL#32 p.68 BRB3 p.487
Skip Helms
▪ A few ideas using a router table for classical makers.
1992
AL#31 p.57 BRB3 p.487
Harry Fleishman
▪ Using clothespins for extra squeeze.
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.
1992
AL#32 p.11 BRB3 p.244
Jonathon Peterson
▪ As a maker of fine acoustic instruments Gibson was reborn in Montana. The man in charge of creativity and efficiency leads the GAL team through his domain. With 17 photos.
1992
AL#31 p.14 BRB3 p.218
Gavin Baird
▪ You can thin all your guitar wood on the drill press. Baird’s sander is perhaps as accurate as any. He claims control of the wood to within .001″.
1992
AL#31 p.57 BRB3 p.486
Ake Bjornstad
▪ Short bladed fretsaws for cleaning or widening fret slots.
1992
AL#31 p.57 BRB3 p.489
Colin Kaminski
▪ Replacing fret nippers chipped while cutting strings.
1992
AL#31 p.57 BRB3 p.487
Dale Randall
▪ Problems with burned out speed controls and bearings in the Dremel Moto-Tool.
1992
AL#30 p.49 BRB3 p.486
Richard Echeverria
▪ Repairing a crack in a D-28.
1992
AL#30 p.48 BRB3 p.485
Mark Tierney
▪ An easy to make jig with a wide jawed woodworkers vise to work down the edges of thin strips of veneer or laminated binding.
1992
AL#30 p.49 BRB3 p.486
Richard Echeverria
▪ A gadget for gluing loose back braces inside acoustic guitars.
1992
AL#30 p.49 BRB3 p.486
Robert Steinegger
▪ Freeing up tool shelf space with Velcro attachments.
1992
AL#29 p.57 BRB3 p.484
Tim Earls
▪ Variation on a modified clothespin clamp. The original was submitted in 1980 by Bruce Scotten and appears on page 26 of Lutherie Tools.
1992
AL#29 p.57 BRB3 p.485 read this article
Gerhart Schmeltekopf
▪ Rigging up a temporary reciprocating or ‘pole’ lathe.
1992
AL#29 p.58 BRB3 p.467 read this article
Cyndy Burton
▪ Seldom does a new catalog cause so much excitement. The reviewer especially likes it for bedtime reading.
1992
AL#30 p.16 BRB3 p.136 read this article
Alan Carruth
▪ Accessibility and usefulness are the keys to this segment of Carruth’s study. He addresses the archtop, flattop, and classical guitars, and even builds a flattop out of oak to compare its tuning modes to conventional tonewoods. With many mode diagrams and plate graduation charts. Too many scientific studies leave the luthier asking, “So what do you want me to do?” Carruth offers some real-world suggestions. Parts One and Two were in AL#28 and AL#29.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#28 p.59 BRB3 p.482
Fabio Ragghianti
▪ Universal instrument holder using a Klemsia clamp.
1991
AL#28 p.59 BRB3 p.483
Richard Echeverria
▪ An attachment rigged up for vacuuming inside flattop and archtop guitars.
1992
AL#29 p.6 BRB3 p.194 ALA3 p.2
R.E. Brune
▪ Brune outlines the first major exhibition of Spanish guitars ever mounted in America. With 8 photos, including one of Santos Hernandez. Also mentions Torres, M. Ramirez, Segovia, Simplicio, Barbero, Romanillos, and others.
1992
AL#29 p.38 BRB3 p.174
Gayle Miller Ken Sribnick
▪ Visit a water-powered French sawmill that supplies tonewood to 350 luthiers. With 7 photos. Mentions George Miller.
1992
AL#29 p.42 BRB3 p.136 read this article
Alan Carruth
▪ Carruth tries to keep it light as he describes the glitter dances that should improve your violins, and even sheds light on cello plate tuning. If you feel threatened by the dryness of science just relax and give it a try. Carruth is on your side. Really. With a whole bunch of drawings. Part One was in AL#28. Part Three follows in AL#30. The entire series appears in BRB3.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1992
AL#29 p.56 BRB3 p.480
Bill Garofalo
▪ Soaking guitars sides without resorting to vats and trays, using a piece of 4″ plastic pipe with a capped end, secured vertically to a wall or cabinet.
1992
AL#29 p.56 BRB3 p.483
Nick Blanton
▪ Addressing two problems that can plague Dremel Tools: loose bearings, and an insecure mount in the housing.
1992
AL#29 p.56 BRB3 p.483
Bill Garofalo
▪ A bent metal sheild for cutting fret slots. Use a modified backsaw.
1991
AL#28 p.34 BRB3 p.126 ALA4 p.10
Phillip Lea Bob Taylor
▪ Few people in Guitarland are as outspoken and clear-headed as Bob Taylor. Others might say he’s just opinionated. He believes a good guitar is a good guitar, no matter if it was whittled by Gepeto or cranked out by a dozen computer-guided milling cutters. This article offers a peek into the Taylor factory and a guided tour through one man’s thoughts about the contemporary guitar. With 28 photos.
1991
AL#27 p.58 BRB3 p.479
Chris Foss
▪ A barbaric, easy way to keep scrapers sharp.
1991
AL#27 p.58 BRB3 p.478
Phillip Lea
▪ When making plexiglas templates, use a scraper with no hook to smooth the edges.
1991
AL#27 p.58 BRB3 p.481
Gerhart Schmeltekopf
▪ A metric or letter bit is just the thing to make a hole just a tad larger or smaller.
1991
AL#28 p.18 BRB3 p.136 read this article
Alan Carruth
▪ Most acoustic scientists are not prepared to reduce their work to a plane-by-the-numbers chart of an instrument top.Neither is Carruth. It remains to be seen what improvements free plate tuning will offer to the average guitar, but there is every chance that luthiers who ignore the work as an inartistic invasion of their craft and art will be left in the dust. Carruth invites you to get on board right now. Parts Two and Three are in AL#29 and AL#30. The entire series apperas together in BRB3.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#26 p.57 BRB3 p.479
Chris Brandt
▪ A simple clamping caul to use in conjunction with rubber straps to clamp frets down.
1991
AL#26 p.58 BRB3 p.463 read this article
David Riggs
▪ The reviewer finds that this book offers good, solid instruction to the person building their first guitar.
1991
AL#26 p.60 BRB3 p.464 read this article
C.F. Casey
▪ This British D.I.Y. book offers alternative diction, syntax, and approach to the material.
1991
AL#27 p.4 BRB3 p.80
Chris Brandt R.E. Brune Jeffrey R. Elliott Richard Schneider Ervin Somogyi David Wilson
▪ A look inside the shops of six professional luthiers, featuring floor plans, tooling descriptions, notes on lighting and specialized machinery, and ideas about how work space can help (or hurt) your lifestyle. With a good Q&A segment and 63 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#27 p.51
Michael Darnton
▪ This is a humorous photo of some specialized clamps developed by Condit for violin repair.
1991
AL#25 p.55 BRB3 p.477
Dale Randall
▪ A fret crowning file that cannot possibly scratch the fretboard.
1991
AL#25 p.55 BRB3 p.477
Al Stancel
▪ How Casa Del Sol Violins solves the violin bow hair storage problem.
1991
AL#26 p.8 BRB3 p.37 ALA4 p.28
Jean Larrivee
▪ Larrivee has overseen the creation of 15,000 acoustic guitars and 12,000 electrics. Much of what he has to say pertains as strongly to the one-off builder as it does to another industry giant, and he doesn’t hold back on anything.
1991
AL#26 p.13 BRB3 p.480
Dale Randall
▪ Go fishing for your soundposts. Land them perfectly. This is a soundpost setter unlike any other. Really.
1991
AL#26 p.14 BRB3 p.46
Dan Erlewine Herb David
▪ It’s tough to be in business and stay successful. It’s really tough to stay in business and keep having fun, too. Herb David tells how he runs his business, builds a few instruments, stays in shape, has fun. Here’s the last line of his personal prayer: “Deliver me from temptation but keep me in touch.” You gotta love the guy. Mentions Sam Varjebedian and Terry Horvath.
1991
AL#26 p.25 BRB3 p.478
Dale Randall
▪ Randall explains how to make it, but not what it’s for.
1991
AL#26 p.26 BRB3 p.60
Ken Warmoth
▪ Most in-the-know electric guitar folks consider Warmoth necks and bodies to be the best going. Here’s how they’re made. With 22 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#25 p.52 BRB3 p.30 read this article
Michael Keller
▪ Silicon heat blankets are good for more than bending sides. Keller touches upon other uses, but his instructions for making forms and putting them to use is the focus here, and they cover about all you need to know. Once you have the blanket, the forms are cheap to make.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#25 p.55 BRB3 p.477
C.F. Casey
▪ Sports glasses, such as those worn by squash players, are an improvement on regular safety glasses.
1990
LT p.84
Tim Olsen
▪ Use plexiglas to clean sanding drums.
1990
LT p.84
J.D. Mackenzie
▪ Recommends a glue for adhering sandpaper to sanding drums.
1990
LT p.90
Tim Olsen
▪ Hinged fence cuts accurate curved pieces.
1990
LT p.114
Steve Andersen Chris Brandt R.E. Brune Ted Davis Jeffrey R. Elliott James Flynn Bob Gleason Hideo Kamimoto Robert Lundberg Frederick C. Lyman Jr. John Monteleone Robert Ruck Richard Schneider Ervin Somogyi Al Stancel Robert Steinegger Janet Toon
▪ Seventeen established luthiers were asked to list ten hand tools, five power tools, and five supplies used as tools. This info was used to determine the most essential tools, including specifics, model and size, source, and any special uses.
1991
AL#25 p.40 BRB3 p.476
Peter Schaefer
▪ Schaefer’s tool will give you control over the skinniest pieces of wood that go into your instrument.
1990
AL#24 p.57 BRB2 p.478
John Kitakis
▪ A simple lamp/heater system utilizing a cheap spring arm lamp.
1990
LT p.38
Dave Flager
▪ A wooden shaft supports the clamp.
1990
LT p.79
Ted Davis
▪ Official-looking 18″ power-feed shop-made sander requires no welding or machine shop work.
1990
LT p.83
Dave Flager
▪ A table to mount a portable belt sander on edge.
1990
LT p.84
Rich Westerman
▪ A source of quality cloth-backed abrasive rolls, and a belt cleaning material.
1990
LT p.84
Tom Peterson
▪ Spraying with silicone lubricant can extend the life of power abrasives.
1990
AL#24 p.19 BRB2 p.476
Gila Eban Dana Bourgeois
▪ Dana discusses his favorite top woods and how they compare.
1990
AL#24 p.25 BRB2 p.449
Michael Darnton
▪ Darnton’s contrivance marks the finished thickness on violin plates that have already been carved to within 1mm-2mm of final tolerances, and it is simple to make.
1990
AL#24 p.54 BRB2 p.486
Michael Darnton
▪ Details include cooking varnish, finishing necks, causes of neck cracks, and adjusting a peg shaper to match your peg reamer.
1990
AL#23 p.58 BRB2 p.429
C.F. Casey
▪ Make your own laminated maple c-clamps.
1990
AL#24 p.16 BRB2 p.470
Dana Bourgeois
▪ This is perhaps the strongest article ever published in American Lutherie about voicing the top and bracing of the steel string guitar. The fallout from this piece has been very wide spread.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1990
AL#23 p.13 BRB2 p.413
Ralph Novak
▪ Novak finds a simple method of getting electric guitar pickups in phase.
1990
AL#23 p.22 BRB2 p.486
Michael Darnton
▪ Topics include sharpening a peg reamer, dealing with fingerboard tearout, tailpiece setup, pitching the neck, and staining the bridges.
1990
AL#23 p.30 BRB2 p.412
Gary Fish
▪ Fish converted a sewing machine to wrap bow handles.
1990
AL#23 p.22 BRB2 p.491
Michael Darnton
▪ Yes, you can resharpen a peg reamer.
1990
AL#21 p.31 read this article
Ed Beylerian
▪ Luthiers try lute molds of a new synthetic material. Its stability is pleasing but its strength may make it of limited use for some.
1989
AL#20 p.5
R.H. Kessler
▪ The metric scales on early production Ibex fret rules are off.
1989
AL#20 p.20 BRB2 p.318
Dale Randall
▪ Randall lines the entire guitar back with plexiglas mirrors while working inside the body. Looks like a fine idea.
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#19 p.5 BRB2 p.221
Arnold M.J. Hennig
▪ Hennig gives advice about removing guitar bridges with a sharpened putty knife. He also laments the fact that popular opinion believes that guitars, unlike violins, have a “shelf life,” and as a result are often eventually neglected rather than repaired.
1989
AL#19 p.52 BRB2 p.312
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Peterson uses a cappuccino machine to steam the neck out of its joint, and wood shavings to rebuild the dovetail. In-depth text and 5 photos.
1989
AL#18 p.3
Danny McLean
▪ He mentions Kestral Tools of Lopez, Washington.
1989
AL#18 p.11
Dale Randall
▪ Randall built a foot-operated mini-jack for regluing braces inside an instrument.
1989
AL#18 p.44 BRB2 p.246
Jack Levine
▪ Levine made a deep-throated caliper for accurately measuring the thickness of the cello plate that is not removed, when the other is.
1989
AL#17 p.55 BRB2 p.481
Eric Sahlin
▪ Locating a peghole reamer suitable for lutes.
1989
AL#17 p.40 BRB2 p.194
Jack Levine
▪ Levine solves a problem many of us might face at first: How to set up shop in a confined, shared workspace. The solution is a takedown mold and a secure footlocker for tools and work in progress.
1988
AL#15 p.46 BRB2 p.86
R.E. Brune
▪ An intense description of Japanese classical guitar making taken from Brune’s convention lecture. Life in Japan is probably not much like you imagine it to be, it is far more interesting. The Q&A segment deals more with Brune’s own guitar work. With 21 photos inside a Japanese “factory.”
1988
AL#15 p.64 BRB2 p.81
John Schofield
▪ Schofield uses a pin router to cut matching f-holes in his mandolin tops quickly and safely.
1988
AL#16 p.8 BRB2 p.115
Jonathon Peterson
▪ This is 9 photos and a small description of the machine that might be the production archtop maker’s best friend.
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.
1988
AL#14 p.46 BRB2 p.66
Ervin Somogyi
▪ Somogyi saves a stash of warped rosewood guitar sets by clamping them between aluminum plates and heating them with a clothes iron.
1988
AL#14 p.48
Nicholas Von Robison
▪ Robison saws off the tip of his thumb. A shop safety reminder for the experienced craftsperson.
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).
1988
AL#13 p.44 BRB2 p.24
George Manno
▪ Manno points out there is a difference between wood that is dry and dry wood that is well seasoned, and offers a test for both. He maintains that only dry, well-seasoned wood is worth using.
1987
AL#11 p.44 BRB1 p.440
Tim Olsen
▪ A rollicking, good-time account of a era gone by and a free-spirited maker of outrageous electric guitars who was pretty much unknown outside of his own territory. It’ll make you feel good.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1987
AL#11 p.55 BRB1 p.430
Michael Parsons
▪ With this stand-alone jig you can spray or brush an instrument without having to touch it.
1987
AL#12 p.11 BRB1 p.473
Jay Hargreaves
▪ Drawings and description for two sanding blocks that use 3M Stikit paper.
1987
AL#10 p.47 BRB1 p.401
John Schofield
▪ Schofield offers a table saw slotting jig that is simple to use and as accurate as your own layout work can make it. The drawing is rough, but it’s enough. The formula is an alternative to the more common “rule of 18.”
1987
AL#10 p.59 BRB1 p.396
F.W. Fais
▪ Fais’ iron uses chromed pipe—must be very pretty. A simple and cheap tool, even if you don’t already have a heat gun.
1987
AL#11 p.7
Alan L. Wall
▪ Wall has discovered that the easiest way to make the wooden portions of spool clamps is with a hole saw.
1987
AL#9 p.58
Chris Foss
▪ This is a correction and clarification of the article found on page 48 of AL#8.
1987
AL#9 p.52 BRB1 p.344
William Conrad
▪ A Patron is the workboard used to build a guitar in the Spanish style. Conrad explains how to build one, and the reasoning behind it.
1987
AL#9 p.54 BRB1 p.343
Michael Sanden
▪ An ex-barber turned luthier converts his old chair into a sturdy, adjustable workbench with 360° of accessibility.
1987
AL#9 p.14 BRB1 p.312
Steve Grimes
▪ Grimes’ pantograph for routing archtop plates is heavy duty and not real cheap if you have to job out the welding, but it accurately removes 90% of the excess wood. Several drawings accompany the detailed description.
1987
AL#9 p.18 BRB1 p.316
Richard Ennis
▪ Ennis’ carving machine is not as straight forward in use as Grimes’, but its construction should be within the reach of most luthiers. A router mounted in a carriage rides over template rails to cut the contours into the plates of an archtop instrument.
1987
AL#9 p.42 BRB1 p.336
Richard Jordan
▪ Jordan’s article outlines all the steps he uses to shape a classical headstock. He cuts the slots with Dremel router, router base, and fence, and they come out very clean.
1986
AL#8 p.16
William Conrad
▪ Conrad finds that spruce tops can be graded for density by the color of the light that shines through them, and uses a camera light meter to calibrate them.
1986
AL#8 p.48 BRB1 p.321
Chris Foss
▪ Foss supplies a formula for calculating the radius of an arc from a known length and deflection. Ever try to make your own radiused jigs for guitar plates? It might help to know this formula. It might also scare you off.
1986
AL#8 p.54
Robert Stebbins
▪ Stebbins writes briefly about one of his favorite tools.
1987
AL#9 p.6 BRB1 p.304 read this article
Paul Schuback
▪ In this fascinating lecture from the 1986 GAL convention Schuback speaks of his apprenticeship to a French violin maker in 1962, then goes on to offer details about instrument construction, wood, and a Q&A session.
1986
AL#7 p.54 BRB1 p.439
Alan Carruth
▪ Carruth describes a fixture he uses to hold a violin bridge while it is being tuned. It will save your fingers and help prevent cracking the bridge.
1986
AL#7 p.55 BRB1 p.431
Robert Doucet
▪ Doucet offers slick tricks for removing dried glue from raw wood, replacing spruce pulled up by the bridge, tracing braces to make clamping cauls, and roughing saddle blanks into shape.
1986
AL#7 p.56 BRB1 p.181
Sam Sherry
▪ Sherry claims his “bridge plate” style caul is a universal tool that makes bridge regluing easier.
1986
AL#7 p.59 BRB1 p.239
Steve Andersen
▪ Anderson built a gridded table that uses the vacuum created by a squirrel cage fan to capture sanding dust.
1986
AL#7 p.48
William Conrad
▪ Conrad gives useful advice about disassembling instruments for repair.