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Special Caliper for Cello

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.

Meet the Maker: Frederick C. Lyman, Jr.

1989
AL#18 p.46   BRB2 p.248            
Jonathon Peterson   Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                       

▪ Lyman is an inveterate experimenter best known for his string basses, a regular American Lutherie contributor, and an interesting thinker.

An Interview with Les Paul

1989
AL#18 p.48   BRB2 p.280            
George Manno   Les Paul                                                                                       

▪ The long-lived jazzer/inventor/guitar designer talks mostly about his long association with Gibson.

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

Review: Classic Italian Violin Varnish: Its History, Materials, Preparation and Application by Geary L. Baese

1989
AL#18 p.52   BRB2 p.497            
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds he could easily recommend this book if it weren’t so overpriced.

Opinion

1989
AL#18 p.56               
Joseph-R. Johnson                                                                                           

▪ Johnson offers another pep talk to the Guild. He finds that the GAL is doing everything they promised, and doing it well. Why aren’t we surprised?

GAL Instrument Plan #25: The “Moskvichka” Concert Balalaika; An Instrument Plan

1989
AL#17 p.30   BRB2 p.193            buy this plan
M.A. Kupfer   James Flynn   John Morgan                                                                                   

▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.

Back in the BDAA (Balalaika and Domra Association of America)

1989
AL#17 p.37               
James Flynn                                                                                           

▪ Perhaps we shouldn’t be amazed by the seemingly large interest in various ethnic instruments and the music they produce. It seems that it’s easier to change countries than it is to change music. This organization publishes a quarterly newsletter, holds conventions, and offers scholarships to young musicians.

An Interview with Yuri Aleksik

1989
AL#17 p.38   BRB2 p.183            
James Flynn   Yuri Aleksik                                                                                       

▪ Aleksik is a master prima balalaika player from Kiev. Flynn asks him about instruments in this short interview.

Collapsible Cello Mold

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.

White Lacquer, No Specks

1989
AL#17 p.43   BRB2 p.199            
Dana Bourgeois                                                                                           

▪ Bourgeois discovers a simple trick to keep his spray work uncontaminated—spray it upside down and hold it there until the lacquer flashes off.

Adjustable Compensated Guitar Bridge

1989
AL#17 p.44   BRB2 p.198            
John Morgan                                                                                           

▪ Bridge setup must be done after the bridge is glued to the guitar in Morgan’s system. It also requires many little operations, but the intonation should come out perfect and the saddles remain individually adjustable for height. The finished bridge looks pretty cool, too.

The Cranked Top

1989
AL#17 p.46   BRB2 p.208            
Brett Borton                                                                                           

▪ Have you ever seen a mandolin with an intentional crease or sharp bend to the top behind the bridge? That’s a cranked top. Borton describes how to add a cranked top to the steel string guitar, though he’s not too specific about why we should try it.

Notes on Preparing Lake Pigments

1989
AL#17 p.48   BRB2 p.206            
Geary Baese                                                                                           

▪ Baese writes about adding color to violin varnishes in an historically accurate manner. He defines a lake pigment as “fixing . . .an organic soluble dye upon an inorganic carrier to render an insoluble colored compound.”

In Defense of Short Scale Basses

1989
AL#17 p.50   BRB2 p.153            
Michael Sacek                                                                                           

▪ Sacek prefers a scale length of 31″ for bass fiddles and bass guitars. The article contains no plans, but offers enough food for thought that builders should take his ideas into consideration. In the one photo his instruments look pretty interesting.

GAL Instrument Plan #23: 14-cs Archlute

1989
AL#17 p.51   HLC p.244            buy this plan
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ Lundberg recommends that the uninitiated not try to build an instrument from these plans without first reading the entire series of lectures presented in “Historical Lute Construction.” The plans are more diagramatic than exhaustive, but contain the essential information to construct the instrument.

Review: The Steel String Guitar: Construction and Repair (Updated Edition) by David Russell Young

1989
AL#17 p.52   BRB2 p.495            
David Thormahlen                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer has reservations about the repair chapter of this book, but otherwise finds it to be “accessible, innovative, and valuable.”

Review: Useful Measurements for Violinmakers: A Reference for Shop Use by Henry A. Strobel

1989
AL#17 p.52   BRB2 p.494            
Al Stancel                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer gives this book very high marks for usefulness, readability, and accuracy.

Sound Radiation from Guitars

1988
AL#16 p.40   BRB2 p.144            
Tom Rossing                                                                                           

▪ Charts, graphs, drawings, and formulae bulk up this in-depth scientific examination of how a guitar makes noise.

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

Dog Bone Bracing

1988
AL#16 p.52               
John Morgan                                                                                           

▪ Morgan uses braces that seem to taper the wrong way, but reports good results. They also stop short of the lining. He lists other distinctions in his design that complement the new bracing system.

Review: Guitars, Guitars, Guitars: A Pictorial Reference Manual by Dave Crocker, John Brinkmann, and Larry Riggs

1988
AL#16 p.54   BRB2 p.493            
Mark Humpal                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that if you just like to look at guitars, and don’t demand art quality photos, you’ll like this book and its 1200 pictures.

Review: Tuning the Wood: Contemporary Illinois Stringed Instrument Builders by The Illinois State Museum

1988
AL#16 p.54   BRB2 p.493            
Mark Humpal                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds this to be “a wonderful little book. . .,” “slick, well crafted, ready for the coffee table. . . .”

Review: From the Pages of Experimental Musical Instruments, Vol. III

1988
AL#16 p.55   BRB2 p.493            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ It’s hard to tell when the reviewer is being enthusiastic or facetious, but I think he likes this cassette collection of odd musical noises (noisy musical oddities?).

Opinion

1988
AL#16 p.56               
Todd Brotherton                                                                                           

▪ Todd Brotherton remarks about the growth of the Guild, and encourages all members to support the GAL by contributing articles.

Letter to the Editor: Koestler’s “The Act of Creation”

1989
AL#17 p.3               read this article
Richard Schneider                                                                                           

▪ Schneder really liked this book, and he writes to say that Stewart Brand agres with him about it.

An Introduction to the Stradivarian Mystique

1989
AL#17 p.6   BRB2 p.162            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Whether or not there is anything new to be said about Stradivari, it is impossible for a serious publication about lutherie not to take him into account at some point. Olsen’s lengthy article includes analytical drawings and photos of the master’s work. All the guitar and mando folks might wonder what the fuss is about. Olsen sets us straight.

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

S.I. Nalimov, The Master Balalaika Builder

1989
AL#17 p.22   BRB2 p.184            
A.I. Peresada                                                                                           

▪ Nalimov is to the balalaika as Stradivarius is to the violin. This article is condensed from Peresada’s biography of Namilov. With photos, drawings, and label reproductions.

Meet the Maker: M.A. Kupfer

1989
AL#17 p.28   BRB2 p.178            
James Flynn   M.A. Kupfer                                                                                       

▪ It turns out that life for a Russian instrument maker isn’t far different than for an American luthier. Long hours, difficult conditions, and small financial rewards. The turf may be different, but the job remains the same.

Building the Prima Balalaika

1989
AL#17 p.29   BRB2 p.190            
James Flynn                                                                                           

▪ Plans and instruction for an instrument designed by Kupfer, with 11 photos. The plan is a reduced version of GAL full-scale Plan #25. Kupfer is a famous luthier in Russia.

1948 D’Angelico New Yorker; An Instrument Plan

1988
AL#16 p.29   BRB2 p.139            
Steve Andersen                                                                                           

▪ This is a reduced version of our Plan #24. The article also provides an introduction to the particular guitar that was copied for the plans, and 3 photos. Jazzer nirvana on paper.

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

GAL Instrument Plan #24: 1948 D’Angelico New Yorker Archtop Guitar

1988
AL#16 p.30   BRB2 p.141            buy this plan
Steve Andersen                                                                                           

▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.

World Forest Outlook

1988
AL#16 p.33               read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison   Perry Thomas                                                                                       

▪ Only 6% of the rain forest harvest is exported, only 20% is used for timber, and 80% of the trees cut are burned. Pollution may ultimately represent as much of a threat as the chain saw. This article tries to get a handle on the situation.

Dulcimer Compensation

1988
AL#16 p.35               
Cliff Dennis                                                                                           

▪ Jeez, someone finally took the mountain dulcimer seriously enough to try and compensate it’s intonation. Welcome to the 21st century, Mr. and Mrs. Dulcimer.

Meet the Maker: Hammond Ashley

1988
AL#15 p.30   BRB2 p.82            
Tim Olsen   Hammond Ashley                                                                                       

▪ This is a “factory tour” of the Ham Ashley shop.They specialize in the larger members of the violin family.

Making Waterproof Hide Glue

1988
AL#15 p.35   BRB2 p.77            
Lloyd-Scott Ogelsby                                                                                           

▪ Concocting your own glue is perhaps one of the ultimate steps in lutherie self-sufficiency. Ogelsby insists that it isn’t difficult, just tricky, but he lists some good reasons for making the effort.

Flying Caps in Vermillion

1988
AL#15 p.45               
Bon Henderson                                                                                           

▪ A long time GAL staffer offers an “outsider’s” view of the convention. How is this possible? Read it for yourself!

The “Belly Art” of Japanese Lutherie

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.”

The Witten-Rawlins Collection

1988
AL#15 p.56   BRB2 p.100            
Joseph-R. Johnson                                                                                           

▪ Johnson offers a brief note about the Witten-Rawlins collection that was recently acquired by the Shrine to Music Museum. With photos and a museum checklist.

Fret Crown Radius: A Cause of Pitch Error?

1988
AL#15 p.60   BRB2 p.106            
Steve Newberry                                                                                           

▪ Newberry proves mathematically that large frets do not cause an instrument to play out of tune (though they might easily help a guitarist to play out of tune. There’s a large theoretical difference).

The G-String Market

1988
AL#15 p.62               
Tom Rossing                                                                                           

▪ This is a humorous comparison of a G string force waveform to a Dow Jones Industrial Average graph.

A Case of Explosion Damage

1988
AL#15 p.66               read this article
Keith Davis                                                                                           

▪ A natural gas explosion blows up the instruments of an entire school orchestra. Davis comes to the rescue, but wonders what the long-term ramifications will be for the fiddles and bass viols.

Opinion

1988
AL#15 p.68               
Wayne Harris                                                                                           

▪ Harris has a poor opinion of musicians who expect luthiers to give them free instruments. He wishes that both sides could respect the luthier/musician symbiosis.

Review: Guitars and Mandolins in America by Robert Hartman

1988
AL#15 p.69   BRB2 p.492            
Joseph-R. Johnson                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer is enthusiastic about the research potential of this updated book, and believes it will be of use to the repairman who may face Larson instruments on his bench.

Review: The Shrine to Music Museum — A Pictorial Souvenir

1988
AL#15 p.69   BRB2 p.492            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The Shrine to Music Museum holds some of the world’s most important collections of musical instruments. This inexpensive volume is not only a great souvenir to those who have visited the museum, but a valuable research resource.

Letter to the Editor: Errors in AL#8/AL#13

1988
AL#16 p.3   BRB2 p.80            
Beverly Maher                                                                                           

▪ Maher adds corrections to AL # 8 and #13. She mentions that Segovia’s famous Hauser guitar was from 1937, and that it is at home in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

One Man’s Mandolins

1988
AL#16 p.6   BRB2 p.112            
Steve Andersen                                                                                           

▪ A well-known maker of archtop instruments offers an in-depth examination of his building style and his business. With 13 photos.

Steve Andersen’s Precision Pantograph

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.

The Erlangen Lectures Day Five: Developing a Plan

1988
AL#16 p.20   HLC p.70            
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ The various lute parts were discussed in previous segments of this series. Now it is time to assemble a plan of attack for the integration of those parts, and to build the form for the bowl. With several drawings and photos. Fifth in a series of 19 articles.

Practicum One: Making the Form

1988
AL#16 p.24   HLC p.76            
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ The lute theory is over and the chips begin to fly. The series begins with the construction of the form on which the bowl will be assembled. 14 photos with detailed captions.

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.

The Erlangen Lectures Day Three: The Belly

1988
AL#14 p.22   HLC p.30            
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ This portion of the series deals with the soundboard, or belly, of the lute, including the braces and rosette. Many drawings illustrate the shape and thickness of historical lute tops. Beautiful drawings accompany the photos of astonishing rosettes (the drawings are not patterns of the photos). Where did those old guys find the patience? This is the third of 19 installments.

GAL Instrument Plan #20: 65cm 10-Course Renaissance Lute

1988
AL#14 p.42   HLC p.241            buy this plan
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ Lundberg recommends that the uninitiated not try to build an instrument from these plans without first reading the entire series of lectures presented in “Historical Lute Construction.” The plans are more diagramatic than exhaustive, but contain the essential information to construct the instrument.

GAL Instrument Plan #21: 7-cs Ren. Alto Lute, Venere 1592

1988
AL#14 p.44   HLC p.242            buy this plan
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ Lundberg recommends that the uninitiated not try to build an instrument from these plans without first reading the entire series of lectures presented in “Historical Lute Construction.” The plans are more diagramatic than exhaustive, but contain the essential information to construct the instrument.

Flattening Rosewood Potato Chips

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.

Our Great Spherical Friend Part Five: An Experimental Bass

1988
AL#14 p.50               
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ Lyman forges ahead in his quest for a cheap but satisfying substitute for the traditional solid wood bass viol. This segment describes an experimental bass made of lauan plywood and 2×4 studs. The results leave him hopeful that he is on the right track.

Portland’s World Forestry Center Exhibition

1988
AL#14 p.54               
Jonathon Peterson                                                                                           

▪ Peterson is a devoted fan of this organization, which disseminates educational information about forestry related topics and provide the forest products industries a “place where they can put their best foot forward.” The Center’s Handmade Musical Instrument Show is the chief draw for luthiers.

File Sharpening

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).

Accident Prevention: A Case History

1988
AL#14 p.57               read this article
Jeffrey-R. Elliott                                                                                           

▪ Elliott observes that one of the best ways to ensure the safety of a guitar is to make sure it is a good fit in its case.

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

A Sort-Of-Controlled Bracing Experiment

1988
AL#14 p.59               
Richard Jordan                                                                                           

▪ Jordan used spruce of different stiffness to brace three nearly identical classical guitars, and found the differences to be dramatic. His stiffness test was especially easy to run.

Review: Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology by William R. Cumpiano and Jonathan D. Natelson

1988
AL#14 p.60   BRB2 p.490            
Cyndy Burton                                                                                           

▪ This book, which has since become sort of the Bible of guitarmaking, is described by the reviewer as “the book we’ve all been waiting for.”

Letter to the Editor: How Not to Dillute Acid

1988
AL#15 p.3               
Mel Wong                                                                                           

▪ When diluting sulfuric acid, like for sharpening files, it is a very important safety method to put acid into water, not water into acid. We got it reversed in an article, and we got letters about it. But don’t worry, we fixed it when that article was republished in the Big Red Book.

Letter to the Editor: How Not to Dillute Acid

1988
AL#15 p.5               
Tom Rossing                                                                                           

▪ When diluting sulfuric acid, like for sharpening files, it is a very important safety method to put acid into water, not water into acid. We got it reversed in an article, and we got letters about it. But don’t worry, we fixed it when that article was republished in the Big Red Book.

Letter to the Editor: How Not to Dillute Acid

1988
AL#15 p.5               
Hubert Keller                                                                                           

▪ When diluting sulfuric acid, like for sharpening files, it is a very important safety method to put acid into water, not water into acid. We got it reversed in an article, and we got letters about it. But don’t worry, we fixed it when that article was republished in the Big Red Book.

Letter to the Editor: How Not to Dillute Acid

1988
AL#15 p.5               
Jeff Forbes                                                                                           

▪ When diluting sulfuric acid, like for sharpening files, it is a very important safety method to put acid into water, not water into acid. We got it reversed in an article, and we got letters about it. But don’t worry, we fixed it when that article was republished in the Big Red Book.

Letter to the Editor: How Not to Dillute Acid

1988
AL#15 p.5               
Jonathon Peterson                                                                                           

▪ When diluting sulfuric acid, like for sharpening files, it is a very important safety method to put acid into water, not water into acid. We got it reversed in an article, and we got letters about it. But don’t worry, we fixed it when that article was republished in the Big Red Book.

The Erlangen Lectures Day Four: The Bridge, Neck, and Pegbox

1988
AL#15 p.6   HLC p.48            
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ This segment covers the bridge, neck, fingerboard, pegbox, and pegs of the lute. With photos and a number of drawings. This series is comprised of 19 installments.

GAL Instrument Plan #22: 13-cs Baroque Lute, Dieffopruchar ca. 1600

1988
AL#15 p.28   HLC p.243            buy this plan
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ Lundberg recommends that the uninitiated not try to build an instrument from these plans without first reading the entire series of lectures presented in “Historical Lute Construction.” The plans are more diagramatic than exhaustive, but contain the essential information to construct the instrument.

Tuning Air Resonance

1988
AL#13 p.10   BRB2 p.6            
W.D. Allen                                                                                           

▪ Allen shows how changing the internal air resonance of the violin can change the performance of the instrument, and claims that this variable applies to any stringed instrument. With many charts (including Allen’s hula-dancing molecules), graphs, and 2 photos.

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

The Erlangen Lectures Day Two: The Bowl

1988
AL#13 p.24   HLC p.18            
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ This portion of the series has to do with the shape of the lute body, or bowl. It includes 21 photos of historical models and numerous drawings and label signatures. This series includes 19 segments.

GAL Instrument Plan #18: 44cm 6-Course Renaissance Descant Lute

1988
AL#13 p.37   HLC p.239            buy this plan
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ Lundberg recommends that the uninitiated not try to build an instrument from these plans without first reading the entire series of lectures presented in “Historical Lute Construction.” The plans are more diagramatic than exhaustive, but contain the essential information to construct the instrument.

GAL Instrument Plan #19: 76cm 8-Course Renaissance Bass Lute

1988
AL#13 p.38   HLC p.240            buy this plan
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ Lundberg recommends that the uninitiated not try to build an instrument from these plans without first reading the entire series of lectures presented in “Historical Lute Construction.” The plans are more diagramatic than exhaustive, but contain the essential information to construct the instrument.

Harmonic Analysis of String Excitation Methods

1988
AL#13 p.40   BRB2 p.20            
J. Jovicic   O. Jovicic                                                                                       

▪ This is a scientific analysis of how variations in picking a note change the response of the classical guitar. Translated from the French.

Is Your Wood Ready To Use?

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.

The White Collar Luthier

1988
AL#13 p.46   BRB2 p.26            
Tim Shaw                                                                                           

▪ In his convention lecture Shaw compares the life of an independent luthier with life inside the Gibson custom shop, and finds that the rewards of one are different than the rewards of the other, but that either can offer an attractive way of living.

Making Organic Colorants Light Safe

1988
AL#13 p.52   BRB2 p.32            
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ Manno explains how to make the colorants of violin varnish safe from fading. He also offers advice about keeping your chemical experiments safe.

Opening and Cleaning Cracks

1988
AL#13 p.54   BRB2 p.34            
Al Stancel                                                                                           

▪ Stancel opens old repaired cracks with heat and chemicals, cleans them with surfactants, and mends them with hide glue. The author works with the fiddle family, but his advice should flow over into any luthier’s discipline.

How Super Glue Works

1988
AL#13 p.56   BRB2 p.36            
Yves Parent                                                                                           

▪ A chemist explains how superglue functions, and why you might want to give your wood an alkaline bath before you squirt on the goo.

Review: From the Pages of Experimental Musical Instruments, Volume II

1988
AL#13 p.57   BRB2 p.490            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Olsen admits to an interest in odd musical noises. This cassette gets his approval as “interesting,” and not a lot more.

Letter to the Editor: Intentional Guitar Neck Twist

1988
AL#14 p.2               
Arnold-M.J. Hennig                                                                                           

▪ Hennig endorses Leo Burrell’s idea of intentionally planing a slight twist into the neck of a guitar. This letter also contains an early mention of nut compensation.

An Introduction to French Polishing

1988
AL#14 p.4   BRB2 p.38            
Cyndy Burton   Greg Byers   Robert Steinegger   Buzz Vineyard                                                                               

▪ This workshop lecture and its audience participation make a wonderful case for the value of collected experience. These 7 pages of text and photos offer tips and information not to be found in any of the French polishing videos and articles that have come out since, as well as explaining the basics of finishing with shellac.

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

The Great Tree vs. Bug Controversy

1988
AL#14 p.11   BRB2 p.45            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Is shellac made of sap from a tree in India? Or is it from juice exuded from a bug that eats that sap? Or is it more complicated than that?

Why Are Old Violins Superior?

1988
AL#14 p.12   BRB2 p.46            
Graham Caldersmith                                                                                           

▪ Is it possible that old fiddles aren’t superior? Yes, but the only people who want to believe that it’s true are the contemporary violinmakers. Human nature would rather cast its faith to a mythical past than deal honestly with the present. Or not. Caldersmith doesn’t pretend to settle the debate.

Gene Rhinehart’s Resophonic Guitar Cones

1988
AL#14 p.14   BRB2 p.55            
Ed Vande-Voorde                                                                                           

▪ Rhinehart’s Dobro cones have developed a wonderful reputation. In this interview he outlines his material choices and production techniques. With 6 photos.

Which Spruce Is That?

1988
AL#14 p.17   BRB2 p.37            
Dana Bourgeois                                                                                           

▪ Where did Martin buy their spruce from year to year during their vintage days? Bourgeois discovered that there is no way to know, and that guitar experts are forced to guess.

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

Archtop Guitars: Is Bigger Better?

1988
AL#14 p.18   BRB2 p.58            
Steve Grimes                                                                                           

▪ A noted maker of archtop guitars offers a detailed description of the method he uses to adjust the tone of his instruments during the carving process. He finds he is willing to sacrifice a little volume in order to attain a precise tonal character.

The Effect of Bracing on Guitar Resonance Part 2

1987
AL#12 p.14   BRB1 p.402            
J. Jovicic   O. Jovicic                                                                                       

▪ This article is more technical talk translated from the original French publication in Acustica. With 51 reproductions of laser interferograms. Part 1 was in American Lutherie #10.

The Sami-Sen

1987
AL#12 p.18   BRB1 p.452            read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ Robison offers description, anecdotes, 4 photos, and a drawing of an instrument that might be crudely described as a Japanese 3-string banjo. The plans are a shrunken version of our full-scale Plan #16.

Portland, Oregon, is a Lutherie Town!

1987
AL#12 p.20               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ This article offers 7 photos from a Portland instrument exhibit and a listing of Portland builders and repair people. The next six articles on this list are also by or about Portlanders.

An Interview with Jeffrey R. Elliott

1987
AL#12 p.22   BRB1 p.454   ALA3 p.4         
Joseph Bacon   Jeffrey-R. Elliott                                                                                       

▪ A lengthy interview with the well-known maker of classical guitars covers such subjects as training, wood seasoning and supply, finishes, and boomerangs. Cyndy Burton participates. Mentions Hauser Sr., Michael Kasha, Richard Schneider, Ralph Towner, and Julian Bream. With 4 photos.

Steiny and the Everly Guitar

1987
AL#12 p.26   BRB1 p.460   ALA4 p.4         
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Enhanced with 6 photos, this is the tale of one luthier’s connection to famous musicians, the Everly Brothers. Have you ever made a guitar with solid gold frets and binding? Robert Steinegger has.

Robert Lundberg: In Tune With the Universe

1987
AL#12 p.30   HLC p.xiii            
Tim Olsen   Robert Lundberg                                                                                       

▪ Did people of a given time and place think and respond differently than we do? Lundberg thinks so. He has learned to think like an ancient luthier by studying their work, and has therefore made a connection to a neglected tradition and society. It shows in his work and his speech, and apparently, in his life.

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

GAL Instrument Plan #17 6-cs Renaissance Lute

1987
AL#12 p.48   HLC p.238            buy this plan
Robert Lundberg                                                                                           

▪ Lundberg recommends that the uninitiated not try to build an instrument from these plans without first reading the entire series of lectures presented in “Historical Lute Construction.” The plans are more diagramatic than exhaustive, but contain the essential information to construct the instrument.

Electric Violin: The New Frontier

1987
AL#12 p.50               read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ Manno examines the Zeta JV-205 and the EV-5 Barrett electric violins and finds them exceptional. High marks go to both, but especially to the Zeta.

Innovation in the Electric Guitar

1987
AL#12 p.52               
Paul Hamer                                                                                           

▪ Hamer’s lecture captures the electric guitar in mid-evolution. He mentions retrofit pickups, locking trem systems, and the Roland guitar synth. He is obviously thrilled to be a part of the parade.

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.

A Port, but No Pins

1987
AL#12 p.56   BRB1 p.468            
William McCaw                                                                                           

▪ 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.

Tap It and Tune It

1987
AL#12 p.58   BRB1 p.470            
David Freeman                                                                                           

▪ 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.

At the Outer Limits of Solid Geometry: The “Twisted Neck” Guitar

1987
AL#12 p.60   BRB1 p.472            read this article
Leo Burrell                                                                                           

▪ Burrell’s patented guitars have a neck that actually twists 45° to keep the action uniformly low. They incorporate many other astonishing characteristics, too. Has anyone ever seen one of these guitars for sale?

Review: The Flamenco Guitar by David George

1987
AL#12 p.64   BRB1 p.503            read this article
David Macias                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer encourages all students of the guitar to read this book, regardless of their special interests.

When We’re 64

1987
AL#12 p.65               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The GAL is 64 issues old, counting all its publications.. Editor Olsen lists the qualities that have made the Guild successful.

Letter to the Editor: Critique of Manno Article AL#12

1988
AL#13 p.5   BRB2 p.161            
John Randerson                                                                                           

▪ Randerson adds a lengthy note about different alcohols to the 1704 violin varnish formula previously offered by Manno in AL#12, and Manno answers.

The Maestro’s Hauser

1988
AL#13 p.7   BRB2 p.4            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Huttig relates a story about the instrument that was the center of the classical guitar universe for decades, the Hauser played by Segovia.

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

Indian Import and Export

1987
AL#11 p.22   BRB1 p.428            read this article
Gulab Gidwani                                                                                           

▪ A well-known importer and dealer of tonewoods relates some of the difficulties of doing business with third-world nations, such as getting a sawyer of railroad ties to cut fretboards.

Repairing the Sitar

1987
AL#11 p.24   BRB1 p.432            read this article
Dave Schneider                                                                                           

▪ Don’t take that repair job without this article! One question remains unanswered: why does sanding the finish of a sitar release such a strong smell of tobacco?

Modified F3 Mandolin

1987
AL#11 p.27   BRB1 p.434            
Robert Steinegger   Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                       

▪ Steinegger made a mandolin based on the work of Orville Gibson, but modified the neck pitch and soundboard arch to make it satisfy contemporary playing standards. He also changed some materials. With 2 photos and a scaled down version of our Plan #15.

GAL Instrument Plan #15: Modified F3 Mandolin

1987
AL#11 p.28   BRB1 p.435            buy this plan
Robert Steinegger   Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                       

▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.

Violin Q & A: Italian Violin/Fingerboard Length/Water Colors/Polish White/SACCONI Polish/Prices/VIOMATE/Europe Wood Supply/Best American Maker

1987
AL#11 p.30   BRB1 p.482            read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ Manno is an honest man (even when honesty hurts), knowledgeable, and opinionated. An especially strong column that touches upon repair prices, colors for varnish touchups, tonewood sources, Polish white bow hair, and Tetto Gallo violins.

The Steel String Guitar Today

1987
AL#11 p.32   BRB1 p.474            
Max Krimmel   Jean Larrivee   Bruce Ross   Ervin Somogyi   Robert Steinegger                                                                           

▪ Such panel discussions are always interesting, but this one especially so, mostly because three of the five panelists run one-man shops. The questions (and even many answers) don’t seem to change much from year to year, but it’s good to hear from some smaller voices in the industry for a change.

Roy Smeck: Wizard of the Strings

1987
AL#11 p.40   BRB1 p.436            read this article
James Garber   Roy Smeck                                                                                       

▪ This is an interview with the man who may have been the best known instrumentalist of his time, the Chet Atkins of vaudeville, if you will. The conversation is mostly about his instruments.

Harvey Thomas and the Infernal Music Machine

1987
AL#11 p.44   BRB1 p.440            read this article
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.

Review: Violin Set-Ups and Adjustments by Dan Erlewine and Paul Newson

1987
AL#11 p.50   BRB1 p.502            read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds this video to be a wise investment, especially for one new to the craft.

Review: The Manuscript on Violinmaking by Giovanni Antonio Marchi

1987
AL#11 p.50   BRB1 p.502            read this article
Don Overstreet                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be of mild interest for the violin historian, but seems to have been generally disappointed in its usefulness to the luthier.

Review: Appraisers Reference Manual of Authentic String Instruments and Bows by Thomas E. Florence

1987
AL#11 p.51   BRB1 p.502            read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds this to be the one book that every violin shop and instrument appraiser should own. ‘Nuff said.

Letter to the Editor: Random Tips and Thoughts

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.

1704 Varnish Recipe

1987
AL#12 p.12   BRB1 p.451            read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ This is a recipe for a touchup violin varnish, with instructions for adding colors.

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

Superglue Crack Repair

1987
AL#10 p.35   BRB1 p.397            
Don Musser                                                                                           

▪ Improve the hold of superglue by adjusting the pH factor of the wood. Also, how to find and heal hairline guitar cracks before lacquering.

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

Accelerator for Superglue and More

1988
AL#10 p.35   BRB1 p.397            read this article
Chris Pile                                                                                           

Thick superglue and accelerator are introduced.

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

Jack Batts

1987
AL#10 p.36   BRB1 p.390            read this article
Jeff Feltman   Jack Batts                                                                                       

▪ Intelligent questions and no-holds-barred answers make this long interview with a veteran builder seem too short. All violin articles should be this interesting. Forty-nine years dedicated to wood, glue, and varnish have to teach one a great deal. With 8 photos. Mentions Sacconi, Stradivari, Guarneri, and Amati.

American Plucked String Instruments at the Shrine to Music Museum

1987
AL#10 p.44   BRB1 p.398            
Joseph-R. Johnson                                                                                           

▪ This is a checklist of what to look for when you get there. Also, a reason to go.

Fret Slotting Jig & Formula

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.”

The Effect of Bracing on Guitar Resonance Part 1

1987
AL#10 p.48   BRB1 p.402            
J. Jovicic   O. Jovicic                                                                                       

▪ Serious research using a classical guitar with four different brace patterns. The experiment started with a simplified fan brace pattern, and fan braces were added for subsequent evaluation. Translated from the French. Part Two is in AL#12.

‘Way Down Upon the Amazon River

1987
AL#10 p.53   BRB1 p.412            read this article
John Curtis                                                                                           

▪ A wood merchant relates the difficulties of getting lumber out of the jungle, and why the rain forest isn’t being replanted.

Flexible Dulcimer Hammers

1987
AL#10 p.55   BRB1 p.409            read this article
Russ Carlisle                                                                                           

▪ These hammers sport a shaft of bamboo. They can be quickly flipped to offer hard or padded hammer surfaces. Make a set. Throw a dance.

High School Dreams

1987
AL#10 p.56   BRB1 p.414            read this article
Dave Schneider                                                                                           

▪ A dream comes true. Schneider relates his growth toward a successful lutherie career. He begins with a high school shop program, travels through various repair and furniture jobs, apprentices as a lute maker, and ends up self-employed.

Heatgun Powered Bending Iron

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.

Improving the Plywood Bass (Our Great Spherical Friend Part Four)

1987
AL#10 p.60   BRB1 p.202            read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ Lyman’s quest is to build an inexpensive but musically useful string bass. In this episode he tries to improve a Kay plywood bass. The results leave him ambivalent but hopeful.

Review: A Guitar Maker’s Manual

1987
AL#10 p.62   BRB1 p.500            read this article
Cyndy Burton                                                                                           

▪ Workbook format, large, 160 photos and diagrams, and spiral binding are great advantages of this nuts and bolts straight method book.

Letter to the Editor: Glue, Chemistry, Etc

1987
AL#11 p.3   BRB1 p.297            read this article
Lloyd-Scott Ogelsby                                                                                           

▪ An analytical chemist offers some fascinating information about hide glue. It turns out that formaldehyde makes hide glue waterproof. Jump ahead to AL#15 for Oglesby’s how-to article about hide glue.

Developing a New Design

1987
AL#11 p.8   BRB1 p.416            
Steve Klein                                                                                           

▪ Klein’s lecture outlines his aesthetic concerns about the contemporary steel string guitar, and many of the details of his ever-evolving, iconoclastic instruments. With several nice drawings and 2 photos. Mentions Richard Schneider and Michael Kasha.

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

Non-Traditional Aesthetics in Lutherie: Developing a New Design

1987
AL#11 p.8               
Steve Klein                                                                                           

▪ The following four articles demonstrate how innovation and individual flair can lead to instruments that don’t resemble the rest of the pack.

Marvels Among the Reeds

1987
AL#11 p.10   BRB1 p.419            read this article
Susan Norris                                                                                           

▪ Norris offers no details about her asymmetric 10-string fiddle, but the one good photo adds much to a delightful little article.

Innovative Concepts within Fixed Limits

1987
AL#11 p.12   BRB1 p.420            
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ Eban builds Kasha-style classical guitars. She comments at length about how her aesthetic concept for the guitar evolved, and offers many details of her construction procedures. Her descriptions of her work are so entrancing that you will long for more photos than the five that are offered. With rosette drawings.

Why Make It Square?

1987
AL#11 p.14   BRB1 p.427            
Fred Carlson                                                                                           

▪ Carlson makes a case for less conformity in lutherie. Only 1 photo of one of his dramatic, asymmetrical guitars, but it’s quite inspiring.

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

African Rosewood

1987
AL#9 p.46   BRB1 p.338            read this article
John Jordan                                                                                           

▪ Jordan catalogs and describes nine rosewoods from Africa, and nine false rosewoods. Some max out too small for instruments but are of interest to wood collectors. Others should interest the open-minded luthier.

Plywood Bass Top Repair

1987
AL#9 p.49   BRB1 p.342            
Dale Randall                                                                                           

▪ Randall finds an inventive way to fix a bass that’s been dropped on its top, but the repair leaves a 1/4″ hole through the top that must be plugged and disguised.

The Spanish Patron

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.

Review: Jose Oribe: The Fine Guitar

1987
AL#9 p.56   BRB1 p.498            
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer believes that the book may help an experienced luthier adjust his “attitude” toward his craft and thereby make a better instrument. The beginner may not find it so useful.

Review: From the Pages of Experimental Musical Instruments, Volume 1 by Experimental Musical Instruments

1987
AL#9 p.56   BRB1 p.500            read this article
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer is enthusiastic about the mind-opening possibilities of this booklet/cassette combination.

Review: Guitar and Vihuela: An Annotated Bibliography by Meredith Alice McCutcheon

1987
AL#9 p.56   BRB1 p.499            read this article
Joseph-R. Johnson                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that the book “falls short of being a thorough international bibliography, but will prove valuable to guitar and vihuela teachers, students, and luthiers.”

Review: The New Yorker Special by Frederick Cohen

1987
AL#9 p.57   BRB1 p.500            read this article
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer has high praise for this 28-minute film about famed archtop builder Jimmy D’Aquisto. As well as being a “valentine” to D’Aquisto, this film offers a tasty repast for information-hungry luthiers. (AL#9 p.57).

Memories of Vladimir Bobri

1987
AL#10 p.6   BRB1 p.358            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Bobri was an artist and a patron of the arts, a composer and transcriber of guitar music, president of the New York Guitar Society, and editor of Guitar Review. Huttig’s admiration for the man is obvious in this salute following Bobri’s death by fire.

Remembering Harry LeBovi

1987
AL#10 p.8   BRB1 p.360            read this article
Fred Calland                                                                                           

▪ LeBovit was an aficionado of the violin all his life, a maker of fine violins, and a self-made recording engineer, all of which he did on his own time while working for the US government. Calland recalls a dynamic individual who touched many important lives.

Building the Vihuela and Viola da Mano From Historical Evidence

1987
AL#10 p.10   BRB1 p.362            
John Rollins                                                                                           

▪ Recreating these instruments required deep research into antique literature and a search of centuries-old woodcuts and tapestries. Many such drawings and sketches illustrate this long article, as well as photos of instruments by the author and Raphael Weisman. A transcription of Rollins’ 1986 convention lecture.

The Hammered Dulcimer: Ancient, Wonderful, and Still Evolving

1987
AL#10 p.20   BRB1 p.374            read this article
Sam Rizzetta                                                                                           

▪ Rizzetta is often called the father of the modern hammered dulcimer. This lengthy lecture transcription from the 1984 GAL convention covers the 19th century dulcimer as made in America as well as Rizzetta’s entry into field in the 1960s. He carefully explains his own innovations, material choices, and construction techniques. With 18 photos.

Violin Q & A: Soundpost Patch/Hide Glue Shelf Life/Violin Secrets/Wood/Hammond Violin/Linings/Top Crack Repair/Schools/Violin Shop/Tone/Varnish Making

1987
AL#10 p.28   BRB1 p.482            read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ Manno fields 2 pages of questions about building and repairing the fiddle family, from the basic “What kinda glue?” to “What kind of cello bridge to aid projection?”

Building the Tar

1987
AL#10 p.30   BRB1 p.382            read this article
Nasser Shirazi                                                                                           

▪ The tar (or Persian banjo) is a classical Iranian instrument, the body of which is carved from a mulberry log and covered in lambskin. The neck traditionally incorporates rams horn and camel bone. Exotic, fascinating, wonderfully politically incorrect. Some alternate materials are listed for those who can’t wait for their camel to die. With 6 photos, 2 sketches, and a scaled down version of GAL Plan #14.

GAL Instrument Plan #14: Tar (Persian Banjo)

1987
AL#10 p.32   BRB1 p.385            buy this plan
Nasser Shirazi                                                                                           

▪ A full-scale instrument plan. See the GAL website for a low-rez preview.

Arched Plate Copier

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.

Simple Carving Machine

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.

Cussed and Discussed

1987
AL#9 p.20   BRB1 p.318            
Don Teeter                                                                                           

▪ How does an Oklahoma farm boy become a luthier? How does that same luthier become a writer and mentor to a generation of guitar repairmen? Teeter’s 1985 convention lecture tells all, then goes on to update his neck resetting procedure and his method of eliminating dead notes on the fretboard.

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

Building the Flattop Bass

1987
AL#9 p.24   BRB1 p.322            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Olsen offers the philosophy, theory, construction details, and plans for a new instrument. The plans are a shrunken version of GAL full scale Plan #13. Though Olsen and a few others began building flattop basses in the 1970s, in a real sense this article is the birth certificate of the instrument. The flattop bass is a flattop guitar on steroids, not to be confused with the bass viol.

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

Compensating Classic Bridge

1987
AL#9 p.32   BRB1 p.330            
H.M. Kolstee                                                                                           

▪ Kolstee’s adjustable bridge saddle is made of bone, except for the locking set screw. It is easily adjustable for intonation and uses shims to adjust the string height.

Restoring the Paisley Tele

1987
AL#9 p.34   BRB1 p.332            
Dave Schneider                                                                                           

▪ A ’68 paisley Tele is reborn, complete with Parsons B and E benders and a complete refinishing from the foil on up.

Musical Strings

1987
AL#9 p.36   BRB1 p.334            read this article
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Have you ever wondered how cat gut strings were named? This article suggests an answer as it delves into some string facts and fictions.

Our Great Spherical Friend Part Three

1987
AL#9 p.39   BRB1 p.196            read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ When an articulate violin-family maker discusses his craft he sounds much like a professional wine taster. Lyman is articulate. This segment of his series deals with plate tuning.

Cutting Classic Head Slots

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.

Durkee’s Patent Bridge

1987
AL#9 p.44   BRB1 p.201            
Tim Olsen   Robert Steinegger                                                                                       

▪ Here’s the low down on a trick Washburn bridge from 1897. A photo and drawing explain the plot line, but the mystery remains.

Violin Q & A: Violin Polish Recipe

1987
AL#9 p.45   BRB1 p.482            read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ The GAL’s resident violin expert of the time answers questions about cleaning violins, top reinstallation, domestic tool sources, domestic wood, and treating potassium silicate (a wood sealer) with tea to keep it from staining spruce green.

Kasha Soundboard without Waist Bar

1986
AL#8 p.8   BRB1 p.266            
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ Eban charts the design evolution of the Kasha system of classical guitars as applied to her own instruments. With many drawings, glitter tests, and a discussion of different materials.

Conrad Color System

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.

An Overview of the Hauser Tradition

1986
AL#8 p.18   BRB1 p.274   ALA3 p.8         
Jeffrey-R. Elliott                                                                                           

▪ This lecture transcription presents a chronological overview of the work of Hermann Hauser Sr. 26 photos and 3 drawings complete the article. A major investigation of some important guitars.

GAL Instrument Plan #12: 1943 Hauser Classic Guitar

1986
AL#8 p.28   BRB1 p.283   ALA3 p.16         buy this plan
Jeffrey-R. Elliott                                                                                           

▪ Elliott offers a scale drawing, dimensions list, and a bill of materials for a Hauser guitar. The drawing is a reduced version of our full-scale Plan #12.

Meet Gregg Smallman

1986
AL#8 p.30               
Graham Caldersmith   Jim Williams                                                                                       

▪ This interview covers the evolution of Smallman’s guitars as he worked his way toward the lattice bracing system for which he has become famous. Classical guitar lore from the outback of Australia.

Nylon/Steel String Guitar

1986
AL#8 p.35   BRB1 p.463            
Francis Kosheleff                                                                                           

▪ Kosheleff changes the treble quality of his classical guitars by using three steel strings run through the standard bridge and then attached to a tailpiece.

Relation of Science to Aesthetics in Lutherie

1986
AL#8 p.36   BRB1 p.290            
Michael Kasha                                                                                           

▪ Kasha firmly maintains that science has much to offer instrument design, but also claims that the best tone may be simply what the public is used to, and that this interesting variable can be tracked but not predicted. He believes that tone perception is as important as tone production.

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

Bars and Struts

1986
AL#8 p.38   BRB1 p.292   ALA5 p.7         
Jose Ramirez-III                                                                                           

▪ Ramirez expounds upon his experiments with classical guitar top thickness and bracing patterns and size to achieve the best tone and stability.

VIBRA: Good for What Ails Ya?

1986
AL#8 p.42               
Brian Derber                                                                                           

▪ Derber tries out “good tone in a can,” a wood treatment that the manufacturers claim instills a vintage tone in your new instruments. He finds it wanting, though his test is hardly scientific. Nor does he believe that further testing is warranted.

Fiddle Facts

1986
AL#8 p.47   BRB1 p.296            read this article
Al Stancel                                                                                           

▪ Stancel offers an interesting potpourri of violin information concerning steel wool, bow bugs, tuning pegs, appraisers and the IRS, appraiser scams, and the dangers of steel strings to old fiddles.

Calculating Radii

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.

Fretboard Geometry: Multiradius Fretboard

1986
AL#8 p.49   BRB1 p.298            
Denny Rauen                                                                                           

▪ Rauen corrects an action problem by changing the fingerboard at a time when most repairmen were correcting the problem in the frets. He uses a multiradius fretboard which is also called a conical fretboard.

Cylinders Don’t Make It

1986
AL#8 p.49   BRB1 p.298            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Editor Olsen figures that for the lowest string action a fingerboard must resemble a cone shape, rather than a cylinder. Find other related articles by searching for the term conical.

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

More Lore (conclusion of the series)

1986
AL#8 p.52               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ This is the last in the series combining GAL history with a listing of Quarterly back issues. Quarterly was the GAL publication preceding American Lutherie. Volumes 11 and 12 are described.

The Paul Schuback Story

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.

Violin Top Crack Repair

1986
AL#7 p.50   BRB1 p.258            
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ This is repair advice from an experienced violinmaker. The procedure listed begins after the top has been removed. Top removal was described in AL#5.

So, You Want To Be My Apprentice!

1986
AL#7 p.52               
Ken Cartwright                                                                                           

▪ Cartwright lists the qualities that he expects in an apprentice, and also details what he expects to offer the apprentice in return.

Installing the Floyd Rose Tremolo

1986
AL#7 p.53   BRB1 p.260            
Denny Rauen                                                                                           

▪ Rauen’s installation procedure is meant to remove as little wood from the guitar body as possible. This is not a procedure for retrofitting the bridge system to guitars using a stock Fender-style bridge, but for dropping it onto a new body or one with a hardtail bridge.

Violin Bridge Holder

1986
AL#7 p.54   BRB1 p.439            read this article
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.

More on Bridge Gluing

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.

Bridge Regluing Caul

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.

More Lore

1986
AL#7 p.58               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Editor Olsen again describes a number of Quarterly back issues, volumes 10 and 11 from 1982 and 1983.

Review: A Catalogue of Pre-Revival Appalachian Dulcimers by L. Allen Smith

1986
AL#7 p.60   BRB1 p.497            read this article
James Flynn                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer doubts the book’s conclusions and finds it of no value to the serious luthier. He states, however, that dulcimer enthusiasts may find it interesting.

Review: Italian Violin Varnishes by George Fry

1986
AL#7 p.60   BRB1 p.498            read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be a worthwhile investment for anyone seriously trying to duplicate antique violin finishes.

Review: Physics And Music by Neville H. Fletcher

1986
AL#7 p.61   BRB1 p.498            read this article
Tom Rossing                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer is enthusiastic about this booklet for the nonscientist, finding it useful and accurate.

Letter to the Editor: Dionisio Aguado Y Hernandez

1986
AL#8 p.3   BRB1 p.466            
J.G. Molnar                                                                                           

▪ Molnar shares interesting anecdotes about the difference between Spanish guitars made for export, which he maintains reach our shores unfinished, and those finished by the shops for use in Europe.

Letter to the Editor: Kasha Question

1986
AL#8 p.3               
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ Brune maintains that innovations in the classical guitar have happened on a regular basis in recent history, and do not depend solely on the work of Dr. Kasha to bring the instrument up to date.

Letter to the Editor: Erikson Letter AL#7

1986
AL#8 p.5               read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ Manno makes various points about violinmakers as a society and urges the creation of an information-sharing guild just for violin people.

Letter to the Editor: Shirazi Article AL#4

1986
AL#8 p.5               
David Golber                                                                                           

▪ Golber adds information to the Shirazi article about the Persian kamanche (AL#4). Specifically, what kind of skin is traditionally used for the soundboard of the instrument.

Letter to the Editor: Various Letters

1986
AL#8 p.6               
Richard Ennis                                                                                           

▪ Ennis defends the plywood bass (and plywood in general in its application to instruments) and goes on to mention a few particular problems with the instrument that need to be addressed.

Review: SMAC83: Proceedings of the Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference

1986
AL#6 p.52   BRB1 p.496            read this article
Tom Rossing                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that this collection of scientific papers will be of value to instrument builders, though it offers no “how to” advice.

Sharing

1986
AL#6 p.55   BRB1 p.231            
Lawrence-D. Brown                                                                                           

▪ Brown contends that the best luthiers are willing to share their knowledge and that mediocre craftsmen are not, then urges everyone to contribute to American Lutherie.

Letter to the Editor: Violin Makers Need a New Organization

1986
AL#7 p.5               
Olie Erikson                                                                                           

▪ Erikson says he tried to get violin makers to unite around standards for ethical behaviour in the 1940s. He says the field still needs to form a new organization that can do this.

Experimental Violin Acoustics

1986
AL#7 p.6   BRB1 p.232            read this article
George Bissinger                                                                                           

▪ This transcription of a lecture by a professor of physics examines how five variables affect the performance of the violin. The variables are loudness curves and student instruments; free plate tuning and testing; humidity effects on plate modes; bass bar tuning; and coupling between enclosed air and plate vibrations.

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

Woodshop-in-a-Can

1986
AL#7 p.18   BRB1 p.244            
James Jones                                                                                           

▪ Jones explains how he converted a mobile home into a complete shop.

Ed Arnold, String Tie Kind of Guy

1986
AL#7 p.21   BRB1 p.248            read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison   Ed Arnold                                                                                       

▪ Robison interviews Arnold about harvesting wood in Mexico and dealing it in America.

Hardanger Fiddle

1986
AL#7 p.24               read this article
E.M. Peters                                                                                           

▪ A brief description of a typical Norwegian fiddle accompanies Peters’ plans for the same, along with a photo of two Hardangers and a drawing of useful ornamentations. The plans are a reduced version of our full-scale Plan #11. Hardangers utilize a set of sympathetic strings and may be tuned in over twenty ways.

Out of the Basement

1986
AL#7 p.27   BRB1 p.252            
Richard Bingham                                                                                           

▪ Bingham provides a brief anecdote about making a guitar from a “found” guitar kit from H. L. Wild.

Premiata Liuteria

1986
AL#7 p.29   BRB1 p.256   ALA6 p.8         
Mario Maccaferri                                                                                           

▪ Maccaferri speaks about his life as a musician, luthier, and inventor. Mentions the Selmer company and Django Reinhardt.

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

Tacoma Triumph

1986
AL#7 p.34               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Editor Olsen highlights the events of the GAL’s 10th convention, which was held near the Guild’s headquarters city of Tacoma, Washington, in 1986. With 20 photos.

Our Great Spherical Friend Part Two

1986
AL#7 p.43   BRB1 p.196            read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ Lyman offers another philosophical look at lutherie and acoustical physics.

Group Guitar Project

1986
AL#5 p.52               
Duane Waterman                                                                                           

▪ The idea of the project is to bring together several members/luthiers to build a guitar cooperatively and sell it for the benefit of the Guild.

Review: The Early History of the Viol by Ian Woodfield

1986
AL#5 p.53   BRB1 p.495            read this article
Christopher Allworth                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be “important and useful” to builders who wish to pursue the early viols.

Review: Julian Bream: A Life on the Road

1986
AL#5 p.53   BRB1 p.496            read this article
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be of interest to the luthier, even though it offers little technical information about guitars.

Letter to the Editor: Teeter Epoxy Refretting System

1986
AL#6 p.3   BRB1 p.149            
Dana Bourgeois                                                                                           

▪ Bourgeois comments about in inappropriateness of refretting many old Martin guitars with the “Teeter” epoxy method.

Letter to the Editor: Sharing Information

1986
AL#6 p.3               
Dick Boak                                                                                           

▪ Boak warns us that luthiers must keep up with the times and a changing market as we pursue our craft, and that complacency is a vice none of us can afford.

Roger Sadowsky: Man of “Action”

1986
AL#6 p.8   BRB1 p.204            
Roger Sadowsky                                                                                           

▪ Sadowsky’s convention lecture thoroughly describes his version the Don Teeter system of fretting with epoxy and oversize fret slots.

The Well-Unpublished Luthier

1986
AL#6 p.14   BRB1 p.190            read this article
William Cumpiano                                                                                           

▪ Cumpiano goes to some length telling of the travails and trials of producing the book, Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology.

Our Great Spherical Friend Part One

1986
AL#6 p.19   BRB1 p.196            read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ Lyman likens the physical properties of a stringed instrument to those of the earth’s atmosphere (our great spherical friend), and advises us that an understanding of science should underlay our intuitional sensitivities.

Trimming Violin Bridges

1986
AL#6 p.26               read this article
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ Manno describes his method of tuning an out-of-the-box violin bridge for maximum performance. A “personal expansion” upon previously published work by Al Carruth.

1932 Martin C-3 Archtop Guitar

1986
AL#6 p.27   BRB1 p.103            
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ Davis gives a compact history of Martin archtops and offers a blueprint of the C-3 model, then goes on to have a mock interview with Steve Kauffman’s C-3, Suzie. The plan is a reduced version of our full-scale Plan #10.

A Modern Builder Interprets the Archtop

1986
AL#6 p.34   BRB1 p.227            
John Monteleone                                                                                           

▪ Monteleone’s lecture covers personal background, after which a question/answer segment gets to the specifics of archtop design and construction.

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

Monteleone: The Artist Behind the “Grand Artist”

1986
AL#6 p.38   BRB1 p.222            
Ted Davis   John Monteleone                                                                                       

▪ This lengthy interview sheds more light on the archtop maker’s background and furnishes information about his mandolins.

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

Luthiers’ Hotline

1986
AL#6 p.51               
Bill Hultgren                                                                                           

▪ Hultgren mentions a source for elephant ivory, though he finds its use unethical. He also warns that anthrax can be contracted from working with infected ivory, and that most American doctors will not recognize its symptoms. St. Croix instrument kits get a nod of approval.

Two Spruces

1986
AL#5 p.27   BRB1 p.176            
Ervin Somogyi                                                                                           

▪ Somogyi uses personal experience to compare Sitka and European spruces.

Honesty

1986
AL#5 p.33               
George Manno                                                                                           

▪ Manno makes a plea for fairness when buying vintage instruments from unsuspecting owners.

The Cimbalom

1986
AL#5 p.38   BRB1 p.186            read this article
Alexander-I. Eppler                                                                                           

▪ Eppler describes the most sophisticated member of the hammered dulcimer family, but offers no construction information.

Fret Slot Template Bar

1986
AL#5 p.42   BRB1 p.188            
Richard Ennis                                                                                           

▪ Ennis describes how to cut fret slots on a table saw using notches in a fixed bar as depth stops to regulate the fret spacing.

GAL Lore Galore

1986
AL#5 p.44               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Editor Olsen gives a brief history of the GAL and describes the back issues of Vols. 6 and 7 of the GAL Quarterly that were then available.

Letter to the Editor: Kasha Design

1986
AL#5 p.7               
Jim Williams                                                                                           

▪ Williams endorses scientific guitar design and refers to the work of Australian guitar maker Greg Smallman. Also brings up the names of Kasha and Brune.

Letter to the Editor: Error in Letter of AL#4

1986
AL#5 p.7               
Michael Knutson                                                                                           

▪ Knutson makes a correction to his earlier letter about wire strength and string tension printed in AL#4 (which was a response to an article in AL#2).

Letter to the Editor: Data Sheet #290 Feedback

1986
AL#5 p.7               
Peter Estes                                                                                           

▪ Estes mentions the negative feedback he received about his GAL contribution, Data Sheet #290, in which he recommended a specific method of fitting backs to guitars.

Interview with William DelPilar

1986
AL#5 p.10   BRB1 p.150            
Ted Davis   William DelPilar                                                                                       

▪ Davis offers his conversation with a professional luthier who made over 800 classical guitars between 1956 and 1986.

The Bluegrass Dobro

1986
AL#5 p.14   BRB1 p.154            read this article
Bobby Wolfe                                                                                           

▪ Wolfe explains some history of the Dobro-style resonator guitar and mentions John Dopera, then details its construction and lists some commonly seen repairs and how to deal with them. The article is completed by 8 good photos.

Regluing Guitar Bridges

1986
AL#5 p.22   BRB1 p.168            
Ken Donnell                                                                                           

▪ Donnell gives a thorough description of his methods of bridge removal and regluing. Both classical and steel string guitars are covered.

Continental Plank Fest, a German wood buying adventure

1986
AL#5 p.26   BRB1 p.172            
Ervin Somogyi                                                                                           

▪ Somogyi describes his adventure of buying guitar tops in Germany, and the extent to which bowed instruments dominate the German market.

A Chat with Don Manuel

1985
AL#4 p.11   BRB1 p.99            
William Cumpiano   Manuel Velazquez                                                                                       

▪ Velazquez fields a number of questions about the specifics of building the nylon-strung guitar, including types of glue, choice of wood, construction design, and finishing.

Drafting Instrument Plans

1985
AL#4 p.16   BRB1 p.108            read this article
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ In this lecture Davis describes his method of making instrument plans from a guitar, then fields questions and takes suggestions.

Tarrega Played a Maple Guitar

1985
AL#4 p.20   BRB1 p.114            
David Macias                                                                                           

▪ Macias relates an interesting anecdote about the first maple classical guitar he built, then translates a Pujol description of the Tarrega guitar made by Torres.

Devolution of the Modern Lute

1985
AL#4 p.22   BRB1 p.116            read this article
Robert Cooper                                                                                           

▪ Cooper’s lecture tracks his own development as a lute maker and the instrument’s return to historically accurate models. Mentions Hermann Hauser II, a number of performers, which designs and glues are preferable, how to remove a neck when necessary, and briefly discusses strings.

Building the Kamanche

1985
AL#4 p.27   BRB1 p.126            read this article
Nasser Shirazi                                                                                           

▪ Shirazi offers a history of the Persian bowed instrument as well as plans and construction advice. The kamanche is a four-stringed neck attached to a gourd. The plans are a reduced version of our full-scale Plan #9.

South American Rosewood

1985
AL#4 p.31   BRB1 p.132            read this article
John Jordan                                                                                           

▪ Jordan describes 14 varieties of rosewood, and 14 varieties of false rosewood. Some max out as large shrubs, and only offer interest to wood collectors. Others are of high interest to luthiers, or should be.

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

In the Ramirez Workshop

1985
AL#4 p.36   BRB1 p.140   ALA5 p.2         
William Tapia                                                                                           

▪ Tapia relates the history of Ramirez guitars and tells of his time there learning to properly repair them.

Comments on the Kasha Question

1985
AL#4 p.42               
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ Eban takes on Paul Wyzskowski as she champions the design innovations of Michael Kasha. She has incorporated many of Kasha’s changes into her own classical guitars. Her rebuttal mentions Richard Schneider, Jamey Hampton, and Graham Caldersmith.

Comments on the Kasha Question

1985
AL#4 p.42               
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ Brune, a defender of traditional values, defends his criticism of the Kasha innovations, along the way mentioning Schneider, Hampton, and Segovia.

Dulcimer Fretboards: My Way

1985
AL#4 p.46   BRB1 p.146            
Peg Willis                                                                                           

▪ Willis explains the construction of her unique hollow dulcimer fretboard, which has coved sides that blend into the soundboard.

In Praise of the Plywood Bass

1985
AL#4 p.48   BRB1 p.148            read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ Lyman champions the use of common materials and low sophistication in the production of serviceable, affordable bass fiddles. Mentions Kay basses and the Richard Ennis design in AL#3.

Luthier’s Hotline

1985
AL#4 p.50               
Bill Hultgren                                                                                           

▪ Hultgren offers quick advice about obtaining instrument kits and why one should use them, and mentions two sources of used instruments.

Review: The Luthier’s Mercantile Catalog for Stringed Instrument Makers by Luthier’s Mercantile

1985
AL#4 p.52   BRB1 p.492            read this article
Frederick Battershell                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer examines what has become one of the main-stay catalogs of lutherie and finds that it’s not only chock full of wood, supplies, and tools, it’s a nearly encyclopedic source of lutherie information.

Review: Violin-Making As It Was, And Is by Ed. Heron-Allen

1985
AL#4 p.52   BRB1 p.494            read this article
Kirk-A. Janowiak                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that this book is a necessary addition to any luthier’s library, but especially to one who may not yet be equipped with power tools.

Review: Geometry, Proportion, and the Art of Lutherie

1985
AL#4 p.53   BRB1 p.492            read this article
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds that this book about Renaissance and Baroque stringed instruments is “the most intense 178 pages of treatise on the art of lutherie. . . . Lots of math, and “exquisite” drawings of 33 instruments.

Practical Guitar Maker’s Bibliography

1985
AL#3 p.19               
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ Sixty books and articles dealing with guitar acoustics are rated for legitimacy, clarity, and usefulness.

Trends: 1985 Lute Society Seminar

1985
AL#3 p.22               read this article
Lawrence-D. Brown                                                                                           

▪ Brown comments on trends in lute making toward Baroque instruments, all-gut stringing, larger body sizes, and lower pitches.

Bow Hair Jig

1985
AL#3 p.24   BRB1 p.88            read this article
Thomas Snyder                                                                                           

▪ Measured drawings are presented for building a jig to facilitate rehairing bows. A detailed method for using the jig is also presented.

Screw Misc.

1985
AL#3 p.41               
Chris Pile   Tim Earls                                                                                       

▪ Pile contends that Schaller and Badass hardware comes with inferior screws, and that the good screws that come with cheaper machine heads should be swapped for them. Mr. Earls offers a method of cleaning bolt threads after cutting the bolt.

Building a Plywood Bass

1985
AL#3 p.42   BRB1 p.92            read this article
Richard Ennis                                                                                           

▪ Rough sketches help describe a fast and cheap substitute for a bass viol. It has no scroll or waist, and a flat top and back.

Custom Paint Aftermath

1985
AL#3 p.47               
Tim Earls                                                                                           

▪ Earls describes his ordeal of completing a guitar painted by an auto body shop.He finds that even the best auto painter may not understand the intricacies of the guitar.

Review: The Technique of Violin Making by H.S. Wake

1985
AL#3 p.48   BRB1 p.489            read this article
Frederick Battershell                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be poorly organized and under-illustrated, making it a poor text for the beginning violinmaker.

Review: The Science of Sound by Tom Rossing

1985
AL#3 p.48   BRB1 p.491            read this article
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the book to be a complete text on the basics of acoustics that is relatively free of math and technical jargon.

Review: 1/1 The Quarterly Journal of the Just Intonation Network by The University of Iowa, School of Music

1985
AL#3 p.49   BRB1 p.490            read this article
Edward Kottick                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer finds the journal interesting, yet is nevertheless critical of its informational accuracy.

Letter to the Editor: Perfect Fret Scale

1985
AL#4 p.7               
Peg Willis                                                                                           

▪ Willis makes interesting comments about the musicians’ responsibility to an instrument’s compensation factor. She contends that a musician’s technique can help an instrument play in tune.

Manuel Velazquez: An Appreciation

1985
AL#4 p.8   BRB1 p.96            
William Cumpiano                                                                                           

▪ Cumpiano shares a pleasant visit with Velazquez in Puerto Rico where the conversation is all about classical guitars, wood, compensation factors, and balancing the tone of the instrument.

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

One Way to Make Kerfed Lining

1985
AL#2 p.44               
Richard Ennis                                                                                           

▪ Ennis kerfs wide boards on the table saw, then rips them to twice the desired width. He then rips each of these at an angle with a bandsaw to produce (after they are sliced lengthwise) two lining strips.

Review: Guitars and Mandolins in America Featuring the Larsons’ Creations by Robert Hartman

1985
AL#2 p.51   BRB1 p.487            read this article
John Bromka   Ron Lira                                                                                       

▪ Positive reviews praise the text, photos, and ad reproductions in this book about the Larson brothers, who made instruments from the 1880s to 1944.

Review: The Strad Facsimile — An Illustrated Guide to Violin Making by Edwin John Ward

1985
AL#2 p.51   BRB1 p.487            
Frederick Battershell                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer praises the concise approach of the book as it describes one builder’s construction of a violin.

Review: Lutes, Viols and Temperaments by Mark Lindley

1985
AL#2 p.52   BRB1 p.488            read this article
Edward Kottick                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer calls the book a brilliant overview and analysis of all that can be said about the complex issue of temperament on string instruments between 1520 and 1740.

Review: Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock by Tom and Mary Ann Evans

1985
AL#2 p.53   BRB1 p.488            read this article
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer calls this the best of the popular (as opposed to scholarly) histories of the guitar.

Three Helpful Tools

1985
AL#2 p.54   BRB1 p.77            
Brian Mascarin                                                                                           

▪ They are: an archtop guitar brace jack, a modified 1/4″ phone plug to position an output jack, and a clear plastic square for scribing fret positions on a fretless bass.

Letter to the Editor: Making a Living as a Luthier

1985
AL#3 p.2   BRB1 p.79            read this article
Bob Benedetto                                                                                           

▪ Benedetto offers advice on making a living as a luthier.

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

Letter to the Editor: Brune’s Role of Science in Lutherie

1985
AL#3 p.2               
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ Wyszkowski rebuts R. E. Brune’s criticism of the work of Dr. Kasha in AL#1 and mentions the work of Richard Schneider, then goes on to counter a criticism of the GAL.

Letter to the Editor: Brune Critique of Kasha

1985
AL#3 p.5               
Jamey Hampton                                                                                           

▪ Hampton counters R. E. Brune’s criticism of Michael Kasha in AL#1, and draws upon Jose Ramirez III to help defend the scientific philosophy of guitarmaking.

Rendezvous with Destiny, a Symposium ’85 talk

1985
AL#3 p.8   BRB1 p.80            
C.F. Martin-IV                                                                                           

▪ Martin, currently head of the Martin Guitar Company, offers some personal history and business advice to luthiers.

A Love Affair with Wood, a Symposium ’85 talk

1985
AL#3 p.11   BRB1 p.84            
C.F. Martin-III                                                                                           

▪ The former head of the Martin Guitar Company reminisces about his life as a guitar maker, offers a short history of the company and certain guitar models, and in the process mentions C. F. Martin Jr., Frank Henry Martin, and Mike Longworth.

The Trade Secret, a true story

1985
AL#3 p.16   BRB1 p.83            read this article
Michael Dresdner                                                                                           

▪ Dresdner relates a story from his early days which illustrates the fact that only the ill informed believe in trade secrets.

Illuminating Instrument Repairs

1985
AL#1 p.50   BRB1 p.73            
John Jordan                                                                                           

▪ Jordan describes two incandescent lights designed for use inside guitars. One uses a 7½-watt bulb on a standard power cord. The other uses tiny low-voltage bulbs and a step-down transformer.

Bandsaw Riser Block

1985
AL#1 p.51   BRB1 p.29            
Joel-Ivan Hawley                                                                                           

▪ Hawley describes a method of sawing part way into a 4×4, then clamping it to the bandsaw table and using it as a table for sawing the outline of a guitar or banjo peghead.

Embarrassing Moments in Lutherie

1985
AL#1 p.53               
Carl McFarland                                                                                           

▪ McFarland drilled up through the face of a finished tamburah when drilling holes for string anchors in the tail area of the sides.

Review: Classic Guitar Making by Overholtzer

1985
AL#1 p.54   BRB1 p.486            
William McCaw                                                                                           

▪ The reviewer praises the book as the most logical of the construction methods he has read, but takes issue with some specific techniques.

The Business of Lutherie: 1984

1985
AL#2 p.8   BRB1 p.58            read this article
Ted Davis   Steve Grimes   Bob Meltz   Matt Umanov                                                                               

▪ This panel discussion from the 1984 GAL Convention features Bob Meltz, Matt Umanov, David Sheppard, Ted Davis, and Steve Grimes. Straight talk on the realities of being a one-man lutherie shop.

Where Are They Now?

1985
AL#2 p.13   BRB1 p.56            read this article
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ An update of the 1980 Lutherie Business panel discussion, featuring George Gruhn, Max Krimmel, Steve Klein, Robert Lundberg, and R.E. Brune.

Radiation from Lower Guitar Modes

1985
AL#2 p.20   BRB1 p.68            read this article
Graham Caldersmith                                                                                           

▪ Caldersmith discusses the efficiency and pattern of sound radiation in the classic guitar produced by the four lower resonance modes, which he calls monopole, cross dipole, long dipole, and tripole. Mentions Tom Rossing, Gila Eban, Paul Wyzskowski, Fred Dickens, Michael Kasha, Richard Schneider, and Greg Smallman.

The Geophysical Guitar

1985
AL#2 p.25               
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Humorous fiction. A guitar of continental proportions is constructed with disastrous results.

Mario Maccaferri: Feisty as Ever

1985
AL#2 p.32               
Michael Dresdner                                                                                           

▪ A brief life history of Mario Maccaferri, including his career as a musician, his work with the Selmer Company and the Django Reinhardt guitars, his plastics manufacturing, his association with John Monteleone, and his projects as he nears retirement.

Western Forestry Center Show

1985
AL#2 p.35               
Mark Humpal                                                                                           

▪ The 1985 annual exhibition of instruments from the area around Portland, Oregon. Some of the people involved are Paul Schuback, Jeffrey R. Elliott, Robert Steinegger, William McCaw, Ken Butler, and Robert Lundberg.

AAMIM Convention

1985
AL#2 p.40               
Jim Williams                                                                                           

▪ Brief overview of the 1985 meeting of the Association of Australian Musical Instrument Makers. Attendees included Graham Caldersmith, Alistair McAllister, Greg Smallman, Mark Lewis, and Gerard Gilet.

String Tension and Gauges

1985
AL#2 p.42   BRB1 p.78            
Graham McDonald                                                                                           

▪ McDonald gives formulae and graphs to determine appropriate steel string gauges for nonstandard scale lengths.

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

Letter to the Editor: Critique of Article in Vol. 12 #4

1985
AL#1 p.5               
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ Wyszkowski defends assertions he made in a previous article (Vol. 12, #4, GAL Quarterly) concerning sound radiation of the (1,0) mode in the classic guitar. His assertion is based on the work of William Strong and Graham Caldersmith. Criticism was made by Gila Eban.

Pearly Shells and Nichols

1985
AL#1 p.10   BRB1 p.2            read this article
David Nichols                                                                                           

▪ Nichols does a lot of custom inlay work, including ultra-fancy work on new instruments for the Martin Company. He describes his entire process here, illustrated with 15 photos. He also reveals his tool choices and sources of supply.

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

Basics of Air Resonance

1985
AL#1 p.16   BRB1 p.8            read this article
W.D. Allen                                                                                           

▪ Allen attempts to introduce the nonphysicist to useful concepts of resonance including standing waves, captured air mass, and soundhole size. Illustrated with the author’s own sometimes-whimsical drawings, the article aims at preparing luthiers to understand heavier fare on the physics of musical instruments.

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

Hints for Area Tuning the Violin

1985
AL#1 p.21   BRB1 p.30            read this article
Keith Hill                                                                                           

▪ Hill theorizes that the violinmakers of the classical period tuned tap tones of certain areas of their instruments to desired pitch relationships. He finds these to be consistent within the work the individual makers, and suggests that the natural resonances of the human body may be a model for this idea. Specific techniques and tools are described.

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

GAL Instrument Plan #8: 1918 Martin 1-18, #13336

1985
AL#1 p.27   BRB1 p.38   ALA4 p.7         buy this plan
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ The article contains 4 photos, a short text, and a reduced image of our full-scale instrument Plan #8. Both pages of the very thorough drawing are presented. A chance to get an accurate preview of the plan before you buy. This is a very small flattop guitar, less than 13″ at the lower bout.

Ukuleles Are For Real!

1985
AL#1 p.31               read this article
Bob Gleason                                                                                           

▪ Gleason admonishes luthiers to respect the ukulele as a legitimate instrument with its own challenges and rewards. Martin and Kamaka ukes are mentioned.

Dalbergia Nigra and Friends

1985
AL#1 p.32   BRB1 p.14            read this article
William Cumpiano   Bruce Hoadley                                                                                       

▪ In this interview with well-known author and wood expert Bruce Hoadley, Cumpiano seeks to clear up certain questions about Brazilian rosewood relating to identification and confusion with other Dalbergias and so-called rosewoods.

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

Workbench Design Ideas

1985
AL#1 p.36   BRB1 p.18            
Mark Stanley                                                                                           

▪ Stanley proposes a lutherie workbench of an unusual stepped-width design and gives thoughts on the materials and carpentry involved in constructing it.

Lutherie: Art or Science?

1985
AL#1 p.38               read this article
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ Brune criticizes the theoretical design work of Dr. Michael Kasha, concluding that it is in fact less scientific than the empirical work of luthiers untrained in physics.

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

Dulcimer Frets: My Way

1985
AL#1 p.40   BRB1 p.42            
Merv Rowley                                                                                           

▪ Rowley describes a method of setting nails into half-round slots in a dulcimer fretboard. The slots are made by passing the fretboard over a veining bit in a router table with a miter fence.

Guitar Back Fitting Jig

1985
AL#1 p.42   BRB1 p.13            
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ Davis presents a drawing of a jig for properly forming the sides and lining of a guitar to accept a domed back. The sides are held in a mold while a sanding stick, held by a central post, is passed over them.

Electronic Moisture Meters

1985
AL#1 p.44   BRB1 p.44            
Gregory Jackson                                                                                           

▪ Jackson comments on the basic principle upon which electronic moisture meters work, use of the meters, and why you should not try to cobble together your own.

Pneumatic Cylinders

1985
AL#1 p.46   BRB1 p.26            
Michael Jacobson-Hardy                                                                                           

▪ Jacobson-Hardy describes devices based on pneumatic cylinders for bending sides, clamping braces to plates, clamping plates to sides, and holding neck blanks in a lathe.

Luthier’s Long Knife

1985
AL#1 p.49   BRB1 p.17            
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ Casey briefly describes the construction and use of a long-handled knife designed to be used with two hands.

The Truth About Temperaments

1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.10   BRB1p.386            read this article
Edward Kottick                                                                                           

▪ Nearly every person alive in the western world has grown up with music that sounds the same in every key, but there was once a time when music had no keys, and later a time when each key had its own particular sound. We are perfectly comfortable with how our music sounds, but are we richer for it? More importantly, people once had different concepts of music, and perhaps different expectations. They thought differently. And if they thought differently about music perhaps they thought differently about everything. How can we understand their times if we can’t understand the way they thought? Kottick doesn’t delve into this, but you might be tempted to after reading this article.

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

What Price Inspiration

1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.20               
J.R. Beall                                                                                           

▪ Beall comments on the results of a listening test conducted on five classic guitars by Richard Schneider at the 1978 GAL convention.

The Cremona Sound

1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.24               
John Meng                                                                                           

▪ Meng quests the solution to a great eternal mystery: the search for the ‘Cremona sound’.

To Make a Good Guitar

1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.25               
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ Some inklings garnered over the years of reading, listening, thinking, and building, to make a good guitar.

AAMIM

1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.30               
Jim Williams                                                                                           

▪ The aims of the Australian Association of Musical Instrument Makers, formed in 1982.

The Underselling of the American Luthier

1984
GALQ Vol.12#2 p.31               
William Tapia                                                                                           

▪ It’s always been the same; the great luthiers of the world have a growing list of customers waiting for their instruments to be finished, while the rest have a hard time making ends meet.

Bob Mattingly, Guitar Maker

1984
GALQ Vol.12#3 p.8   BRB2 p.456            
William Tapia   Bob Mattingly                                                                                       

▪ Mattingly is one of the best classical guitar makers in the U.S., yet what is it that keeps him and other fine luthiers from reaching international acclaim?

Guitar Sound: What You Can Do About It

1984
GALQ Vol.12#4 p.24               
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ A stab at comprehensively pulling together the information on acoustic vibrations of guitars for use by the practical luthier.

Removing Dovetails-Three

1984
DS#285   LW p.120            
Michael Dresdner                                                                                           

▪ Steam out the neck with a cappuccino machine. See also the previous 2 articles. This variation involves sawing off the fretboard at the body joint.

Hide Glue Steamer

1984
DS#286   LT p.47            
Elliott Burch                                                                                           

▪ Simple steamer rejuvenates gelled glue after it’s been applied and the clamps are in place.

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

Violin Ribs/Latent Tension

1984
DS#287   BRB1 p.25            read this article
John Meng                                                                                           

▪ Meng suggests bending violin ribs using a backer of sheet aluminum to prevent shattering the wood, then goes on to suggest that tensions in the wood are often inadvertently built into instruments. Given time, the wood relaxes into its new shape, and the tone of the instrument improves at the same rate.

Beware of “Regrind” Plastic

1984
DS#288   LW p.92            
Anonymous                                                                                           

▪ Plastic is often recycled in the factory, and various colors may be added to a basic mix. Plastic for instrument adornment is never supposed to be made this way, but it can happen. Your supplier should make good on it.

Blackboard Eraser Polisher

1984
DS#288   LW p.111            read this article
Michael Dresdner                                                                                           

▪ Dresdner steals yet another tool from another discipline, this time for polishing frets after they’ve been shaped with a file.

Bob Mattingly’s Building Process

1984
DS#289   BRB2 p.456            
Duane Waterman   William Tapia                                                                                       

▪ Mattingly was one of the most respected classical builders in America before his death. This article examines some of the unusual construction techniques he used.

Hardening and Tempering Steel

1984
DS#291   LT p.16            
Alan Carruth                                                                                           

▪ General process of identifying and heat treating steel for use in edge tools.

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

Truss Rod Repair on a Fender

1984
DS#293   LW p.114            
Dave Gentry                                                                                           

▪ Fender’s unorthodox method of installing a truss rod makes the replacement of the rod a strange undertaking. Gentry’s technique is clever, and far less invasive than removing the entire fingerboard. With 2 drawings.

Classic Guitar Soundboard Part 2

1984
DS#294   BRB2 p.340            
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ Various theories and attempts to involve more of the top of classical guitar in sound production, including the methods of Robert Bouchet.

Piezo Electric Transducers

1984
DS#297               
Jim Williams                                                                                           

▪ The advent of the piezoelectric transducer has provided a relatively simple method of amplifying the sound of an acoustic nylon or steel string guitar.

Banjo Block Rim

1984
DS#298   BRB2 p.444            
Elliott Burch                                                                                           

▪ Most banjo rims (or pots) are laminated from one long strip of steam-bent wood. An even stronger rim can be made of blocks laid up like a brick wall. Here’s how to make one. With 7 illustrations.

Go-Bar Deck Part 2

1984
DS#299   LT p.44            
Duane Waterman                                                                                           

▪ The go-bar box illustrated in this data sheet is primarily used in clamping braces and plates to a guitar soundboard, is very effective, easy to use, and has many more advantages over a workboard and clamps.

Luthiers Snowflake

1984
DS#301               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ To have holiday fun, you gotta have a luthier’s snowflake. To make a luthier’s snowflake, you need the following stuff.

Sealing With Shellac and Varnishing Rosewood

1984
DS#269   BRB1 p.264            read this article
Neil Hebert                                                                                           

▪ This guitarmaker has adopted finishing techniques that are often reserved for violins, and claims that in eye and tactile appeal it is superior to lacquer. Particularly important is how he deals with rosewood’s tendency to bleed color, a problem that fiddle finishers don’t have to face.

Testing Tonewood Samples

1984
DS#271   BRB2 p.400            
Graham Caldersmith                                                                                           

▪ The “Young’s Modulus” of any piece of wood can be calculated, giving a result measurable in frequency. Comparing the Young’s Modulus of a wood species with unknown qualities with a chart of other species of known characteristics can tell you what to expect before any instrument work is commenced. Here’s how to calculate the Young’s Modulus of any piece of wood you have on hand. With 1 drawing and a sample wood chart.

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

Bass Crate

1984
DS#273   BRB1 p.254            read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ Lyman created a shipping crate for the bass viol that will take abuse without damaging the bass, which is suspended in the crate without touching any of the walls. With 5 good drawings of crate details. It’s not lutherie, but it might save your instrument.

Violin Varnish and Sealers

1984
DS#276   BRB1 p.262            read this article
Graham Caldersmith                                                                                           

▪ The Sacconi technique of sealing fiddles with silicates has not been widely accepted. Nevertheless, the author explains how he has successfully used silicates to seal and harden violin wood before varnishing, as well as the use of vernice bianca (basically whipped egg whites) to act as an interface between the silicate and the varnish.

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

Restoring a Martin Harp Guitar

1984
DS#279   LW p.62   ALA6 p.2         
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ This rare Martin required the creation of a new harp neck as well as the repair of many top and side cracks. The plans included are also available as GAL full-scale blueprint #7. Includes 5 photos.

Area Tuning the Violin

1984
DS#283   BRB1 p.20            read this article
Keith Hill                                                                                           

▪ Hill advocates tuning different portions of the plates to segments of the overtone system, using various tonic notes to suit the particular wood before you. No measuring tools are necessary during tuning since the actual thickness of the plate portions is of no consequence. He maintains that this is the tuning system used by the Italian masters.

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

Splining Soundboard Cracks

1984
DS#285   LW p.97            
Michael Dresdner                                                                                           

▪ Dresdner studs the crack, then compresses the edges of the top crack into a wedge shape into which a tapered spline is glued. This technique has become routine, but this is one of the first times it reached print. He also offers a recipe for touching up the new wood to a “vintage” color.

Nut Slotting Files

1984
DS#285   LW p.106            
Michael Dresdner                                                                                           

▪ In the “old days” you couldn’t buy a set of nut slotting files. They didn’t exist. The author used pattern makers files with parallel safety sides. He recommends learning about and adapting the tools from every trade that crosses your path.

Calculating Neck Angle Changes

1984
DS#285   LW p.107            
Michael Dresdner                                                                                           

▪ All right, so you got the neck off of your flattop and you’re about to reset it. How much wood do you have to remove from the heel to achieve the proper correction? It turns out that you can calculate that figure, and here’s how to do it. With 1 sketch.

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

Violin Society of America

1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.24               
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ The violin is a historical entity, an object of a very special and esoteric scholarship, an artifact with extremely subtle and critically variable properties.

Remembering Hermann Hauser II

1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.10   BRB2 p.154            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ The author visited Hauser in Germany in 1966. This short biography and remembrance adds a bit of humanity to a man who is usually only thought of in terms of the guitars he left behind when he died. With 2 photos.

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

Confessions of a Burned Out Luthier

1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.22               
John Judge                                                                                           

▪ A response to the directions column by Duane Waterman in Vol. 11 #2, concerning the future of lutherie as a profession.

1983 Regional Conference Report

1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.27               
Jeff Feltman                                                                                           

▪ Three major lectures, a Sunday discussion of business, and a public exhibition on Saturday were highlights of the two day conference.

Aesthetics of Restoration

1983
GALQ Vol.11#3 p.30   BRB2 p.176            
Don Alfieri                                                                                           

▪ The goal and duties of the instrument restorationist are not always clear cut since the philosophy of restoration is not universally agreed upon. The author makes a good case for a conservative approach to the subject and the work.

In Defense of the Amateur

1983
GALQ Vol.11#4 p.30   LW p.127            read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ Amateurs, by definition, love what they do. Professionals may start out that way and then find out that it’s not so hunky-dory. Amateurs are free to discover, but professionals are locked into the expectations of their clientele. Are we building instruments or are we building a life? Just something to think about.

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

PZT Crystals

1984
DS#265               
Terry Herald                                                                                           

▪ Installing PZT crystals (materials that generate a small electric current when subjected to pressure) in a guitar bridge and elsewhere.

Making Lining Strips-Three

1984
DS#266   LW p.94            
William Cumpiano                                                                                           

▪ Yet another way to make your own kerfed lining, with 4 diagrams of the procedure. More sophisticated than the previous two articles, but not necessarily a better way to go about it.

Adjustable Bass Bridges

1984
DS#267   BRB2 p.356            
Peter Psarianos                                                                                           

▪ There are two main styles of commercially available bass bridge adjusters. Here’s how to fit them to a bridge. With 6 drawings and a handy spec chart of the two adjusters.

Basic Bass Adjustments

1983
DS#257   BRB2 p.450            
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ The rude construction of many basses prevents them from being as subtle an instrument as a violin, but they have their own setup requirements that may not be obvious to the uninitiated. Lyman shares his years of experience with bass creation and repair to help us get the most from any bass, however crudely fashioned or maintained.

Health Hazards: Solvents, Glues, and Shell

1983
DS#259   BRB1 p.122            
Ervin Somogyi                                                                                           

▪ Somogyi wrote this scary little article in 1983, but if you think that the chemicals luthiers encounter have gotten friendlier you better think again. The compounds that have been making people sick for decades are still out there, and regulation doesn’t seem to have made much of an impact. You’ll have to be your own safety cop, and this article is a good place to begin.

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

Even Tempered Scale

1983
DS#260               
Ken Ellis                                                                                           

▪ Why is the event tempered scale necessary? Why is a scale based on pure intervals faulty, thus requiring the artificial construction of a scale based on equal rather than pure intervals?

Honest Ron’s Lacquer Finishing Technique

1983
DS#262   BRB1 p.37            read this article
Ron Lira                                                                                           

▪ How to deal with lacquer in less than one page. Heavy on Sherwin-Williams products and short on details, it is nevertheless interesting for his use of heated lacquer.

The Case for Using Natural Dyes

1983
GALQ Vol.11#1 p.8   BRB1p.372            read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ Robison offers a convincing, multi-pronged philosophical stance for using natural dyestuffs that should lodge firmly among the luthiers that build ancient instruments or see them on their repair bench. Or anyone else who admires subtlety more than bright pizzazz.

An Interview with H.E. Huttig

1983
GALQ Vol.11#1 p.12   BRB2 p.109            
David Fisher   H.E. Huttig                                                                                       

▪ H.E. Huttig, wood merchant, writer, world traveler, experimenter, practical musicologist, lover of life, guitar maker.

Meet Bob Rock

1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.8   BRB2 p.142            
Charles Prouty                                                                                           

▪ A short visit with a man who makes superb banjos; Mr. Robert p.Rock.

Glorious Uncertainty

1983
GALQ Vol.11#2 p.12   LW p.123            
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ The author maintains that if we knew that each piece of work was going to turn out perfectly there would be no reason to continue building. Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how narrowly our lives are focused. We should always be a beginner at something.

Evolving the Classic Guitar Soundboard

1983
DS#238   BRB2 p.340            
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ The author began building classical guitars before there was much written help out there, and he evolved his design specs by making a lot of guitars. Some of these have been absorbed into the general body of classical guitar literature, other remain unique. With 14 drawings and 2 photos.

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

Transparent Pickguards

1983
DS#239   LW p.102            
Lester DeVoe                                                                                           

▪ The author likes transparent pickguards but doesn’t like commercial pickguard stock. Here’s how he makes his own.

Curve Cutting Bandsaw Fence Part Two

1983
DS#240   LT p.90            
Carl McFarland                                                                                           

▪ Set up a bandsaw fence formed of two boards at a shallow angle and the apex at the blade. Run a board through the saw such that each end of the board touches it’s half of the fence at all times. You get a nice smooth curve. McFarland explains why it works.

Laminated Dulcimer Fretboard

1983
DS#241   BRB2 p.361            
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ The laminated, hollow fretboard is one of the standard designs of the dulcimer industry. Casey’s is a bit nicer than most. With 6 drawings.

GAL Instrument Plan #5: Kasha Guitar Soundboard

1983
DS#243   BRB1 p.214            buy this plan
Gila Eban                                                                                           

▪ Eban offers an eloquent argument for trying the Kasha system in your own shop, as well as many details of her own guitars. A page-sized blueprint is included. She maintains that there is a philosophy and an aesthetic behind the Kasha design that is self-revealing and pleasing to work with, and that the design will always be under-realized until a larger number of builders have come to understand and absorb it.

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

X/Radial Bracing

1983
DS#244               
Duane Waterman                                                                                           

▪ The synthesis of the traditional (Martin) X-brace system and parts of the present radial bracing theory.

Handmaking Zither Pins

1983
DS#246   BRB2 p.455            
Bruce Day                                                                                           

▪ Tuning pins on antique zithers are different and larger than modern steel pins. Fortunately they are not hard to make. Here’s how, including 2 drawings.

Lute Action

1983
DS#247   BRB2 p.394            
Lawrence-D. Brown                                                                                           

▪ It is perhaps true that a good playing action must be built into the instrument, and that less adjustment can be done to a finished lute than to other instruments. Brown explains lute action adjustment from the perspectives of both the builder and the repairperson. With 9 illustrations.

Refret Saw

1983
DS#250   LT p.29            
Donald-L. Brown                                                                                           

▪ Made from a Blitz saw blade and used to clean out fret slots on a bound neck.

Bass Neck Angle Jig

1983
DS#252   LT p.3            
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ Lyman was the GAL’s bass guru for years.

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

Making a Glue Pot

1983
DS#254   LT p.46            
Wesley Wadsworth                                                                                           

▪ A baby bottle warmer makes a good heater for hide glue.

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

Klein Design

1982
GALQ Vol.10#2 p.12   LW p.74            
Steve Klein                                                                                           

▪ This is a history of Klein’s unusual steel string guitars, as well as a window into the mind of one of lutherie’s most creative thinkers. Includes 5 photos as well as a plan of the top of the guitar Klein built for Joe Walsh.

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

Meet the Maker: Victor Gardener

1982
GALQ Vol.10#3 p.16   BRB2 p.158            
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.   Victor Gardener                                                                                       

▪ Gardener was an independent sort from Oregon who built closely in the style of the violins of the classic period in Italy. Mentions Hans Weishaar. With 2 photos.

Dissolving the Mysteries

1982
GALQ Vol.10#4 p.8   BRB1p.346            read this article
Graham Caldersmith                                                                                           

▪ Caldersmith loves the scientific aspects of instrument design, and offers this primer to help explain what’s going on in an excited classical or steel string guitar without going off the scientific deep end. The most interesting part is that in his update (17 years later) he has reversed is position on how to use this information. Information doesn’t change as much as how we use it, and we can’t use it if we don’t understand it. That, in a nutshell, is the acoustician’s tenant.

A Luthiers Life by a Luthiers Wife

1982
GALQ Vol.10#4 p.22               
Bonnie Robiczek                                                                                           

▪ Robiczek’s husband Robert Meadow makes lutes, violins, and classical guitars; they also run a school teaching woodworking and instrument making.

Hammered Dulcimer

1983
DS#233   BRB2 p.242            
Alan Carruth                                                                                           

▪ A drawing, a photo, and a one-page blueprint help explain the unique way Carruth constructs his hammered dulcimers.

Hammered Dulcimer Tuning Tricks

1983
DS#234   BRB2 p.335            
Edward Damm                                                                                           

▪ Some of these tricks need to be built into the instrument. The others are useful after it’s complete. With hammered dulcimers you need all the tuning help you can get. With 5 drawings.

Structural Considerations

1983
DS#235   BRB2 p.452            
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ It’s well known that designing a guitar for longevity and designing a guitar for best performance may drag the designer in opposite directions. Guitar construction is a compromise (like life itself). The author takes a closer look at the situation. With 1 drawing.

Twenty Ancient Dyestuffs and Eleven Mordants

1983
DS#236   BRB1 p.210            read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ The dyestuffs are from bugs, flowers, and tree parts. Mordants are chemicals that set the colors and may shift the hue. Dyers’ hip talk is a lot of fun, and the bits of dye history Robison includes add sparkle to a colorful article. Working with these materials could add mountains of snob appeal to a guitar. Rather than describe a three-color ‘burst as yellow/red/brown it might be described as fustic/madder/walnut hull. Be the first on your block to give it a go.

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

Potentiometers

1983
DS#237               
John Jordan                                                                                           

▪ The various types of potentiometers you are likely to encounter, and selecting the right one for the job.

GAL Instrument Plan #3: Irish Bouzouki

1982
DS#230   BRB2 p.462            buy this plan
Rich Westerman                                                                                           

▪ Westerman was among the first to produce quantities of Irish bouzoukis, or citterns. Here he offers an explanation of his design, as well as a blueprint for the instrument. The plans are available as GAL Instrument Plan #3.

Martin Lacquer Method

1982
DS#231               
Dick Boak                                                                                           

▪ The C.F. Martin guitar with its 149 year history has had plenty of time and experience to evolve a system of finishing that works.

Instrument Molds

1982
DS#242   LT p.53            
Bo Walker                                                                                           

▪ A deep plywood frame with a guitar-shaped hole in it. Uses no hardware other than a few screws.

Finishing With Lacquer

1982
DS#220   BRB1 p.178            
Glenn Markel                                                                                           

▪ These are finishing tips picked up while Markel worked at Guild. The best of them involve heating the lacquer and building a stationary buffing wheel.

Saddle Slot Dremel Base

1982
DS#221   LT p.61            
Don Alfieri                                                                                           

▪ Adds nylon bolts to the bottom corners of a Dremel base. The tool rides on the bolt heads, raising the router above the level of the bridge.

Violin Bridge Tuning

1982
DS#224   BRB2 p.349            
Alan Carruth                                                                                           

▪ Unhappily, a new violin bridge is just an unusable flake of wood. You not only need to adjust it for proper action but tune it to help bring the most out of the instrument. Here’s how. With 5 drawings.

Rosin Varnishes

1982
DS#226   BRB1 p.167            read this article
Louis DeGrazia                                                                                           

▪ Rosin varnishes preceded the varnishes developed by the Cremonese violin masters. Though they are often scorned by experienced luthiers, DeGrazia maintains that the ease with which they can be mixed and applied makes them a good starting point for the budding violin builder.

Bending with a Paint Stripper

1982
DS#227   LW p.88            
Al Leis                                                                                           

▪ Bending sides can be an intimidating process. It was especially so before the advent of the Fox bender. The author found a new method of applying heat to the wood to coerce the bend. With 6 photos to prove it works.

Finishing Lute Soundboards

1982
DS#229   BRB1 p.265            read this article
Lawrence-D. Brown                                                                                           

▪ Historically, lute soundboards were left unfinished in order to produce the best sound. However, the raw wood collected dirt at a rate that is unacceptable to contemporary musicians. Brown has found a compromise using lacquer that doesn’t affect the sound production of the instrument.

Making Florentine Cutaways

1982
DS#202   LW p.90            
Eric Berry                                                                                           

▪ Florentine cutaways are the pointy kind. This instruction is for adding the cutaway to your basic design as construction progresses, not for adding a cutaway to an already completed guitar. With 3 drawings.

Humbucking Pickup Wiring

1982
DS#203               read this article
Daniel-P. Coyle                                                                                           

▪ The use of dual-coil or ‘humbucking’ pickups enables a wide range of samples of string sounds, along with a heightened complexity of switching problems.

Making Bridges Using Power Tools

1982
DS#204   BRB2 p.289            
Kent Rayman                                                                                           

▪ The author uses a table saw and no jigs to help speed up the creation of classical guitar bridges. With 5 drawings.

Floating Saddle for Dulcimer

1982
DS#205   BRB2 p.315            
Jeff Feltman                                                                                           

▪ Feltman offers a dulcimer bridge design that hardly changes the traditional look of the instrument but is said to dramatically improve the volume of the instrument. It’s a sad commentary on our noisy society that the only way to improve volume is by making it louder. Oh, well. With drawings enough to make things clear.

Cutting Nut Slots with Strings

1982
DS#208   LW p.106            
Michael Trietsch                                                                                           

▪ The cheapo way to cut perfect nut slots is to use the wound string that will sit in the groove as a saw. It doesn’t work while the nut is mounted on the guitar, though. The unwound string slots are cut with an X-acto saw. With 1 drawing.

Flattop Bridge Removal

1982
DS#210   LW p.99            
Jim Williams                                                                                           

▪ Clean bridge removal is almost an art, but the right heat source and the proper tools can give even the first-timer a fighting chance. Williams offers a dedicated lamp setup for heat and a modified cabinet scraper to slide through the glue joint. With 3 drawings.

Removing Dovetails-Two

1982
DS#211   LW p.120            
Kent Rayman                                                                                           

▪ Steam out the neck with a pressure cooker. With 1 drawing. See the previous article and the next article.

Factory Life

1981
GALQ Vol.9#1 p.8   LT p.106            
John Judge                                                                                           

▪ This depiction of life in the Guild guitar factory in the ’60s may open some eyes.

An Interview with Guitarist George Sakellariou

1981
GALQ Vol.9#1 p.12               read this article
David Fisher   George Sakellariou                                                                                       

▪ Sakellariou brings an uncommonly alive and musical warmth to his performance.

Life After the Dead

1981
GALQ Vol.9#2 p.10   LW p.70            
Rick Turner                                                                                           

▪ Turner started his lutherie life as part of the Grateful Dead’s clan of artists, engineers, and craftsmen, but ended up with his own company which built distinctive electric guitars. This shop tour includes 11 photos.

Pedagogue’s Lament

1981
GALQ Vol.9#2 p.24   LW p.126            read this article
William Cumpiano                                                                                           

▪ An instructor of guitar making examines the potential impact of his students upon the lutherie world, and decides that it may not be all positive. There’s no accounting for human nature, no matter how good a teacher you may be.

Lutherie-Luthiery

1981
GALQ Vol.9#2 p.30               
Staff                                                                                           

▪ The GAL editor explains why it is LUTHERIE, not LUTHIERY.

Guitar 81: An Overview

1981
GALQ Vol.9#3 p.8               
Duane Waterman                                                                                           

▪ From June 22 to June 27 summer 1981, the Guitar Society of Toronto presented Guitar 81, its third international guitar festival. We received these 4 reports from GAL members in attendance.

Guitar 81: Bum Trip

1981
GALQ Vol.9#3 p.8               
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ From June 22 to June 27 summer 1981, the Guitar Society of Toronto presented Guitar 81, its third international guitar festival. We received these 4 reports from GAL members in attendance.

Guitar 81: Romanillos Workshop

1981
GALQ Vol.9#3 p.9               
Duane Waterman                                                                                           

▪ From June 22 to June 27 summer 1981, the Guitar Society of Toronto presented Guitar 81, its third international guitar festival. We received these 4 reports from GAL members in attendance.

Guitar 81: Clash of the Titans

1981
GALQ Vol.9#3 p.9               
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ From June 22 to June 27 summer 1981, the Guitar Society of Toronto presented Guitar 81, its third international guitar festival. We received these 4 reports from GAL members in attendance.

In Search of the Lost Cobza

1981
GALQ Vol.9#3 p.20   BRB2 p.458            
Hardy-B. Menagh                                                                                           

▪ The cobza is an obsolete, nearly-neckless lute from Romania. The author capitulates his efforts to track one down while touring the cobza’s homeland. With 3 photos.

An Interview with Guitarist Roger McGuinn

1981
GALQ Vol.9#3 p.26               read this article
Rachael Brent   Roger McGuinn                                                                                       

▪ Anyone that has ever seen Roger perform knows that unlike many other musicians, he will never disappoint an audience.

De Grassi and Dawgs: Our Hates and Loves

1981
GALQ Vol.9#3 p.32               read this article
David-B. Sheppard                                                                                           

▪ Brief interviews with some of the top notch performers at the 1980 GAL convention: David Grisman, Mike Marshall, Mark O’Conner, and Alex DeGrassi.

The Business of Lutherie

1981
GALQ Vol.9#4 p.10   BRB1 p.48            read this article
R.E. Brune   George Gruhn   Steve Klein   Max Krimmel   Robert Lundberg                                                                           

▪ The economic atmosphere surrounding lutherie has changed a lot since this 1980 panel discussion, but tapping into the lutherie boom is no easier than it ever was. Max Krimmel followed his genius out of guitarmaking many years ago, but the rest of these gentlemen are still active, and their longevity suggests that they knew what they were talking about so long ago. Panel discussions aren’t often as much fun as this one.

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

Guilds of the Middle Ages

1981
GALQ Vol.9#4 p.22               read this article
Gregory Smith                                                                                           

▪ The collective power and influence of a large group of craftsmen or businessmen could wield enough force to effectively combat the oppression of the feudal lords in the Europe of the middle ages.

Head V-Joint

1981
DS#183   BRB2 p.282            
Duane Waterman                                                                                           

▪ The author uses a series of drawings to help explain the creation of a unique but tradition method of attaching the headstock to a guitar neck.

Dial Indicator Caliper

1981
DS#185   LT p.2            
T.E. Owen                                                                                           

▪ Aluminum frame, dial indicator.

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

Archtop Routing Jig

1981
DS#186   LT p.65            
Rion Dudley                                                                                           

▪ This guide registers on the sides of the guitar rather than the plates. It is intended for the Dremel tool, but will work with a larger router.

Adjustable Neck Joints

1981
DS#190   LW p.107            read this article
Larry Robinson                                                                                           

▪ Put a hinge on your guitar neck and change the angle any time you please. Really. The design leaves the fingerboard floating over the body, though. With a pair of illustrations.

Patents

1981
DS#193   BRB2 p.292            
Scott McKee                                                                                           

▪ So, your brand new gadget is about to change music forever, huh? You’d better know how to protect it and yourself. McKee explains the patent process and how to do much of your own footwork.

Constructing a Medieval Lyre

1981
DS#195   BRB2 p.258            
John Taye                                                                                           

▪ There must certainly be more than one way to make a lyre, especially since the instrument was never standardized. Taye uses a series of drawings, a blueprint, and a photo to help explain how he chose his version and how he builds them.

Horsetails

1981
DS#199   BRB2 p.479            
Chris Burt                                                                                           

▪ Horsestail weed makes a natural fine sandpaper. Stradivari used it. So can you.

Sanding Board Tip

1981
DS#199   LW p.95            
Alan Carruth                                                                                           

▪ The author offers a simple trick for making flat-bottom sanding blocks. Includes a drawing.

Several Glue Tricks

1981
DS#199   BRB1 p.171            
Tim Earls                                                                                           

▪ Handy tips for spreading and cleaning up Titebond and epoxy.

Two Production Machines

1981
DS#169   LT p.108            
John Judge                                                                                           

▪ From the Guild factory in the ’60s: a power-sanding table and a huge pin router.

Soundboard Bracing Considerations

1981
DS#171   BRB2 p.201            
Paul Wyszkowski                                                                                           

▪ The author uses a light approach to science to explain the function of the classical guitar top and attempts to translate the functions of physics into a form the luthier can use at the bench.

Improved X Bracing

1981
DS#172   LW p.100            read this article
Don Musser                                                                                           

▪ Get rid of those scalloped braces and the bulge in the top of the guitar in one operation. Musser’s design is asymmetrical and pretty radical from a “vintage” view point, but a number of luthiers have confessed that it has improved their guitars.

Systems Analysis of the Violin

1981
DS#173               read this article
A.F. Standing                                                                                           

▪ The results of the author’s cogitations are presented in the hope that a different and unbiased viewpoint will aid in the understanding of the violin, its operation and adjustment.

White, Yellow, and Hide Glues

1981
DS#174   BRB1 p.162            read this article
Lawrence-D. Brown                                                                                           

▪ Brown urges luthiers not to use white glue, to be careful where we use yellow glue, and to explore the possibilities of hide glue. As a maker of instruments that are commonly disassembled during repair, his stilt is natural. His advice is well grounded, though, and you’ll do well to examine his arguments before you build anything.

The Parisian Eye

1981
DS#175               
Michael Breid                                                                                           

▪ Procedure for making ‘Parisian eyes’, a type of inlay resembling a pearl dot, surrounded by ebony and encased in a gold or brass ring.

Fitting Lute Pegs

1981
DS#176   BRB2 p.260            
Lawrence-D. Brown                                                                                           

▪ Lute pegs are different than violin pegs and have their own requirements if they are to function properly. Brown gives a thorough explanation.

Dust Free, Open Sided Sander

1981
DS#178   LT p.78            
Al Leis                                                                                           

▪ Open-sided sander utilizes a 6″ drum arbor-mounted on an electric motor and covered with a dust collection system.

Fiberglass Headstock Repair

1981
DS#181   LW p.117            
William Hatcher                                                                                           

▪ Try this method of repairing a headstock break when you don’t trust Titebond to do the job. It involves extensive touchup work, however.

Copyrights

1981
DS#182   BRB2 p.292            
Scott McKee                                                                                           

▪ Copyright interest, remedies for infringement, period, and ownership.

Two Dremel Jigs

1980
DS#164   LT p.62            
J.D. Mackenzie                                                                                           

▪ One is a Dremel base for cutting binding channels. The second is another base used to inlay decorative stringing of the face of headstocks.

Pearls Before Junk Dealers

1980
GALQ Vol.8#2 p.10   LW p.66            
Richard Irwin                                                                                           

▪ Irwin found a small gold-painted guitar in a junk shop that turned out to be an 1850 2-24 Martin. Removing the gold paint revealed a nearly pristine guitar marred only by some pick wear. With 3 photos and a diagram of the pyramid bridge.

Lute Making

1980
GALQ Vol.8#1 p.26   BRB2 p.68            
Lawrence-D. Brown                                                                                           

▪ During the ’70s it was common for guitarmakers to build lute-shaped instruments utilizing the technologies of the guitar, even to the point of designing their own shapes. Brown offers a large number of reasons why this was a mistake and a disservice to the instrument and modern lutenists, citing the many factors of historical lutes that should be retained rather than messed with. It’s interesting to note that in the years following this article the emphasis of lute making returned to following historical guidelines. With 2 photos.

The Piccolo Bass

1980
GALQ Vol.8#1 p.36               read this article
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ A new instrument which fills the gap between the bass and the cello and which can be used in the melodic register but with the tonal density of the bass, rather than cello.

Rosewood and Ebony Shortage

1980
GALQ Vol.8#1 p.40               
Robert-O. Larson                                                                                           

▪ The extreme shortage of rosewood and ebony supplies for the luthier is not as glum as it appears from the articles in trade journals.

The Sting

1980
GALQ Vol.8#2 p.12               
Max Krimmel                                                                                           

▪ Max Krimmel gives a thorough rundown on exactly how he was scammed and how you can avoid a similar episode.

A Friendly Interview with Donald Warnock

1980
GALQ Vol.8#2 p.16               read this article
David-B. Sheppard   Donald Warnock                                                                                       

▪ Instrument maker Donald Warnock was a major figure in the early-music revival of the 1960s and ’70s.

Controlling Strings, Wood, and Air

1980
GALQ Vol.8#3 p.8   BRB1 p.300            read this article
Carleen Hutchins                                                                                           

▪ Carleen Hutchins gives an introduction to the work of the Catgut Acoustical Society at the GAL’s 1979 Convention in Boston.

Goings On in Wollongong

1980
GALQ Vol.8#3 p.14               
Jim Williams                                                                                           

▪ A report on the acoustics of stringed musical instruments seminar at Wollongong University in Australia.

Vihuela, Mystery Instrument

1980
GALQ Vol.8#3 p.36               read this article
Wally Eubanks                                                                                           

▪ The vihuela (Spanish name for a stringed instrument of the renaissance age) is a guitar-like instrument and was used in Italy and Western Europe in the late 1400s to the early 1600s.

Design Factors in the String Bass

1980
GALQ Vol.8#4 p.8   BRB2 p.52            
Frederick-C. Lyman-Jr.                                                                                           

▪ Lyman has made basses for several contemporary bass luminaries and has decided that they need qualities in the bass that weren’t called for in the past. He offers specific ways to match a bass to the requirements of the player. With one photo of the author.

An Interview with Guitarist David Tanenbaum

1980
GALQ Vol.8#4 p.14               read this article
David Fisher   David Tanenbaum                                                                                       

▪ 24 year old virtuoso David Tanenbaum of Oakland, CA is already a veteran of New York solo recitals and concerts and tours with the Jeffrey ballet.

Gruhn Battles T.A.S.

1980
GALQ Vol.8#4 p.22               
George Gruhn                                                                                           

▪ Luthiers, both repair craftsmen and builders, tend to exhibit ‘temperamental artist syndrome’.

Positioning Studs for Top Cracks

1980
DS#165   LW p.96            
Mike Janosko                                                                                           

▪ Problem: since you began pumping iron your arms are too big to fit through a guitar soundhole. Here’s another way of reinforcing top crack repairs without asking help from your pencil-arm brother-in-law. With 1 drawing.

Seedlac

1980
DS#150   BRB1 p.121            read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ Robison insists that as an instrument finish seedlac is superior to shellac in every sense. You never heard of seedlac? Jeez, you better get on the bus! If French polish thrills you but it’s fragility gets up your nose, seedlac could make your day.

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

Body Mold

1980
DS#153   LT p.52            
Glenn Markel                                                                                           

▪ Basic mold holds the developing instrument body inside a frame of layered wood.

Folk Harp Design

1980
DS#156   BRB2 p.284            
R.L. Robinson                                                                                           

▪ Robinson was a champion of the folk harps long before the current Celtic music craze. He built a lot of harps, and had some strong opinions about how it should be done. With a photo and 14 drawings.

Updating the Mountain Dulcimer

1980
DS#159   BRB2 p.290            
Hardy-B. Menagh                                                                                           

▪ Menagh’s dulcimer utilizes a shortened fretboard, a banjo-ish bridge, and a tailpiece to help make the instrument louder. He also employs an X brace under the top.With 2 photos and a drawing of his dulcimer innards.

Health Hazards: Solvents, Finishes, and Thinners

1980
DS#160               
Ervin Somogyi                                                                                           

▪ A list of the most common chemicals used by luthiers which have a high rating for chemical toxicity, including acetone, benzene, aniline, lacquer thinner, esters, methanol, and paint strippers.

Electric Lutherie Part 6

1979
GALQ Vol.7#4 p.30               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The sixth in a six part series, brought on by a rapidly growing interest in the subject.

Hurdy-Gurdies

1980
DS#134   BRB2 p.298            
Alan Carruth                                                                                           

▪ There’s nothing like a hurdy-gurdy to help you win the hearts of the damsels at a Renaissance fair. Carruth offers helpful advice about making one that even plays music! Turn that crank and relive the Middle Ages! With 5 drawings.

Rebuilding the Tune-O-Matic

1980
DS#137   LW p.99            
William Hatcher                                                                                           

▪ This classic piece of guitar hardware suffers from its share of rattles and loose parts, even on new units. You can tune it up and quiet it down. Here’s how. Includes 2 illustrations.

Routing Neck Dovetails

1980
DS#138   LW p.118            
Larry Stevens                                                                                           

▪ The author borrowed this dovetail system from Max Krimmel. The routing jigs are fully described, and it is recommended that the head block be routed before the body is assembled, Martin-style.

Go-Bar Deck

1980
DS#139   LT p.44            
David-B. Sheppard                                                                                           

▪ Simple system is cheap and easy to make.

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

Drill Press Rosette Grooves

1980
DS#140   LW p.80            
Larry Stevens                                                                                           

▪ A drill press only wants to make holes, but you can train it to do a lot of tricks. For instance, why not use it to mill the slots for rosette rings to snuggle into? Groovy! With diagrams of the cutting bits.

Doodlebug Pad Polishers

1980
DS#140   LW p.111            
Marvin Tench                                                                                           

▪ Yet another substitute for messy steel wool on your bench (not to mention your pickups). Doodlebug pads are a 3M scouring pad made of nylon. Polish your frets with impunity.

Hide Glue Techniques

1980
DS#142   BRB1 p.112            
Donald Warnock                                                                                           

▪ Luthiers returning to hide glue have begun a movement, and if you wish to join you’ll need all the help you can get. The stuff can be pretty fussy. Warnock explains the varieties of hide glue, how to live with it, and how to apply it to several different instruments. Where else can you get information about veneering the back of a neck?

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

Modified Cam Clamp

1980
DS#143   LW p.97            
John-M. Colombini                                                                                           

▪ The author couldn’t reach through the small soundhole of a guitar to bolt the bridge on, so he devised a nifty cam clamp that not only holds the socket but aids in lining up all the pieces during the operation. With 3 diagrams.

Calculating String Tension

1980
DS#144   LW p.106            read this article
Max Krimmel                                                                                           

▪ To use this article you’ll need a gram scale, a Hz frequency chart, and a calculator. You can figure for yourself what some of the string makers won’t tell you.

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

Resonance

1980
DS#145   BRB2 p.99            
Roger Siminoff                                                                                           

▪ The author considers X braces as structural elements and tone bars as tone adjusters, and that tone color can be altered by the stiffness of the tone bars and the size of the soundhole. Despite the possibilities, no examples for use are given.

Carmel 1978

1979
GALQ Vol.7#1 p.34               read this article
David-Russell Young                                                                                           

▪ The Carmel Classic Guitar Festival (Nov. 3,4,5) provided a valuable opportunity to exhibit guitars to a large number of interested amateurs and accomplished professionals.

Western Forestry Show

1979
GALQ Vol.7#1 p.36               
Jeffrey-R. Elliott                                                                                           

▪ Portland Oregon’s Western Forestry Center hosted over 2,000 paid visitors who came to view and inspect more than 30 instruments exhibited by 24 local area luthiers.

Acoustic Variables in Fretted Dulcimer Construction

1979
GALQ Vol.7#2 p.8   BRB2 p.96            
Bonnie Carol                                                                                           

▪ Despite its simplicity, the lap dulcimer can be ruined by poor design as easily as any other stringed instrument. The author describes ways to deal with different varieties of wood and fingerboard design to achieve maximum tone and volume from a given shape and size dulcimer. With 3 photos and 2 drawings.

Frets and Fingerboard Care

1979
GALQ Vol.7#2 p.17   LW p.111            read this article
Randy Stockwell                                                                                           

▪ Once again finesse in refretting is used to match the shape of the fingerboard to the arc of the plucked strings. Stockwell’s method calls for experience rather than formulae, however. Compare this to the method on p.108.

Electric Lutherie Part 5

1979
GALQ Vol.7#3 p.33               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The fifth in a six part series, brought on by a rapidly growing interest in the subject.

Canadian Luthiers Unite

1979
GALQ Vol.7#3 p.39               
Kevin Hall                                                                                           

▪ Kevin calls out to Canadian luthiers, exhorting them to form a new organization of mutual aid and enlightenment. They didn’t.

Color Reveals Tone

1979
GALQ Vol.7#3 p.41               
William Conrad                                                                                           

▪ Tone is not an exact science and a so-called expert is unqualified to make a positive judgment as to which tone is correct.

Lute Making: Some Practical Reasons for an Historic Approach Part 1

1979
GALQ Vol.7#4 p.10   BRB2 p.68            
Lawrence-D. Brown                                                                                           

▪ Discussion of lute soundboard, bridge, neck, fingerboard, and frets.

An Overview of Pickup Design

1979
GALQ Vol.7#4 p.20   BRB2 p.62            
Tim Shaw                                                                                           

▪ This is just about as good a description of how pickups work as you are going to find. Shaw was a main man at Gibson, and relates several of the design considerations to specific guitars. If pickups are really this easy to understand why do they seem so mysterious? Includes 4 diagrams of how pickups are built.

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

Discovering Guitar Resonances

1979
DS#121               
Warner-W. Schultz   Jack Frarey                                                                                       

▪ This study was undertaken in the hope of furnishing a simple and inexpensive method of following the resonance characteristics of guitars during the process of construction.

Position Markers For Fretless Bass

1979
DS#123               
Leo Bidne                                                                                           

▪ The fretless bass, unlike the vertical standing double bass, is played horizontally and the long, slim neck is too wide for ‘sighting’ down the neck, thus a system of marking is necessary.

Neck Relief

1979
DS#124   LW p.108            read this article
Phillip Mayes                                                                                           

▪ The arc of a plucked string can be calculated. Therefore, it stands to reason that that arc could be built into the neck relief, giving the lowest possible buzz-free action. Yup, but it’s tough to make such minute adjustments to a flexible stick like a guitar neck. Still, the concept is interesting, and on a graphite neck might be entirely practical. With 4 illustrations and a pair of charts.

Copying Pearl Patterns

1979
DS#125   LW p.86            read this article
Robert Steinegger                                                                                           

▪ The author keeps a comprehensive file of all the cool patterns that cross his bench, and here’s how he does it. It’s not quite as easy and obvious as you might think.

Nuts and Bolts for Bridge Gluing

1979
DS#126   LW p.98            read this article
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ How to use bolts and wing nuts to align a bridge through the pin holes and form part of the clamping force. With 1 drawing.

Sandpaper Hints

1979
DS#127   LT p.84            
Boyd Butler                                                                                           

▪ A tool that aids in tearing sandpaper sheets into useful sizes, and a sanding board for close places.

More Inlay Tricks

1979
DS#129   LW p.86            read this article
Tim Shaw                                                                                           

▪ Sometimes a little finesse in the way we work can be as important as the basic job. In fact, lutherie is all about finesse. If you glue your pearl pieces in place before tracing them Shaw’s bit of finesse may save you some broken shell.

Gluing a Cracked Back or Top

1979
DS#129   LW p.98            
Ted Davis                                                                                           

▪ This is a method for mending cracks in free, unbraced plates using only small nails and a workboard. Includes a drawing of the technique.

Variables in Archtop Design

1979
DS#131   LW p.50            
Jimmy D’Aquisto                                                                                           

▪ D’Aquisto pioneered the maturation of the archtop guitar into a versatile instrument. Here he runs down a list of design factors and what they do for the sound.

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

Electric Lutherie Part 4

1979
GALQ Vol.7#1 p.20               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The fourth in a six part series, brought on by a rapidly growing interest in the subject.

Gold Leaf

1979
DS#102   LW p.87            read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ Traditional ways of decorating instruments follow a narrow path. The author uses gold leaf to enhance his inlays. The path grows a little bit wider. Includes 3 illustrations of the steps involved.

String Spacing

1979
DS#103               read this article
Sylvan Wells                                                                                           

▪ An explanation of the method for proper spacing for cutting slots for strings in the nut and laying out centers in order to drill the holes for bridge pins, concluded with the mathematics already completed in an easy to use table.

Thumb Gloves

1979
DS#104   LT p.29            
David Newton                                                                                           

▪ Wear them while using a cabinet scraper.

Wood Dust: Beware

1979
DS#108   LW p.43            
Ervin Somogyi                                                                                           

▪ If the dust in your shop is out of control, then so is your health.

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

Basic Sitar Repair

1979
DS#115   BRB1 p.94            
Thom Lipiczky                                                                                           

▪ Sitars are wonderful to look at, strange to hold, lovely to listen to, and peculiar to repair and set up.These days, when vintage instrument values make repair a high-risk endeavor, Lipiczky’s offbeat cures for broken gourds and loose frets are a breath of fresh air. Sitar repair has no doubt advanced since 1979, but we’ll have to take what we can get as far as instruction is concerned. The Indian words make for exotic reading, and the chart of string gauges may save your bacon one strange day.

Deep Studding Top Cracks

1979
DS#116   LW p.95            
Al Leis                                                                                           

▪ So how does one reach w-a-y back there to reinforce top crack repairs? By making a special clamp, and by evolving a slick method of using it. Here’s how it’s done. Includes 2 photos.

The Early and the ‘Modern Viol’

1978
GALQ Vol.6#1 p.35               read this article
Theron McClure                                                                                           

▪ All the viols made and played today are copied from those made during the final 75 years of the 3 century span of viol playing.

Business Ethics in Lutherie

1978
GALQ Vol.6#2 p.14               read this article
Lawrence Lundy                                                                                           

▪ Warranties, delivery deadlines, return of instruments, care and feeding, payments and pricing, customer info, and happy transactions.

Guitar Evaluation at Carmel

1978
GALQ Vol.6#2 p.19               read this article
David-Russell Young                                                                                           

▪ Many instruments, when compared together in a forum such as Carmel, provide a good basis for determining the strong and weak points of each individual instrument.

Electric Lutherie Part 1

1978
GALQ Vol.6#2 p.20               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The first in a six part series, brought on by a rapidly growing interest in the subject.

The Marlin Carver

1978
GALQ Vol.6#2 p.25               
Rolfe Gerhardt                                                                                           

▪ The Marlin is a sign carving pantograph router with a lettering template clamped on one side and the sign board the other.

Manuel Davila: Renaissance Man

1978
GALQ Vol.6#2 p.30   BRB2 p.61            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Hutting happens across Manuel Davila in Guatemala City, who builds guitars that are completely original and do not follow tradition in construction and decoration.

George Vogl, Toolmaker

1978
GALQ Vol.6#3 p.8   LT p.104            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ A tribute to the late George Vogl of Bubenreuth, Germany, maker of special luthier’s tools.

Electric Lutherie Part 2

1978
GALQ Vol.6#3 p.18               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The second in a six part series, brought on by a rapidly growing interest in the subject.

An Interview with Richard Schneider

1978
GALQ Vol.6#4 p.10               
Michael Keller   Richard Schneider                                                                                       

▪ A brief interview with the renowned luthier, maestro Richard Shneider, known for his development of the radically innovative Kasha Design soundboard guitar.

Electric Lutherie Part 3

1978
GALQ Vol.6#4 p.19               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The third in a six part series, brought on by a rapidly growing interest in the subject.

Spray Finishing Setup

1978
DS#85   BRB1 p.41            
Rolfe Gerhardt                                                                                           

▪ That is, setting up the actual spray system from compressor to gun, with additional information about spray room accessories. It’s worth noting that in his update the author (a maker of top quality mandolins) mentions that he has abandoned lacquer in favor of waterborne products.

Heat Pressing Necks

1978
DS#86   LW p.110            read this article
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ No, you don’t press a neck to take the wrinkles out. Sometimes it’s necessary to heat a crooked neck, overbend it with clamps, then hope it cools and relaxes into some semblance of straightness. This sort of caveman lutherie is still called upon from time to time, and you probably won’t find a more detailed description of the operation than this one. With 5 illustrations.

Vacuum Press

1978
DS#87   LT p.45            
Reagan Cole                                                                                           

▪ Old refrigerator compressor and a shower curtain.

Making Pointy Rosettes

1978
DS#88   LW p.78            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Are you tired of rosettes that are just rings around the soundhole? Here’s a jumping off point if you want to take the plunge. The next step is to get rid of the round soundhole. With 3 diagrams.

Oil Varnish Techniques

1978
DS#89   BRB1 p.284            read this article
David Rolfe                                                                                           

▪ Violinmakers can (and do) talk at length about varnish formulas. Rolfe leaves that to others, and instead describes at length the process of getting the varnish onto the instrument with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of cleanliness. Included is a discussion of brushes, rags, rubbing down and polishing materials, drying boxes, and where in your shop to varnish.

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

Epoxy

1978
DS#90   BRB1 p.353            read this article
Paul Jacobson                                                                                           

▪ There is a small but vocal movement afoot to return lutherie to a “purer” state by (among other things) reverting to hide glue and French polish. Don’t be too quick to sign on until you’ve read this thought-provoking article. There is no such thing as “pure” lutherie, and you should understand what you’re surrendering before you relinquish modern techniques. Epoxies have advanced since this was written in 1978, but the reasons for using them remain the same.

Hide Glue

1978
DS#94               
Chuck Morrison                                                                                           

▪ Using watered down type hide glues, such as Franklin’s Liquid Hide Glue, will lead to trouble. Preparation of the real stuff is easier than you think.

Removing Side Ripples

1978
DS#95   LW p.90            
Don Musser                                                                                           

▪ Some wood ripples when it is wetted for bending. Musser describes how to remove the ripples, but you’ll have to have a metal bending form to use his method. With 2 photos.

Top and Back Joints

1978
DS#99   LW p.101            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Build a simple shooting board to make plate joints with a plane, then use one of 3 tried-and-true forms of clamping workboards to glue them together.

The Design Diamond

1978
DS#100               read this article
Dan-Neil McCrimmon                                                                                           

▪ The basic idea behind this geometry jazz is to have the elements of design organized in such a way as to give a sense of cohesion to the total design.

Meet the Maker: Robert Lundberg

1978
GALQ Vol.6#1 p.10   BRB2 p.78            
Kent Rayman   Aggie Rayman   Robert Lundberg                                                                                   

▪ Lundberg is a classic example of a man who couldn’t fit into any of the slots society tried to force him into, yet who went on to become an important individual in his field. Lute players of the world couldn’t be happier about it. With 4 photos.

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

Six Un-invented Instruments

1978
GALQ Vol.6#1 p.16               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Olsen dreams up six new instruments. Decades later, he still has not built them. Admittedly,the teepee-gurdy would be a bit of a project.

Two Ancient Guitars

1978
DS#82               read this article
Don Alfieri                                                                                           

▪ Two photographs by Schuab photo: a German guitar from the early 1800s and an American guitar signed and dated Schmidt and Maul, 1844, New York.

Razor Scrapers

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.

Routing Rosette Slots

1978
DS#69   LT p.61            
John Spence                                                                                           

▪ Spence uses sub-bases for his router to make rosette cavities. The sub-bases are drilled with holes that fit over a pin mounted in the center of what will be the soundhole.

French Polishing with Qualasole

1978
DS#73               
Paul Estenson                                                                                           

▪ While the traditional French polish method uses shellac and oil, with olive oil as a lubricant, qualasole is a relatively new finish material that is almost complete by itself and also seems more durable than shellac.

Calfskin Banjo Head

1978
DS#76   BRB2 p.244            
Kirk Hogan                                                                                           

▪ Mounting a skin head on a banjo has become a lost art. Here’s how to do it. Includes 4 drawings.

Lining Strips

1978
DS#77   LT p.101            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Table saw jig to evenly cut kerfs in rectangular strips of lining.

Guitar Outline Formula

1978
DS#79               read this article
Leo Bidne                                                                                           

▪ The determining factors besides the obvious ones for making a guitar the shape that it is and a possible formula that produces an ideal outline.

1977 Convention coverage

1977
GALQ Vol.5#3 p.16               
Staff                                                                                            

▪ Photos, lists, and captions about the GAL’s fourth national convention.

Novice Notes

1977
GALQ Vol.5#3 p.29               read this article
Donald Curry                                                                                           

▪ The final step in the making of an instrument is the finish, which includes preparation of the wood, applying material, and final polishing.

Evolution of the Classic Guitar- A Tentative Outline

1977
GALQ Vol.5#4 p.12               
Wilfrid-M. Appleby                                                                                           

▪ Parts 4, 5, and 6 of this series from the old Guitar News magazine of England. You can find it at www.digitalguitararchive.com/2019/11/guitar-news

Harpsichords: Reconstructing an Era

1977
GALQ Vol.5#4 p.29               read this article
Byron Will                                                                                           

▪ The music of the renaissance and baroque has undergone a rebirth in the 20th century, with musicians and makers attempting to rediscover the high level of art that was reached.

Foam Cases

1978
DS#62               read this article
Reagan Cole                                                                                           

▪ These paper-styrene laminates are very strong and make good forms for laminating forms in vacuum presses.

Spraying Lacquer With Nitrogen

1978
DS#64   BRB1 p.373            read this article
Harry Coleman                                                                                           

▪ If you’re hurting for space or can’t yet afford a compressor, you may find that spraying with a tank of nitrogen makes sense. You may find that it makes sense no matter what, depending on the volume of your finish work.

Bandsaw Dust Collector

1978
DS#65   LT p.88            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Machine manufacturers have become hip to the health problems that accompany the use of their equipment, and most incorporate dust collection ports into their new machines. This was hardly the case in the old days, and there are still tons of old machines in use. If you have one you are responsible for your own health, and thus the modification of your machine. The author’s ideas can be adapted to almost any bandsaw.

Lining Cutting Jig

1978
DS#68   LT p.88            
William Spigelsky                                                                                           

▪ Use this bandsaw jig to cut rectangular stock into triangular unkerfed lining blanks. This tip is confusing until you realize that the box is a permanent part of the jig, and that the jig should be clamped to the saw table. The binding stock is fed through, and supported by, the box.

Balanced Steel Drum Variation

1977
DS#48   LT p.73            
Kent Rayman                                                                                           

▪ Again, this is a variation in the Ruck-Brune sander. You need to read all these articles before beginning construction of your sander in order to avoid mistakes that others have already made.

A Laminated Neck Design

1977
DS#50   LW p.112            read this article
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Necks fashioned from one hunk of wood are beautiful but wasteful. Laminated designs intended to conserve the most wood are often considered unsightly, so Olsen tackled the problem with a laminated design that offers the prettiest wood, the highest strength, and that makes the installation of a curved truss rod a snap.Pretty cool. With 7 drawings.

Beizes, Collies and Potassium Dichromate

1977
DS#52               read this article
Jeffrey-R. Elliott                                                                                           

▪ Potassium dichromate is the base of ‘beizes’ and ‘collies’ which are commonly used by European luthiers to give that nice brown ‘aged’ look to lighter woods.

Potassium Dichromate, Oxalic Acid, and Carnauba Wax

1977
DS#55   BRB1 p.36            read this article
Jeffrey-R. Elliott                                                                                           

▪ Various chemicals have been used for centuries to color (or de-color) wood. Fiddle makers are hip to tons of these, but Elliott describes a couple that he finds useful on his guitars. He also advocates lubricating tools and work surfaces with carnauba wax, which will not contaminate your wood.

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

Repair Shop Survival

1977
GALQ Vol.5#1 p.5               
S.L. Mossman                                                                                           

▪ Problems in these areas are the main reasons for small shops having a difficult time making ends meet; location, personnel management, and dealing with professional people.

Novice Notes

1977
GALQ Vol.5#1 p.11               
Donald Curry                                                                                           

▪ The subject of molds is one which the novice might approach with some apprehension, but is an integral part of lutherie.

Joe Chromey on the Catgut Acoustical Society

1977
GALQ Vol.5#2 p.10               
Joe Chromey                                                                                           

▪ The Catgut Acoustical Society was founded in 1963 by the late Frederick A. Saunders, formerly professor of physics at Harvard University.

Evolution of the Classic Guitar- A Tentative Outline

1977
GALQ Vol.5#3 p.6               
Wilfrid-M. Appleby                                                                                           

▪ This lengthy article originally appeared in a six part version in Guitar News, which has long since ceased publication. But you can find it at www.digitalguitararchive.com/2019/11/guitar-news.

Son of Scrutiny

1976
GALQ Vol.4#2 p.20               
John Roberts   Robert Venn   Scott Thompson                                                                                   

▪ Response to the article, ‘Scrutiny: Roberto-Venn School of Lutherie’, which may have presented a very unfair picture of school activities.

An Interview with Jeffrey R. Elliott

1976
GALQ Vol.4#3 p.6               
Kent Rayman   Jeffrey-R. Elliott                                                                                       

▪ Elliott discusses his teacher Richard Schneider, opening his own shop in Michigan, and classical guitars.

Steam Injector

1977
DS#42               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Tim Olsen’s primitive steam injector was made from an oil can.

Guitar Sound Criteria

1977
DS#44   BRB2 p.200            
Thomas Knatt                                                                                           

▪ Knatt discusses the elements of classical guitar construction that help create the sound he is after, such as thinning the top, the characteristics of the action and saddle, accuracy of fret placement, and the effects of brace shaving. Mentions Carleen Hutchins.

Tuning the Guitar

1977
DS#45   BRB1 p.288            
Ian Noyce                                                                                           

▪ ‘Bet you thought you knew how to tune a guitar. Some are fussier than others, right? Noyce explains that fussiness, and by examining the fussiness it can in part be designed out of the guitar. On the other hand, part of the problem is psycho-fussiness, meaning that you have to tune to suit the peculiarities of human hearing. They say that horses have perfect pitch, so tuning up must be much less of a chore for them.

Flamenco Capo

1977
DS#46   BRB2 p.25            
Don Alfieri                                                                                           

▪ Flamenco guitars are very light in weight, and a conventional capo could unbalance them and even change their sustain. This all-wood capo should correct the problem.

Hangers for Spraying

1976
DS#24               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Utilizing 12 gauge plastic coated copper wire to hang an object for spraying with lacquer and other finishes.

Torch and Pipe Bending Iron

1976
DS#25   LT p.10            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Four variations on the propane torch and water pipe.

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

Lead Filled Beer Can

1976
DS#25   LT p.11            
Dick DeNeve                                                                                           

▪ The best thing you can do with a beer can is empty it. The next best thing might be to put a heating element in the empty can and then fill it with lead to make a bending iron.

Fret Spacing Template

1976
DS#27   LT p.4            
Tom Peterson                                                                                           

▪ Lay out one fret scale accurately, then very quickly plot the fret positions for any larger scale length with no math or measuring tools.

Gibson Banjo

1976
DS#28               read this article
Tom Morgan                                                                                           

▪ Recent popularity of the banjo and need for dissemination of bits of info have prompted this writing, in which the topics, types of shell, wood rim construction, tone rings, adjustment of string height, and correcting neck wrap are discussed.

Pearl Inlay

1976
DS#29               read this article
John Thierman                                                                                           

▪ Inlay is the process by which one substance is inserted into a background, then sanded off flush, creating a pattern within the background substance.

Neck Supporting Device

1976
DS#30               
Leo Bidne                                                                                           

▪ The function of this portable tool is to hold a guitar stationary and support the neck while fret leveling.

Tool Steel

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.

Sheet Copper Oval

1976
DS#33   LT p.11            
Lawrence Lundy   W. Daum                                                                                       

▪ Roll up a thick tube of copper and shoot a propane torch into the back of it. that’s yet another way to make a bending iron.

Bridge Plate Repair

1976
DS#34               
John Thierman                                                                                           

▪ The tops of many older flat-top steel string guitars will bulge up at the bridge due to the high tension of the steel strings.

Intro To P.E.G.

1976
DS#35               read this article
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ PEG is a chemical that resembles Paraffin, is non-toxic, non-corrosive, colorless and odorless, and when applied to wood, greatly improves the dimensional stability and eliminates splitting and warp problems.

A Harpsichord Primer

1976
DS#36               
E.O. Witt                                                                                           

▪ This comprehensive article first appeared in The Journal of the Audio Engineers Society, October 1975.

Ruck-Brune Sanding Machine

1976
DS#37   LT p.70            
Derek Iverson                                                                                           

▪ Iverson’s was the first report on a truly useful shop-made thickness sander at a time when there were no inexpensive commercial units to be had.

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

Alexander Illitch Eppler

1976
GALQ Vol.4#1 p.8               read this article
Kent Rayman   Alexander-I. Eppler                                                                                       

▪ Seattle-born Alexander Illitch Eppler is an established virtuoso, and a maker and player of balkan end-blown flutes.

String Metals and Windings

1975
DS#17   BRB2 p.105            
Joseph Valentich                                                                                           

▪ The scale of instrument and string tension, string materials and string winding, core wire and wrapping wire size, and acoustic and electric strings for application to ethnic fretted instruments.

Tamburitzas

1975
DS#18               read this article
Nick Hayden                                                                                           

▪ A rundown on the Tamuritza family, which came first from Yugoslavia, from the smallest Prim (transposing instrument) to the Brach (alto member) to the Berda (bass member).

Resophonic Guitars

1975
DS#20               
Robert-F. Gear                                                                                           

▪ Since the late 60s the national metal-bodied guitars and Dobros have become one of the hottest items among collectors, blues players, and bluegrass enthusiasts alike.

1902 Martin

1975
DS#21               read this article
Anonymous                                                                                           

▪ This pair of informative pictures was contributed to the Guild by a repairman of long experience and excellent reputation.

Manuel Davila: Renaissance Man

1975
GALNL Vol.3#2 p.1   BRB2 p.61            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ Hutting happens across Manuel Davila in Guatemala City, who builds guitars that are completely original and do not follow tradition in construction and decoration.

Pilgrimage to Cheltenham

1975
GALNL Vol.3#2 p.10               
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ A visit to the Applebys in Cheltenham on the occasion of their publication, Guitar News, coming to an end. You can find Guitar News at www.digitalguitararchive.com/2019/11/guitar-news.

1975 Convention coverage

1975
GALNL Vol.3#3               read this article
Staff                                                                                            

▪ The 1975 GAL Convention was a small event by any standard, but it set the pattern for the successful GAL Conventions which followed. It had embreonic forms of the features of a modern convention: exhibition, lectures, demos, concerts. R.E. Brune hosted it at Northwestern University.

Presses Roll at Vetus Pigmentum

1975
GALNL Vol.3#5,6 p.3               
Staff                                                                                           

▪ The GAL purchased a very-used AB Dick offset press which they used for years to print the Guild’s publications.

Luthiers Library

1975
GALNL Vol.3#5,6 p.17               read this article
Frederick Battershell                                                                                           

▪ The Successful Craftsman: Making Your Craft Your Business by Alex Bealer, is a book that promises a great deal and delivers nothing of lasting value, thus betraying its author’s profession, advertising.

Museum Services for Luthiers

1975
GALNL Vol.3#5,6 p.19   BRB2 p.48            
Laurence Libin                                                                                           

▪ Luthiers who deal in restoration and re-creation of old instruments may find that museums may harbor help that is otherwise unavailable, and you may not have to visit the museum to avail yourself of its services. Libin discusses what museums are usually prepared to do to help researchers, and how to deal with museums when you need their help.

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

Epitaph for a Luthier: Miguel Company

1975
GALNL Vol.3#5,6 p.25   BRB2 p.23            
H.E. Huttig                                                                                           

▪ A number of builders impacted the lutherie scene simply by keeping the craft alive during the dark days of the ’50s and early ’60s, even though they are all but forgotten today. Company fled Castro’s Cuba to Florida, where he made all manner of guitars and Latin instruments.

Luthiers Whimsy

1975
GALNL Vol.3#5,6 p.30               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Three illustrated humorous poems that will only mean anything to luthiers.

FoMRHI is Born

1975
GALNL Vol.3#5,6 p.33               
Jeremy Montagu                                                                                           

▪ The Fellowship of Makers and Researchers of Historic Instruments (FoMRHI) is a Brittish organization which formed shortly after the GAL. They are still in business as of 2016.

Questionnaire Results

1975
DS#5               
Bob Petrulis                                                                                           

▪ Of the 68 responses to the luthier questionnaire, 13 claimed to be amateurs, 24 part time professionals, and 23 professionals.

Glue for Inlay

1975
DS#7               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Use fine wood dust and epoxy for inlay. Duh. But this was 1975, and the first time anybody said it in print.

Spruce Patches

1975
DS#7               
Leo Bidne                                                                                           

▪ Quick and dirty patch for spruce.

French Polish Part 1

1975
DS#8               
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ An elaboration on the French polish portion of the finishes data sheet, by popular demand.

Soundboards

1975
DS#9   LW p.16            read this article
David Sturgill                                                                                           

▪ The function of the soundboard in any musical instrument is to convert the mechanical energy produced by the strings to sound waves in the atmosphere.

Electronic Aiding of Stringed Instrument Sound

1975
DS#10               read this article
R.W. Burhans                                                                                           

▪ Information and resources for string-sound transducers, low power audio, amplifiers, electronic filters, resonant boxes, and parts and supplies.

French Polish Part 2

1975
DS#12               
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ French polishing, after mixing and properly preparing the shellac as per the instructions in the last installment.

Charlie Christian Pickup

1975
DS#13   BRB2 p.19            
Doc Kauffman                                                                                           

▪ One of the pioneers of the solidbody guitar gives a brief description of one of the first successful pickups, complete with 3 full-scale drawings of the pickup and a sketch of its flux pattern compared to a more contemporary pickup.

Splicing on a New Peghead

1975
DS#14   LW p.114            
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Sometimes a peghead break is so traumatic that the best plan is just to toss the old one in the trash and start over. Here’s how (using mostly hand tools), and don’t be surprised if the rebuilt neck is better than the original. With 13 illustrations.

Basic Guitar Electronics

1975
DS#15               
Bob Petrulis                                                                                           

▪ The first of a series of articles on basic instrument electronics, this time covering magnetic pickups, transducer pickups, contact mics, volume and tone controls, and soldering.

French Polish Part 3 (Conclusion)

1975
DS#16               
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ After initial finish application, the surface of the instrument will appear rough and unrefined, therefore it is necessary to rub out the finish to produce a perfect surface, then apply the final polish.

The American Luthier: A New Era

1973
GALNL Vol.1#1 p.1               read this article
J.R. Beall                                                                                           

▪ A growing number of intelligent people are looking for work that is individual, creative, challenging, and fulfilling in the stringed instrument world.

Sketchy Diagram of the Amazing Ruck-ReBrune Sanding Machine

1973
GALNL Vol.1#1 p.3               
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ The first mention of an abrasive planer in our literature. We eventually printed a lot of suggestions for different versions.

Review: The Modern Harpsichord by Wolfgang Joachim Zuckerman

1973
GALNL Vol.1#1 p.4               read this article
J.R. Beall                                                                                           

▪ The Modern Harpsichord by Wolfgang Joachim Zuckermann is a large, well illustrated, intelligently written and edited volume that lists and comments of most of the known makers of today.

Finishes

1974
DS#3               read this article
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ As a hobby, Brune has collected many obscure and archaic recipies for varnishes and other potions, which he discusses here.

Calculating Fret Scales

1974
DS#4   LW p.104            read this article
Bob Petrulis                                                                                           

▪ The author gives you the math to lay out the frets for any scale length and demonstrates how to use a computer spread sheet to do the same operation a lot faster. With a drawing and two charts.

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

A Few Notes on Luthier’s Schools

1974
GALNL Vol.2#2 p.5               
Harry Misuriello                                                                                           

▪ Anyone wishing a formal and traditional luthier education, and its attendant seriousness, should investigate the following utilities.