2024
AL#152 p.22
Derek Porter
▪ A kid from Idaho finds himself enrolled in a rigorous instrument-making course situated in a story-book Great House in the English countryside. He leaps right into an ambitious project of building a large viol in the elaborate style of Joachim Tielke.
2024
AL#151 p.34
Joshua-Alexander French
▪ Imagine the fun of attending an intensive seminar where nine builders build fine classical guitars from scratch with an instructor whose strong background qualifies him to carry on the teaching work of Jose Romanillos. Now make the setting an authentic castle in Austria. With a gourmet restaurant. What a wonderful world. Mentions Tobias Braun, Jose Romanillos, Marian Harris Winspear, Santos Hernández, Alberto Martínez, Luise Walker, Miguel Llobet, Jeffrey Elliott.
2023
AL#148 p.71
Steve Kennel
▪ Kennel builds an electric aluminum bending iron. It’s sturdy. Like, you could plow a field with it.
2022
AL#146 p.2
Rich Jaouen
▪ The zinc in galvanized sheet steel can be safely used for bending guitar sides, contrary to widly distributed opinions.
2022
AL#145 p.58
Phil Ingber
▪ Mounting an electric bending iron in such a way that it pokes up out of a work surface helps you avoid a twist in the bent side. Mentions Ted Harlan, R.M. Mottola.
2021
AL#143 p.6
Federico Sheppard
▪ It is a story of mystery, dedication, and destiny. The wide-eyed young novitiate is mentored by oracles, sorcerers, and craftsmen until he finds his great quest and pursues it against all odds. To put it more plainly, but no more truthfully, it is the story of Federico Sheppard constructing a copy of FE08, the astonishingly elaborate early opus of the master luthier Antonio Torres Jurado. Mentions Nick Kukich, Ray Jacobs, Shel Urlik, Jose Romanillos, Richard Brune, Robert Ruck, Robert Lundberg, Abel Garcia Lopez, Nicolo Alessi.
2021
AL#143 p.56
Steve Dickerson
▪ The author hit on an unusual program for building his first uke. He bought a kit, but then set aside the good wood for a later build. He went to the lumberyard to buy cheap wood, then proceeded with reduced anxiety. Makes sense when you think about it. The humble uke came out fine.
2021
AL#142 p.52
Terence Warbey
▪ Not only does Warbey make the entire bending form and the outside mold from a single sheet, but the form pops apart like a Swedish Christmas ornament and stores flat in a plastic bag. Mentions Charles Fox and Mark French.
2020
AL#141 p.68
Terence Warbey
▪
2020
AL#141 p.7
Charles Fox Mark French
▪ In this episode of the landmark series, the back and top plates are braced and glued to the rim to form the body of the guitar. The body is then bound and purfled using Fox’ distinctive method of fitting everything dry, taping it in place, and running superglue into the seams.
2019
AL#138 p.65
Ralf Grammel
▪ Sometimes the bent binding needs a little more convincing to lie down at the waist than just a piece of tape. This easily-made set of jaws for a pistol-grip clamp gets teh job done.
2020
AL#139 p.26
Mark French Charles Fox
▪ If, some day, there is a Mt. Rushmore for the American Lutherie Boom, the ruggedly handsome face of Charles Fox will be boldly chisled in a place of honor. For over half a century he has led the way as developer and teacher of guitar-making methods and tooling. He is also a thoughtful and articulate philosopher of the craft, whose words will inspire luthiers yet unborn. Here’s the first in a series of four articles which will cover his process, and his thinking behind it, in detail.
2019
AL#136 p.54
Mark French
▪ Author Mark French has made a lot of guitars over the years, but when he wanted to up his game he attended an intensive two-week course by the dean of all American lutherie teachers, Charles Fox. Four students each built a guitar in the white from scratch and strung it up.
2017
AL#130 p.68
Sebastian Nunez Jan van-Cappelle
▪ How did the old boys make those multi-stave sides on Baroque guitars?
2017
AL#131 p.20
January Williams Peter Tsiorba
▪ Peter Tsiorba began his working life as a teenager making garments in a semi-legit Soviet cooperative. Today he’s a family man and a maker of classical guitars in the lutherie Mecca of Portland, Oregon.
2017
AL#129 p.6
Cyndy Burton Linda Manzer
▪ The prolific maker of high-end flattop and archtop guitars talks about her mentors Jean Larrivee and Jimmy D’Aquisto, the lutherie biz, her collaborations with guitarist Pat Metheny, and a recent project in cooperation with other Canadian luthiers. Also mentions Paul Simon.
2016
AL#128 p.32
Andrew Mowry
▪ Andrew Mowry was a one-man mandolin-making shop known for precise high-quality work. When he made the jump and brought a small but capable CNC mill into the mix, he was not trying to flood the market, but rather to further improve his work. All the tools and methods he shows here are well within reach; you don’t need to be a factory to afford it, and it won’t turn you into a factory if you try it. Mowry still runs a one-man shop known for precise high-quality work. From his 2014 convention workshop.
2012
AL#112 p.69
John Calkin
▪ Bending cocobolo using a Fox bender.
2011
AL#105 p.58 ALA2 p.56
Mark Roberts
▪ Mark Roberts’ take on the Fox Bender idea.
2010
AL#103 p.56 ALA2 p.40
John Calkin
▪ Huss & Dalton bend more sides than the average luthier, but fewer than Taylor or Martin. They do it by maximizing the effectiveness of the familiar Fox-style bender. The latest tricks include spring-steel sheets, brown paper, aluminum foil, and “the magic juice.”
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2010
AL#104 p.43 ALA2 p.52
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Lutherie icon Charles Fox speaking at the 2008 GAL convention on the genesis of his universal side bender and a few subsequent thoughts from his shop.
2009
AL#100 p.40 ALA5 p.68
Christian Steinert
▪ Building an early period Baroque era guitar replica believed to be the onetime property of Marie Antoinette.
2009
AL#98 p.48
John Calkin
▪ Calkin was inspired to write this by pleas from readers for more entry level stories. Dulcimers are needlessly maligned and in need of advocates, and the author is a strong one. Tools and jiggery are kept to a minimum to make construction as accessible as possible without hurting the integrity of the finished instrument. Beginning luthiers should stop complaining and get to work! With 31 photos.
2009
AL#98 p.68 ALA2 p.42
John Calkin Bob Taylor
▪ Possible differences in side bending in various wood families when using silicone heating blankets.
2007
AL#92 p.67 ALA2 p.42
John Calkin
▪ Using a dimmer and timer in an electrical circuit to control the temperature of a side bending heat blanket.
2007
AL#90 p.68 read this article
Daniel Fobert
▪ An automated, motorized fretwire radius roller; an exercise in elementary machining skills.
2007
AL#89 p.6 ALA1 p.10
Tim Shaw
▪ Shaw has worked for large guitar companies for decades. Currently with Fender, he runs an independent shop that makes prototype instruments for all the factories that fall under the Fender banner. He also does repairs on discontinued models where the factory equipment has been dismantled. Accomplishing one-off projects or small runs of parts is no different for a big company than for an independent luthier, they just have the luxury of big-budget equipment. Shaw’s methods of jigging up for parts manufacture incorporating speed and safety can be used by many one-off shops to hustle production and instrument development. Good stuff from one of the aces in the business. With 34 photos.
2005
AL#83 p.60 BRB7 p.500
Brian Yarosh
▪ A trash can steamer to correct wood bent in the wrong direction or orientation.
2004
AL#79 p.63 BRB7 p.469
Cyndy Burton
▪ Cautionary tidbits for bending African blackwood for the first time with a Fox side bender.
2004
AL#78 p.64 BRB7 p.226
John Calkin
▪ The author maintains that the safest way to bend a radical cutaway is to do it in two steps, both using an electric blanket. With 9 photos.
2004
AL#79 p.58 BRB7 p.234
R.M. Mottola
▪ An outside mold is one that the instrument under construction sits inside of. Weird, huh? The author has made changes to his molds that make them into side bending forms as well. Pretty cool. With 3 diagrams.
2003
AL#75 p.12 BRB7 p.416
Peggy Stuart Don MacRostie
▪ The author describes her mandolin making class with Red Diamond mandolin builder Don MacRostie, giving us a photo-heavy series that should be of practical use to anyone in the mandolin field regardless of their experience. The emphasis is on hand tools, though power tools are used to add efficiency. With 68 photos and 4 drawings, this is the first in a four-part series.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2003
AL#74 p.44 BRB7 p.70
Mike Doolin
▪ An evolution of the familiar Fox bender idea. Another example (two in one issue!) of Doolin’s genius for creating effective tools that any of us can build to fill a void in our shop routine. With 6 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2003
AL#73 p.65 BRB7 p.13
John Calkin
▪ Bending bubinga and other woods.
2002
AL#69 p.13 BRB6 p.288
John Calkin
▪ This is an examination of 17 varieties of wood not usually associated with guitars, their bending characteristics, and how they look. Calkin’s opinions about tonewood have proven to be pretty controversial, but this article may help if you are tired of the same old look on your instruments. With 19 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2001
AL#67 p.62 BRB6 p.81
Charles Fox
▪ Removing a few millimeters to compensate for the relaxation of the radii when the sides are removed on a Fox side bender.
2000
AL#63 p.59 BRB6 p.453
Gerald Sheppard
▪ A fairly simple jig that takes advantage of the elegant design of the Fox side bender.
1999
AL#58 p.60
Peter Dyer
▪ Universal side bender.
1999
AL#58 p.6 BRB5 p.262
Jay Hargreaves
▪ The final installment in the series, parts 1 & 2 were in AL#56 and #57, respectively. In this segment the sides are bent, the body is assembled and bound, the neck is fitted to the body, and attention is given to tuning the plates. Special consideration is given to making the adjustable bridges as well as Tom’s elegant ebony/graphite tailpiece. With 36 photos and a drawing.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#56 p.36 BRB5 p.262
Jay Hargreaves
▪ Ribbecke is a renowned maker of archtop guitars. He also opens his shop periodically to small classes that wish to learn his formula for successful and graceful guitars. Hargreaves attended one such week-long session and brought back the straight skinny for American Lutherie readers. Part 1 details the construction of a laminated maple neck and associated details. Part 2 follows in AL#57. With 29 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#56 p.64
John McCarthy
▪ Obtaining stainless steel sheets for the universal side bender.
1999
AL#57 p.6 BRB5 p.292
Jeff Huss Mark Dalton
▪ The H&D Guitar Company builds about 100 guitars per year, the great majority of them bound in wood. Here’s how they do it. With 13 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#55 p.60 BRB5 p.277
Peter Dyer Dennis Abbl
▪ Regarding stainless steel VS spring steel used for the universal (Charles Fox) side bender.
1998
AL#54 p.26 BRB5 p.198
Graham McDonald
▪ Advice about building an Irish instrument with a Greek name from an Australian in an American magazine. You could get jet lag just thinking about it. McDonald covers the construction of the entire instrument (his neck joint is really slick) but the focal point is his top construction. He steams thick flat plates in the oven and bends them into an arch until they set. After joining there is a minimum of carving yet to be done. All this is in the name of saving time and timber. With 9 photos and a pair of drawings.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#54 p.38 BRB5 p.127
John Calkin
▪ Inspired by his time spent at Fox’s American School of Lutherie, Calkin revamps his whole building procedure. Dished workboards turn out to be easy and cheap to make. Mando, uke, and dulcimer sides are bent with an electric silicone blanket. Molds are revamped. Speed and precision are in, drudgery is out (well, almost). Parts 1 and 2 were in American Lutherie #52 and #53, respectively. With 25 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1997
AL#52 p.12 BRB5 p.108
John Calkin
▪ The main thrust of Fox’s American School of Lutherie lies in teaching lone guitarmakers to make better instruments through more accurate tooling and in helping them become more commercially viable by increasing their production. Calkin attended one of Charles’ week-long Contemporary Guitar Making seminars and documented much of the hard info for American Lutherie readers. This segment concentrates on nearly 3 dozen jigs and fixtures that anyone can add to their lutherie arsenal, most of them adapted to power tools. With 57 photos. Parts 2 & 3 to follow.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1995
AL#42 p.63 BRB4 p.492
Martin Dumas
▪ Oven controls used for thermostatic temperature control of electric bending irons.
1994
AL#39 p.52 BRB4 p.482
Andres Sender
▪ A $40 design for an oval electric bending iron that can be built in a day from available materials.
1993
AL#36 p.50 BRB3 p.420 read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison Debbie Suran
▪ Two luthiers examine an alternative wood and find that their samples do not match each other, and that their research texts don’t match descriptions, either. Two chunks of wood point to a common problem for those who are driven to be different.
1993
AL#34 p.18 BRB3 p.328 read this article
George Borun
▪ Not many people make the mental leap from violins to the space age easily. Borun did, and found the connection useful. His list of uses extends far beyond bending the ribs.
1993
AL#33 p.36 BRB3 p.303
Wes Brandt
▪ A well-known repairman delivers eight tips, including an alternate way to bend a Venetian cutaway, tool tips, and a way to bend sides more accurately.
1992
AL#29 p.56 BRB3 p.480
Bill Garofalo
▪ Soaking guitars sides without resorting to vats and trays, using a piece of 4″ plastic pipe with a capped end, secured vertically to a wall or cabinet.
1991
AL#28 p.34 BRB3 p.126 ALA4 p.10
Phillip Lea Bob Taylor
▪ Few people in Guitarland are as outspoken and clear-headed as Bob Taylor. Others might say he’s just opinionated. He believes a good guitar is a good guitar, no matter if it was whittled by Gepeto or cranked out by a dozen computer-guided milling cutters. This article offers a peek into the Taylor factory and a guided tour through one man’s thoughts about the contemporary guitar. With 28 photos.
1991
AL#26 p.60 BRB3 p.464 read this article
C.F. Casey
▪ This British D.I.Y. book offers alternative diction, syntax, and approach to the material.
1991
AL#27 p.4 BRB3 p.80
Chris Brandt R.E. Brune Jeffrey-R. Elliott Richard Schneider Ervin Somogyi David Wilson
▪ A look inside the shops of six professional luthiers, featuring floor plans, tooling descriptions, notes on lighting and specialized machinery, and ideas about how work space can help (or hurt) your lifestyle. With a good Q&A segment and 63 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1991
AL#25 p.52 BRB3 p.30 read this article
Michael Keller
▪ Silicon heat blankets are good for more than bending sides. Keller touches upon other uses, but his instructions for making forms and putting them to use is the focus here, and they cover about all you need to know. Once you have the blanket, the forms are cheap to make.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1990
AL#24 p.38 BRB2 p.460
Bob Gleason
▪ A Hawaiian guitar maker passes on some of his tricks for the successful use of an indigenous wood. With 4 photos of his sidebending procedure.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
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.
1987
AL#10 p.59 BRB1 p.396
F.W. Fais
▪ Fais’ iron uses chromed pipe—must be very pretty. A simple and cheap tool, even if you don’t already have a heat gun.
1987
AL#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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
1983
DS#255 LT p.11
Tom Mathis
▪ Heat small pieces of binding on a laundry iron.
1983
DS#232 LT p.54
Duane Waterman
▪ Side-bending form is made from the waste of the mold.
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.
1982
DS#213 LT p.8
Ted Davis
▪ Uses a hot water heater element. A bit of the work is jobbed out to a machine shop.
1979
DS#122 BRB2 p.108
Dick DeNeve
▪ A method for coping with grain irregularities in curly maple which cause small radius bends.
1979
DS#117 LT p.12
Hugh Manhart
▪ Bend sides on a cold form after boiling them, but add heat to the form to dry them quickly.
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.
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.
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.
1976
DS#25 LT p.12
Tim Olsen
▪ There is probably a heat element that you can find locally and adapt for the purpose.
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.