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.
2023
AL#150 p.69
Steve Kennel
▪ Make try squares and bevel squares with clear-plastic blades.
2023
AL#150 p.70
Steve Kennel
▪ Easy alignment for guitar mold halves.
2023
AL#150 p.70
Terence Warbey
▪ No-slip scarf joint clamping.
2023
AL#150 p.68
Paul Dzatko
▪ Apply superglue with a quill pen that you made from a Q-tip.
2023
AL#150 p.44
William-T. Crocca
▪ A group of mature woodworkers set themselves the challenge of designing and presenting a two-day class in which kids and families can build a StewMac uke kit. It involved setting up twenty workstations. The class was a success, and everyone went home with a strung uke in the white.
2023
AL#149 p.42
John Calkin
▪ One operation at a time, Calkin is showing us how to make ukes in a direct and effective way. Its all done by one worker with simple tools in a small space. Here he shows us how to get the back onto the ribs quickly and accurately, with no cleanup needed.
2023
AL#149 p.67
Harry Fleishman
▪ Warm up that brown paper tape with a hair dryer before you pull it off. Softens it up and makes it less likely to tear out wood fibers. Thats a simple thing.
2023
AL#149 p.69
Dan Alexander
▪ Gravity: Friend or enemy? Friend, if you flip the rim after gluing in the lining.
2023
AL#149 p.71
Danl Brazinski
▪ It’s like a little square bag on the end of a blood-pressure squeezie bulb. It’s made for helping you hang a door all by your lonesome. Also works as a lutherie clamp. Life is just one work-around after another.
2023
AL#148 p.22
Karl Hoyt
▪ Hoyt stumbled upon a small and distressed old instrument that turned out to be made by a founding father of the authentic ukulele. Mentions Augusto Dias, Jose do Espirito Santo, Jim Tranquada.
2023
AL#148 p.67
Harry Fleishman
▪ The very basics of using that brown paper binding tape. Because it is OK to be a beginner.
2022
AL#146 p.70
Graham McDonald
▪ Make a simple jig to get double duty from a strip of ivoroid binding material.
2022
AL#146 p.26
John Calkin
▪ David Thormahlen started making many kinds of string instruments in the woodshop in college, and then made a strategic decision to focus his lutherie career on lever harps. It all worked out well, and he still makes guitars, mandolins, and bouzoukis in addition to the harps. He shows us some of his gluing fixtures which involve bicycle inner tubes; some stretched, some inflated.
2022
AL#145 p.4
Michael Bashkin
▪ Bashkin ornaments his pegheads and end grafts with marquetry combined with thin, free-flowing veneer lines. He shows us in detail how he accomplishes some of these effects, including scorching decorative pieces in hot sand.
2022
AL#145 p.16
Jeffrey-R. Elliott
▪ Elliott is best known for his long career of making classical guitars of the highest quality, but he has also undertaken some major restorations of important historic instruments. Here he reviews three projects and shares thoughts about his approach. Mentions Jose Romanillos, Hermann Hauser Sr., Antonio de Torres, Francisco Tarrega, Francisco Gonzalez, Peter Radcliff.
2022
AL#145 p.68
Dan Alexander
▪ A simple and non-toxic recipe for glue remover. You probably have the ingredients in your kitchen right now.
2021
AL#144 p.66
John Calkin
▪ Online video lutherie instruction has come of age. Our reviewer John Calkin is a veteran luthier and a fan of lutherie videos from way back in the VHS days. He gives this course a strong reccomendation.
2021
AL#144 p.70
Dan Alexander
▪ Prebend rosette rings the cheap and easy way, with a hair dryer.
2021
AL#144 p.71
John Calkin
▪ You might decide to cram sawdust into those nice freshly-cut fret slots. Sounds weird? It’s so you can wax the board before fretting and not get wax into the slots.
2021
AL#144 p.24
Federico Sheppard
▪ Federico Sheppard completes his uncompromising copy of FE08, the elaborate early opus of the master luthier Antonio Torres Jurado. Beautifully figured wood and excruciatingly detailed marquetry come together and receive a French polish finish. Mentions Jose Romanillos, Marian Romanillos, Eugene Clark, and Robert Ruck.
2021
AL#142 p.58
Bob Gleason
▪ A big honkin’ C clamp for pressing home a dovetail joint can be easily built from plywood, wood scrap, cork, and a commercially available press screw. It can just as well be pretty, because that’s fun. And if you don’t see what’s fun about it, maybe lutherie is not for you.
2020
AL#141 p.67
Steve Dickerson
▪
2020
AL#141 p.68
Terence Warbey
▪
2020
AL#141 p.71
Kerry Char
▪
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.
2020
AL#140 p.2
Stephen Marchione
▪ The braces in an archtop guitar are very similar to the bars in fiddles, and Marchione fits them with the same traditional techniques. The mating surface of the brace is roughed out with a chisel, then refined with a small plane, and perfected with files and scrapers. Chalk shows the whole truth of the fit. Believe the chalk.
2020
AL#140 p.20
Mark French Charles Fox
▪ Building a Charles Fox guitar reveals the beautifully developed interdependence between the design and the process. In this episode we rough out the neck, work with the unusual neck block and the distinctive two-part lining, and then brace the top and back plates.
2019
AL#138 p.63
Gregg Miller
▪ A throw-away garment clamp from the dry-cleaning place happens to be a fine thing for clamping kerfed lining into a guitar.
2020
AL#139 p.42
Erick Coleman Evan Gluck
▪ Erick and Evan (the two Es) are back with more helpful hints for the guitar repair shop. Some of the things they show are nicely developed professional tools, like for leveling frets while the guitar is still under string tension. Then there’s a diagnostic tool that is just a stick, a guitar string, and a salvaged tuning machine. If you think that’s gronk, how about the tool that Evan calls “my string.” It’s just a string. Not even a guitar string. Mentions gluing frets, DeoxIT, WD40, tri-Flow, slotting bridge pins, regluing bridges, fret nipper, notching fret tang, Matt Brewster, fret leveler bar, StewMac, Stewart-MacDonald, bridge removal, shark skin, fret rocker, fret leveler. From their workshop at the 2017 GAL Convention.
2019
AL#138 p.20
Mark French
▪ Author Mark French is walking the lutherie path in the reverse direction of many makers. As a physics prof trained in the crazy magic of CNC and industrial robot processes, he had made a lot of guitars before he did much in the way of traditional low-tech hand-tool work. As part of an intensive effort to fill in those gaps, he attended an eight-day course at Robbie O’Brien’s shop in Colorado to make a flamenco guitar with Spanish luthier and licensed bloodless toreador Paco Chorobo. O’Brien went to Spain and visited Paco’s shop in 2015. Read all about it in AL124.
2019
AL#136 p.69
James Blilie
▪ How much clamping force do different types of clamps exert? Blilie shows us how to calculate the force for some kinds of clamps, and comments about how much force is enough.
2019
AL#137 p.22
Cyndy Burton Joshia de-Jonge
▪ Joshia de Jonge was a sensation at the 1998 GAL Convention when, as a young female luthier, she brought a nicely-made and fine sounding instrument to the classical guitar listening session. It helped to have grown up in a guitar-making family. And now that she has left her parents’ home and shop, she is raising guitar-making sons. Mentions Geza Burghardt; Linda Manzer; Sergei de Jonge; Eric Sahlin.
2019
AL#136 p.65
Steve Dickerson
▪ A table saw can fuction as a jig to clamp top and back plates while joining their center seams.
2019
AL#136 p.65
Peter Grafton
▪ A shallow secondary outside form can be helpful for making cutaway guitars.
2019
AL#136 p.65
Doug Berch
▪ Inexpensive golden taklon paint brushes are great for glue.
2019
AL#136 p.12
Kerry Char
▪ A cool old Gibson-era Epiphone guitar got well and truly smashed in an incident involving large and excited dogs. Better call Char! Kerry Char, that is. He jumps right in to remove the top, take off the braces, and then put the whole thing back together and polish it up nice before you can say “Kalamazoo!” From his 2017 GAL Convention slide show.
2019
AL#136 p.52
Harry Fleishman
▪ Many years ago, innovative classical guitar maker Richard Schneider made instruments with frets made of rod stock set in wide saw kerfs. Fleishman updates the idea by having round-bottomed slots cut by CNC and laying in Delrin rod.
2018
AL#134 p.66
Steve Kennel
▪ Make a wooden screwdriver for use on nice, shiny guitars.
2018
AL#134 p.69
Luis-Alberto Paredes-Rodriguez
▪ Is it bad to cut into the lining when routing a binding channel? Paredes says no it’s actually a good thing. He shows how he does it, and says that in this he is a follower of the late Arthur Overholtzer.
2018
AL#134 p.69
Eugene Thordahl
▪ How do they test for hide glue gram strength? It’s actually kinda technical and involves expensive lab gear. But Thordahl tells us how to get a good estimate the easy way.
2018
AL#135 p.4
Charles Rufino
▪ Here’s a close look at the process of setting a violin neck. No innovative tools or new miracle adhesives here; just good old-fashioned methodical, careful work with traditional toos and designs. From his workshop at the 2017 GAL Convention.
2018
AL#135 p.30
Kerry Char
▪ Kerry Char sawed the top off an old Gibson flattop in front of a group of several dozen luthiers at the 2017 GAL Convention. And within the same hour he pried the back off a Knutsen harp guitar. Step by step photos.
2018
AL#135 p.65
Brent Benfield
▪ Use Post-it notes to accurately position braces for gluing, and simplify the removal of squeezed-out glue.
2018
AL#133 p.69
Harry Fleishman
▪ Sources for specialty adhesive tapes.
2018
AL#133 p.71
Cyndy Burton
▪ Trouble with hide glue raising soundboard grain around a bridge.
2018
AL#133 p.71
James Buckland
▪ Trouble with hide glue raising soundboard grain around a bridge.
2017
AL#132 p.68
Jim Wimmer
▪ I have some old unlabeld hide glue; how can I tell if it is any good?
2017
AL#132 p.68
Tom Harper
▪ I have some old unlabeld hide glue; how can I tell if it is any good?
2017
AL#132 p.71
Cat Fox
▪ Experienced guitar repairer Cat Fox gives a big thumbs-up to Glooboost products for drop fills on lacquer. Well, her thumbs are not that big. Just regular.
2017
AL#131 p.53
James Blilie
▪ Unless you are really messing it up, the glue line is stronger than the wood. And here’s more numbers to prove it. Blilie uses real lab gear and standard statistical analysis to drive the lesson home.
2017
AL#131 p.58
Kjell Croce
▪ Everybody has seen them; those cracks on the tops of old Martins that form just south of the soundhole when the pickguard shrinks. Croce shows us how to close and reinforce the crack, and then make a well-behaved modern pickguard.
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#131 p.50
James Condino
▪ Pop goes the soundpost! Can this affordable old Kay bull fiddle be saved? Plywood-doghouse bass specialist James Condino shows us how.
2017
AL#129 p.68
Pete Daigle Reg Beardsley
▪ Make water-slide decals using specially prepared paper and the right brand of color laser printer. Plus a description of how one could make traditional water-slide decals in the old-school way, that is, by silk screening.
2016
AL#128 p.66
Terence Warbey
▪ Glue temporary tabs onto your guitar plates to align them during construction.
2017
AL#129 p.24
James Condino
▪ Condino has developed a clever process by which he can string and play a new mandolin very early in the building process. This makes voicing much more accurate,a nd it reduces the risk of experimental materials and bracing patterns considerably. Must see to believe. Mentions the work of Lloyd Loar at the Gibson company in the 1920s.
2017
AL#129 p.38
Steve Denvir Dave Collins
▪ Dave Collins is a rising star on the guitar repair scene. Take a look at a couple of nice jigs he has developed; one for slotting saddles, one for regluing broken headstocks. Interestingly, he is in the same Ann Arbor third-storey shop previously tenanted by Herb David. Dave counts Dan Erlewine and Bryan Galloup among his mentors.
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.
2008
AL#93 p.10
Jonathon Peterson Robert Ruck
▪ Ruck has been one of the bright lights among American classical guitar makers for a long time, and this lengthy interview not only shows him to be a fascinating individual with an interesting history, but dwells at some length on the development of his guitars and the bracing patterns and other features he has evolved. Among his influences are Juan Mercadal, John Shaw, Hart Huttig, Neil Ostberg, and Manuel Barrueco. With 24 photos and a bracing diagram.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2007
AL#92 p.8 ALA5 p.30
Eugene Clark
▪ An American master of the classical guitar explains how he builds using the solera, a workboard with a radius scraped into the body area to provide a slightly arched top.Clark places a strong emphasis on proper layout and hand tools. With 25 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2006
AL#87 p.58
Mike Tagawa
▪ This product removes beaded and smeared dry glue from most any surface with damaging the underlayment. The reviewer says it works. With 11 photos.
2005
AL#84 p.50 BRB7 p.412
John Calkin
▪ Resurrection isn’t so much about true restoration as in making a dilapidated instrument function again in a manner that the owner can afford. Time-saving procedures are permitted that a restorationist wouldn’t dream of, but preserving the instrument as much as possible is still the goal. With 12 photos.
2005
AL#82 p.69 BRB7 p.499
Barry Irvin
▪ Filling oral-dosing syringes with leftover glue, using the supplied caps and putting them in the freezer for small doses in future jobs.
2005
AL#83 p.18 BRB7 p.364
Jeffrey-R. Elliott
▪ Restoring famous instruments is a tricky business. If they are also old, well-played, and abused by poor storage facilities the work becomes a cross between knowledge, craft, and art. Elliott goes where few of us would care to travel, explaining every step of restoration as he goes. Perhaps as important is what he doesn’t do. The ethics of restoration is a foundation of the story. With 42 photos as well as a 2-page spread of GAL full-size plan #52.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2005
AL#82 p.66 BRB7 p.431
Bill Hunter
▪ The toxicity of U.F.O. (user friendly odorless) cyanoacrylate glue made by Satellite City, makers of Hot Stuff.
2004
AL#80 p.65 BRB7 p.496
Dale Randall
▪ With this arrangement, fresh glue can be injected straight from the bottle through plastic tubing which terminates in a brass ink holder from a ballpoint pen which serves as an injection needle.
2004
AL#78 p.68 BRB7 p.492
Michael Breid
▪ Making a brace prop gauge from a dowel, brass tubing, and scrap dowel for the knob.
2004
AL#79 p.6 BRB7 p.206
R.E. Brune
▪ In a sense Brune is laying down the law for successful classical guitar making. Much of it will be useful to any builder, and all of it is interesting because Brune is an interesting man who has his thoughts together. Not to mention that he’s a heck of a luthier with a deep background in the history of his craft. With 30 photos and 8 diagrams. Mentions Santos Hernandez, Marcelo Barbaro, Ignacio Fleta, Hermann Hauser, Sr.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2004
AL#79 p.63 BRB7 p.252
Frank Ford
▪ Effectiveness of making a batch of hide glue, freezing it in ice cube trays, then microwaving it to thaw each cube as needed.
2003
AL#76 p.42 BRB7 p.128
Tom Harper
▪ The author went to the American School of Lutherie where he learned the Fox style of binding from Fox associate Cameron Carr. The binding is completely taped in place while dry, then glued in after everything fits just right. Just one more example of how modern materials have improved the quality of lutherie. With 9 photos.
2003
AL#75 p.12 BRB7 p.416
Peggy Stuart Don MacRostie
▪ The author describes her mandolin making class with Red Diamond mandolin builder Don MacRostie, giving us a photo-heavy series that should be of practical use to anyone in the mandolin field regardless of their experience. The emphasis is on hand tools, though power tools are used to add efficiency. With 68 photos and 4 drawings, this is the first in a four-part series.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
2003
AL#73 p.40 BRB7 p.2
John Calkin
▪ Everyone develops little work habits or adopts minor tools that together make a big difference in their work and the pleasure they find in it. This is one man’s collection of odds and ends that changed the quality and quantity of his work. With 15 photos.
2001
AL#67 p.42 BRB6 p.258
John Calkin
▪ Some instruments aren’t worth repairing because their value is less than the cost of the repair work. Unless, that is, you resort to superglue and a bit of trickery. On the cuatro used in the example a tailpiece is used along with the stock bridge to prevent steel strings from tearing the bridge off the top again. With 8 photos.
2001
AL#65 p.10 BRB6 p.82
Paul Schuback
▪ Schuback learned violin making in a small shop in France during the ’60s. This segment of his 1995 convention workshop lecture covers completing the plates and fitting the neck, fingerboard, nut, and soundpost to the body. There’s lots of local French color, old tools, and old ways presented here, as well as a bit of how the violin has changed since the days of the first Italian masters. Part One appeared in AL#63. With 33 photos, a diagram, and a sequence chart for building a violin.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
2001
AL#65 p.22 BRB6 p.210
John Calkin
▪ The dished workboard can make it easier to make better guitars. Calkin reveals several ways to make them more versatile, more accurate, and more fun to use. With 13 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#60 p.49 BRB5 p.398
Mike Wilson
▪ The toxicity of cyanoacrylate (CA) glues.
1999
AL#60 p.52
Cyndy Burton
▪ This column updates several source lists that have appeared in past issues. If you need it to build instruments, you should find a supplier here.
1999
AL#59 p.22 BRB5 p.332
Jonathon Peterson George Majkowski Boaz Elkayam
▪ George Majkowski and Boaz Elkayam complete their work on 10 Kasha guitars to honor the memory of Richard Schneider and to keep his work alive. The hand tools involved, the strange method of fretting, and the cool vacuum clamps, as well as the design philosophy behind the guitars, make this a pair of articles not to be missed. The Old World meets the future here and they blend very nicely. With 58 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1999
AL#58 p.59 BRB5 p.503
Peter Giolitto
▪ An easy way to make dished forms using plaster to create the dished surface.
1999
AL#57 p.14 BRB5 p.302
Frank Ford Don MacRostie
▪ The authors believe that hot hide glue is the best adhesive for virtually all construction and most repair jobs. Here’s why they think so and how they handle this ancient material. Includes diagrams of the customized glue pots used by both men, 15 photos, and a hide glue grading chart.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s fifty best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#56 p.54 BRB5 p.290
Kent Everett
▪ So you hate the way pickguards look but like the job they do? Everett shows how to apply a clear pickguard without bubbles or fingerprints coming along for the ride.
1998
AL#56 p.65 BRB5 p.500
Woody Vernice
▪ A Benedetto glue applicator is much cleaner than index finger glue application.
1998
AL#56 p.36 BRB5 p.262
Jay Hargreaves
▪ Ribbecke is a renowned maker of archtop guitars. He also opens his shop periodically to small classes that wish to learn his formula for successful and graceful guitars. Hargreaves attended one such week-long session and brought back the straight skinny for American Lutherie readers. Part 1 details the construction of a laminated maple neck and associated details. Part 2 follows in AL#57. With 29 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1998
AL#55 p.16 BRB5 p.214
Mark Bass Paul McGill
▪ McGill is a thinking-man’s guitar maker with some strong notions that run counter to current lutherie mythology. He also has a big-time clientele who believe he is right. With 6 photos.
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#51 p.54
Cyndy Burton
▪ Burton lists 2 pages of suppliers and manufacturers of finish and glue, and offers more than a page of useful tips gleaned from many luthiers.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1997
AL#49 p.10 BRB4 p.4
Woodley White
▪ Baarslag journeys to the American School of Lutherie to teach a week-long class about building classical guitars. White attended, and gives a full report. With 37 photos.
1997
AL#49 p.36 BRB5 p.34
Brent Benfield
▪ So you bought a spherically dished form in which to build your guitars. But how do you go about it? Benfield describes a path notable for its lack of complication. This is a painless way to bring your guitars into the 21st century. Most of the ideas are applicable to flattop guitars as well. With 10 photos and 4 drawings.
1996
AL#48 p.46 BRB4 p.474
John Calkin
▪ Reviewed here are six videos, one about violins setups, one about French polishing, and four about guitar repair. All are found worthy, though two of the repair tapes are for the inexperienced luthier.
1996
AL#45 p.57 BRB4 p.499
Alan Carruth
▪ An alternative method for removing white glue is the use of acetic acid, handy where the use of steam would be objectionable.
1996
AL#46 p.56 BRB4 p.442
Michael Darnton
▪ Darnton discusses the glues he keeps in his shop.Also, setting up the cello.
1995
AL#44 p.54 BRB4 p.442
Michael Darnton
▪ What is neck pitch, and what does it do to/for the violin? How does one deal with an Elmer’s glue repair? Why is poplar sometimes used for the cello and viola? Darnton tells all.
1995
AL#44 p.58 BRB4 p.500
Norbert Pietsch
▪ Two rings, one for inside, one for outside, for use with rubber or rope for clamping binding to a banjo rim.
1995
AL#43 p.57 BRB4 p.495
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Using an inspection light and mirror to locate the position of the old brace from leftover glue through the sound hole on a damaged American made Neapolitan mandolin.
1995
AL#42 p.64 BRB4 p.497
Tom Ribbecke
▪ Removing cyanoacrylate residue from fingers using a pumice stick.
1994
AL#39 p.54 BRB4 p.425
Harry Fleishman
▪ The GAL’s tool man examines Bob Smith Industries line of epoxies and CA glues and finds that they shoot down the competition.
1994
AL#37 p.58 BRB4 p.482
Willis Groth
▪ A violin fingerboard clamping jig.
1994
AL#37 p.59 BRB4 p.483
Keith Hill
▪ A violin gluing method using waterproof hide glue to battle humidity and which renders the dried glue less susceptible to attack from mold and bacteria.
1993
AL#36 p.52 BRB3 p.422
Jonathon Peterson
▪ Four repairmen offer a variety of tips about altering mechanical archtop bridges, adding more “pop” to fretless bass necks, soldering and shielding electrics, carbide bandsaw blades, abrasive cord, superglue, cutting saddle slots, double-stick tape, bending plastic binding, beveling pickguard stock, replacing bar frets with T-frets, and restoring headstocks to look old.
1993
AL#34 p.54 BRB3 p.446 read this article
Michael Darnton
▪ What adjustments change the tone of a violin? Should new pegs be reshaped or should the pegbox holes be opened to fit them? Which glue for a top center seam? Are stains really useless?
1993
AL#34 p.58 BRB3 p.494
Harry Fleishman
▪ Mixing dust with glue for a heavy paste to epoxy frets.
1993
AL#34 p.59 BRB3 p.492
Harry Fleishman
▪ A trick for bringing out the color of a rosette inlay or binding.
1993
AL#34 p.59 BRB3 p.494
Colin Kaminski
▪ This jig used for clamping fingerboard bindings fixes the problem of clamping the binding against the fingerboard and keeping the white and black lines flush with the bottom edge of the fingerboard.
1993
AL#34 p.6 BRB3 p.316 ALA5 p.22
Jeffrey-R. Elliott
▪ Elliott believes that top replacements might be far more common in the future than they are now. Instruments with tired tops might have them replaced rather than retire the rare/irreplaceable hardwoods that comprise the rest of the instrument. Anyhow, he tried it out. Here he presents a description of the operation and the ethics involved, with 23 photos.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1993
AL#33 p.12 BRB3 p.278 read this article
Roberto Gomes
▪ Gomes offers a list and short description of some current Brazilian builders.
1993
AL#33 p.14 BRB3 p.280
R.E. Brune
▪ Brune describes a rare 11-string Torres guitar and the manner in which he restored it. With 11 photos and a half-page of drawings. Mentions Romanillos.
1992
AL#32 p.64 BRB3 p.446 read this article
Michael Darnton
▪ What should one expect from a purchased ebony fingerboard? Should a fiddle bridge lean back, and how far? Can you offer hints about using hide glue? Darnton’s wide experience rescues another page of readers.
1992
AL#31 p.57 BRB3 p.487
Rick McCollum
▪ Mixing small amounts of hide glue.
1992
AL#31 p.57 BRB3 p.487
Don Musser
▪ Locating hairline cracks using the solvent naphtha.
1992
AL#31 p.57 BRB3 p.487
Harry Fleishman
▪ Using clothespins for extra squeeze.
1992
AL#32 p.11 BRB3 p.244
Jonathon Peterson
▪ As a maker of fine acoustic instruments Gibson was reborn in Montana. The man in charge of creativity and efficiency leads the GAL team through his domain. With 17 photos.
1992
AL#30 p.49 BRB3 p.486
Richard Echeverria
▪ A gadget for gluing loose back braces inside acoustic guitars.
1992
AL#30 p.49 BRB3 p.486
Robert Steinegger
▪ Getting a nice clean splice when binding a guitar body with ivoroid plastic strips using solvent-based glue.
1992
AL#29 p.57 BRB3 p.485 read this article
Gerhart Schmeltekopf
▪ Rigging up a temporary reciprocating or ‘pole’ lathe.
1992
AL#29 p.56 BRB3 p.483
Michael Darnton
▪ Clean your dirty Levis with a scrub brush while wearing them in the shower. Really.
1992
AL#29 p.57 BRB3 p.483
Jurgen Goering
▪ Fish glue does not have to be heated and dries light brown and glass hard.
1991
AL#28 p.56 BRB3 p.446 read this article
Michael Darnton
▪ Why are bridges always made of maple? Why do fiddles have points? How does one tune a fingerboard? Do epoxy or superglue have any accepted uses on the violin? Darnton furnishes answers.
1991
AL#26 p.8 BRB3 p.37 ALA4 p.28
Jean Larrivee
▪ Larrivee has overseen the creation of 15,000 acoustic guitars and 12,000 electrics. Much of what he has to say pertains as strongly to the one-off builder as it does to another industry giant, and he doesn’t hold back on anything.
1990
LT p.84
J.D. Mackenzie
▪ Recommends a glue for adhering sandpaper to sanding drums.
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.
1990
AL#22 p.15 BRB2 p.389
Don Teeter
▪ The guitar repair guru talks about setting up acoustic and electric guitars, installing truss rods in old instruments, superglues, saddle materials, and bridge designs.
1990
AL#22 p.18
John Larsen
▪ Larsen built his first guitar in 1950. His article describes the difficult road folks had to follow before the Information Age engulfed lutherie.
1989
AL#19 p.58 BRB2 p.482
Gary Fish
▪ Several techniques to accomplish a neat seam, trying to keep the glue off the surrounding finish.
1988
AL#16 p.57 BRB2 p.480
Lloyd-Scott Ogelsby
▪ Problems with Titebond glue turning chalky.
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.
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.
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.
1988
AL#10 p.35 BRB1 p.397
Chris Pile
Thick superglue and accelerator are introduced.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
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.
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.
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.
1986
AL#7 p.57 BRB1 p.331
Fred Campbell
▪ Campbell fixes a chipped fret slot with wood dust and superglue.
1986
AL#7 p.57 BRB1 p.253
Tom Mathis
▪ Mathias adds more tips to the Teeter/Sadowsky fretting method.
1986
AL#7 p.13 BRB1 p.240
William Cumpiano
▪ Cumpiano lists his favorite methods of repairing various sorts of broken necks.
1986
AL#7 p.48
William Conrad
▪ Conrad gives useful advice about disassembling instruments for repair.
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.
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.
1986
AL#5 p.40 BRB1 p.153 read this article
George Manno
▪ Manno describes a method of removing violin tops that have been improperly attached with contemporary glues.
1986
AL#5 p.51 BRB1 p.185
Elliott Burch
▪ Burch offers a method of binding a mandolin that contributes to the ease of removing the plates at a later date.
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.
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.
1985
AL#3 p.37
Chris Pile
▪ Pile offers tips on using superglue.
This article has been nominated as one of the Guild’s best articles published before 2010.
1985
AL#4 p.3 BRB1 p.147
Patrick-W. Coffey
▪ Coffey describes how to make a small electric glue pot for under $13.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
1981
DS#199 BRB1 p.171
Tim Earls
▪ Handy tips for spreading and cleaning up Titebond and epoxy.
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.
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.
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.
1980
DS#143 LW p.96
Tim Olsen
▪ Finish your guitar, clean off a footprint for the bridge, then glue it on. It’s easy, here’s how. With 1 sketch.
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.
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.
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.
1979
DS#132 LW p.102
Robert Steinegger
▪ Here’s a good trick for gluing pickguards to raw wood that let’s the ‘guard shrink without cracking the soundboard.
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.
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.