Category Archives: Uncategorized

Practical Acoustics

2010
AL#102 p.8               
Michael Cone                                                                                           

▪ Cone describes his advanced acoustical testing apparatus and method. From his 2008 GAL convention lecture, plus new developments in his work since that time.

Activating Hide Glue With Steam

2010
AL#102 p.26               
James Ham                                                                                           

▪ Ham’s technique involving the use of fresh hide glue in assembling basses which involves reactivating dried glue with a steamer after pieces have been aligned and clamped.

Recreating the Vintage Martin Peghead Joint

2010
AL#102 p.28      ALA1 p.50         
John Greven   Charles Freeborn                                                                                       

▪ Greven and Freeborn demonstrate their methods for accomplishing the original complicated and elegant Martin head/neck joint.

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

Comparing the Iranian Radif Musical Scale To the Western Scale

2010
AL#102 p.54               
Nasser Shirazi                                                                                           

▪ The scale intervals of Iranian Radif (row, order, series) music are very different from the Western, more familiar, equal-tempered musical scale.

Not Only Cones Make It- And Cylinders Almost Do

2010
AL#101 p.52               read this article
F.A. Jaen                                                                                           

▪ It seems reasonable that the strings of a guitar, not being parallel, could not properly lie on a fretboard that describes a cylinder, but the numbers say otherwise.

Testing Threaded Inserts

2010
AL#101 p.54               
R.M. Mottola                                                                                           

▪ The author concludes that the inserts “for metal” are more effective for application when using threaded inserts to bolt necks onto flattop guitars.

It Worked for Me: Saw Magnets

2009
AL#100 p.64      ALA2 p.45         
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Keeping the saw dead straight and perfectly aligned when adding a slot to the fretboard.

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

Letter to the Editor: Technical qualm with Jim Blilie’s article in AL#100

2010
AL#101 p.4               read this article
Alan Carruth                                                                                           

▪ More than minor disagreements with points in Blilie’s overall excellent article in AL#100, stiffness and density-relation among them.

Questions: String Tension and Purity of Tone

2009
AL#99 p.68               read this article
Alan Carruth                                                                                           

▪ Alan Carruth checks the relationship between higher tension and purer tone by mounting plain steel strings on a test rig.

Questions: Preparation of Horn

2009
AL#99 p.68               
Chuck Erickson                                                                                           

▪ Notes on horn work from Tuning and Mechanical Manipulation Volume 1: Materials and Bone, Antler, Ivory, and Horn, plus ox/cow variety horn preparation procedures.

Questions: Charity Lutherie

2009
AL#98 p.68               
Brian Flaherty                                                                                           

▪ Deducting the value of a donated instrument and or materials for tax purposes. Some hints can be found in ‘The Tax Law of Charitable Giving’.

Letter to the Editor: Statistical Listening Test

2009
AL#98 p.3               read this article
Kenny Hill                                                                                           

▪ Hill’s letter is a response to R. M. Mottola’s article in AL #96 about sound ports, which found that they were ineffective in changing the volume or tone of a guitar to the player or listener. Hill maintains that the science and his personal experience are at odds, and that he is willing to stand by his personal experience. Well, we love a good argument, especially when both sides make their case so eloquently. To be continued. . . .

Questions: Nontropical Fingerboard Materials

2008
AL#96 p.68               
Tom Thiel                                                                                           

▪ As high quality exotic woods become precious, domestic alternatives for fingerboards become more valuable. These alternatives must be as hard, abrasion, resistant, stable, and of similar pore structure, density, and color.

It Worked for Me: Surface Plates

2008
AL#95 p.68      ALA2 p.39         
Veronica Merryfield                                                                                           

▪ Wired plate glass, typesetter’s tables, granite kitchen countertops, and gravestone engraver tables as cheaper alternatives to commercial surface plates.

It Worked for Me: Custom Unique Hardware

2008
AL#94 p.67               
Daniel Fobert                                                                                           

▪ An illustrated method for assembling custom hitch pins without a lot of machining, for construction of a spruce top banjo on a bouzouki platform.

Letter to the Editor: Regarding Alex Willis book and fretboard tapering method

2008
AL#95 p.5               
John Mello                                                                                           

▪ John reviewed a book by Alex Willis in AL#94. He criticised a certain technique reccomended in the book. Now he thinks Alex was right.

1995 Convention photos

2008
AL#95 p.6               
Staff                                                                                           

▪ A couple pages of tiny B+W photos of our 2008 Convention. Full color, detailed coverage was available ont eh GAL website.

Questions: Guild Logo Use

2008
AL#93 p.66               
Deb Olsen                                                                                           

▪ The use and rights of the Guild of American Luthiers name and trademark logo in advertising or as a seal of approval.

Letter to the Editor: Inches and Spanish pulgadas

2008
AL#94 p.7      ALA5 p.82         
Gerhard Oldiges                                                                                           

▪ Spanish guitar scale lengths before Torres. Pulgadas, Imperial inches, centimeters. It all gets pretty complicated.

Questions: Industry Pricing Standards

2007
AL#92 p.66               
Dana Bourgeois   Mark Campellone   John Greven                                                                                   

▪ Pricing standards and retail price structure varies and is negotiable between builder and retailer. Figures are discussed.

Questions: Thickness Measuring Tool

2007
AL#92 p.67               
Tom Nelligan   R.M. Mottola                                                                                       

▪ Highly specialized low frequency ultrasonic instruments can be used to measure the thickness of the skin of the top on a fully assembled instrument without damaging the top.

It Worked for Me: Stauffer-style Adjuster

2007
AL#92 p.68               
Allan Beardsell                                                                                           

▪ Adding a neck pitch adjustment (an innovation of the early romantic guitar era of 1800-1850) to a nylon string guitar (a 14-fret raised fingerboard model) already in line with European romantic era design concepts.

Letter to the Editor: Lutherie Tips and Stories

2008
AL#93 p.8               
Philippe Refig                                                                                           

▪ Refig recounds some stories of techniques used by traditional Spanish makers. Interestingly, some of these directly corroborate information given by Federico Sheppard and R.E.Brune in AL#125 about tools in the shop of Santos Hernandez.

Questions: Santuri

2007
AL#91 p.68               
Peter Kyvelos                                                                                           

▪ The Santuri is an instrument of the hammered dulcimer type, common in Greece, and related to the smaller Persian Santur.

Sharpening the Stellite Teeth on the 3″ Hitachi Blade

2007
AL#91 p.43               read this article
Bruce Creps                                                                                           

▪ With a shop made jig you can sharpen your blade in place in less time than it takes to remove and reinstall it.

Letter to the Editor: Shop-Made Palm Plane

2007
AL#91 p.3               
Ric McCurdy                                                                                           

▪ Ric read about D’Aquisto’s plam planes in AL#37 and wanted one. Then he read about making brass planes in AL#89. So he just went ahead and made a snazzy little plane. See that? The GAL creates your desires, then fulfills them.

Questions: Crownless Frets

2007
AL#89 p.67               
James Westbrook   R.M. Mottola                                                                                       

▪ A source for fret wire in repairing an old guitar in which the frets are thin flat bars on their sides with barbs at the bottom.

It Worked for Me: Intonation

2006
AL#88 p.68               
Paul Hill                                                                                           

▪ Several physical factors that can be adjusted to address poor intonation if a guitar is properly intonated, and if not, what is at fault.

It Worked for Me: Cutting Conical Shape on Fretboard

2006
AL#87 p.68      ALA2 p.24         
Brian Woods                                                                                           

▪ A simple and inexpensive way to cut a conical shape on an inlaid fretboard using a Ryobi belt/disk sander, and a Workmate.

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

It Worked for Me: Blackshear Bridge Shaping Jig

2006
AL#87 p.69      ALA2 p.13         
Ben Tortorici                                                                                           

▪ A prototype using the router sander from a Luthiers Mercantile purfling jig, based on Tom Blackshear’s fixture for making bridges.

Questions: Significance of Q

2006
AL#86 p.67               read this article
Brian Burns                                                                                           

▪ Q refers to one of the basic qualities of stringed instrument materials, tested generally through tap tones to measure sound diminishment time.

Letter to the Editor: Catalyzed Polyester Finish

2006
AL#85 p.3               
Mike Doolin                                                                                           

▪ Doolin was an early advocatre for waterborne finishes. But now he has switched to stinky and toxic catalyzed polyester. He explains why.

Letter to the Editor: Ancient Simple Fiddle

2006
AL#86 p.3               read this article
Paul Butler                                                                                           

▪ Seems that Mottola’s simple bass in AL#80 resembles a certain type of baritone fiddle going aback about a thousand years. Butler makes a similar thing to play with kids.

Letter to the Editor: NMM Opens Gudelsky Gallery

2005
AL#82 p.5               
National-Music-Museum                                                                                           

▪ After his untimely death, Paul Gudelsky’s wonderful collection of archtop guitars by James D’Aquisto became the basis of a new collection permanent exhibit at the National Music Museum. Paul had previously shown this collection at the 1995 GAL Convention where luthiers were invited to examine and play the instruments.

Questions: Orpharions

2005
AL#82 p.67               
Wes Brandt                                                                                           

▪ Wes knows no makers of orpharions in the USA, but steers the questioner to Stephen barber in the UK.

Letter to the Editor: Patents and Acknowledgement

2005
AL#81 p.7               
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ The innovative and energetic luthier has a few thoughts on the nature of patents, original ideas, proper acknowledgement, and the damaging power of rumor.

Letter to the Editor: Hurdy-Gurdy

2001
AL#68 p.6               read this article
Wilfried Ulrich                                                                                           

▪ Wilfried has made a lot of real hurdy-gurdies. He says Americans tend to have a cartoonish view of the venerable drehleir. They ought to educate themselves and have more respect for a highly developed classical instrument. He eventually authored Plan#49 for us.

Letter to the Editor: Defending Larry Sandberg’s Book

2001
AL#67 p.3               read this article
Harry Fleishman                                                                                           

▪ Harry Fleishman leaps to the defense of Larry Sandberg. He feels that Ben Hoff was too harsh in his criticism of Larry’s book The Acoustic Guitar Guide.

Letter to the Editor: Vacuum VS Screw Clamp

2001
AL#68 p.5               
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ Calkin says that he has been told many times that he should use a vacuum clamp to glue top braces. He proceeds to make a good case for his screw-and-bar clamping system.

Questions: Vinyl Gloves for French Polish

2001
AL#66 p.63               
John Park                                                                                           

▪ A painful swelling in the finger joints and a rash associated with epoxy sensitization as a result of wearing vinyl gloves for extended periods while French polishing.

It Worked for Me: Fret Slot Cutting Fixture

1999
AL#60 p.50   BRB5 p.505            
Stan Tucker                                                                                           

▪ A fixture to cut fret slots using an older 9″ DeWalt radial-arm saw to measure and cut accurate fret slots for odd scale lengths.

Questions: Dovetail Joining Method

1999
AL#58 p.60               
Lawrence Smart                                                                                           

▪ Information on the dovetail method for joining the instrument neck to body including calculating the degree of neck angle, dimensions of the dovetail cuts, procedures for making the cuts, and adjusting any improper fit.

Questions: Guitar Making Graduated Projects

1998
AL#53 p.59               
John Calkin   Harry Fleishman                                                                                       

▪ A standard series of graduated projects that one can undertake to gain experience in instrument maker.

It Worked for Me: Rough Carving Device

1998
AL#54 p.50   BRB5 p.495            
Nathan-D. Missel                                                                                           

▪ Saving time carving the top and back plates of archtop guitars by power carving them into rough form before final graduation using this custom carver.

It Worked for Me: Clamping Loose Brace Ends

1998
AL#54 p.51   BRB5 p.495            
Jonathon Peterson                                                                                           

▪ Clamping loose brace ends in the nether regions of a guitar box can be effectively accomplished by wedging sticks between the brace and opposite plate of the guitar.

It Worked for Me: Strap Button

1997
AL#51 p.53               
Michael Darnton                                                                                           

▪ Contrary to Darrelle Anne Le Maitre’s comments in AL#50, using a cushy washer under a strap button will actually increase the load and leverage on a screw and increase the chance of repeat failure.

It Worked for Me: Router Bit Blades

1997
AL#49 p.59   BRB5 p.488            
Nathan-D. Missel                                                                                           

▪ Using a pattern-following router bit made from a salvaged pencil sharpener mounted on a drill press when cutting pegheads, bridges, tops, or tail pieces. It is an extreme spiral, you see.

Further Reading in American Lutherie

1997
   LW p.142            
Staff                                                                                           

▪ The material in Lutherie Woods is mostly pre-American Lutherie. This list of related articles will help bring you up to date.

It Worked for Me: Repairs

1996
AL#46 p.58   BRB4 p.502            
John Jordan                                                                                           

▪ This repair is ideal for a cello pegbox that cracks in two through the G peghole or a bass that cracks in two through the A peghole.

It Worked for Me: Thinline Switch Fisher Line/Clay Dot Replacements/Fret Size Selector/Cloth Braided Wire/Tune-O-Matic Bridge Wire

1992
AL#32 p.68   BRB3 p.489            
Richard Echeverria                                                                                           

▪ Quickie tips on the thinline switch fisher-line, clay dot replacements, fret size selector, cloth braided wire, and tune-o-matic bridge wire.

Letter to the Editor: Bosch Laminate Trimmer and Cheap Mando Family

1991
AL#26 p.3               read this article
John Calkin                                                                                           

▪ When his Dremel died, he got a Bosch laminate trimmer to replace it. He loves the Bosch and does not miss the Dremel.

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.

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.

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.

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’.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

The Con Job

1983
GALQ Vol.11#1 p.16               
R.L. Robinson                                                                                           

▪ This piece of motivational philosophy is reprinted from the Folk Harp Journal, March 8 1975.

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.

Art as Adventure

1982
GALQ Vol.10#3 p.40               
William Eaton                                                                                           

▪ An early statement of philosophy by William Eaton, who went on to be the key man at the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery.

Potentiometers

1983
DS#237               
John Jordan                                                                                           

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

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.

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.

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.

A Future Fable

1981
GALQ Vol.9#1 p.18               
Leo Bidne                                                                                           

▪ Thoughts on the nature of musical expression are couched in a sci-fi story.

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.

Repair Orders

1981
DS#198               
Mayne Smith                                                                                           

▪ Diagnosis, cost estimate, exact job description, scheduling, and final documentation.

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.