Category Archives: hard

Beautiful Bog Oak

2024
AL#152 p.38               
Gary Southwell                                                                                           

▪ Bog oak is the ultimate “sinker” wood. Giant oak trees sank into peat bogs thousands of years ago. Now they are being dug up, sawed into planks, and carefully dried. Innovative traditionalist Gary Southwell loves the stuff.

Let’s Catch Up With Richard Bruné and Marshall Bruné

2023
AL#150 p.16               
Mark French                                                                                           

▪ Richard “R.E.” Bruné was in the GAL’s very first cohort and was an author and convention presenter from the very beginning. We’ve visited him a couple of times over the decades. His son Marshall was born into the business, and into the Guild. Together they run a large workshop and epicenter of classical guitar making, scholarship restoration, appreciation, and dealing.

The Guitar Woods Experiment

2020
AL#139 p.58               
Roger Bucknall                                                                                           

▪ Can people really hear the difference between different back-and-sides wood? Brittish guitar builder Roger Bucknall is in an excellent position to explore this question. He’s the founder (in 1973) and still head honcho of boutique brand Fylde Guitars. He made a set of identical guitars except for the wood choices, and….. Read the article to see what happened.

Tropical Hardwoods: Global Perspectives and Outlook

2019
AL#138 p.6               
Michael Bashkin                                                                                           

▪ Michael Bashkin’s lutherie cred is unimpeachable, and it turns out that he previously had a career in forestry, with years of experience in many places from the tropics, to the temperate zone, to the arctic. So he knows a lot about trees and about wood. How should we feel about using the earth’s dwindling supplies of fine traditional woods to make our wonderful, precious guitars? And will our clients give us less of their wonderful, precious dollars if we don’t? Let’s ask Michael. This fascinating article is based on his 2017 GAL Convention lecture.

Meet the Maker: Shaun Newman

2019
AL#136 p.36               
Mike Gluyas   Shaun Newman                                                                                       

▪ Although he had fallen in love with the classical guitar the first time he heard one as a teenager, Shaun Newman was already well along in a career as a language teacher when he first tried to make one. He was lucky enough to find a mentor in his corner of England, and he has been making and restoring an impressive variety of fine instruments for the last thirty years.

Warmoth Guitar Products in the 21st Century

2018
AL#134 p.16               
Tim Olsen                                                                                           

▪ Ken Warmoth is one of the pioneers of the Strat-compatible guitar parts scene, starting small in the 1970s and working up to the sophisticated operation he runs today. He’s a born engineer, constantly refining and rethinking each operation for better accuracy and efficiency. Of course these days that involves CNC machines, and he’s got them. But you may be surprised to see which operations use them and which don’t. Our last visit with Ken was in 1991, so there is some catching up to do.

More Stiffness and Density Data for Lutherie Woods

2018
AL#133 p.48               
James Blilie                                                                                           

▪ We all have ideas about the stiffness of brace wood, probably based on a combination of intuition, hearsay, and informal flexing. Blilie aims to accumulate more quantitave data. Here he reports on his latest tests. He also describes his methodology and the reasoning behind it. This is Blilie’s third article on this topic.

Letter to the Editor: Wood species study

2017
AL#131 p.3               
Samuele Carcagno   Chris Plack                                                                                       

▪ A study at Lancaster University seeks luthiers to help with a scientific study of the impact of wood choice on the percieved sound of acoustic guitars.

A Large New Set of Stiffness Data for Lutherie Woods and a Proposed Standard Test Method

2016
AL#128 p.58               
James Blilie                                                                                           

▪ We all have ideas about the stiffness of brace wood, probably based on a combination of intuition, hearsay, and informal flexing. Blilie aims to accumulate more quantitave data. Here he reports on his latest tests. He also describes his methodology and the reasoning behind it. This is Blilie’s second article on this topic. The earlier one is in AL128. A third article appears in AL133.

Meet the Maker: Ted Davis

2008
AL#96 p.42               
James Condino   Ted Davis                                                                                       

▪ Davis’ lutherie exploits goes back to the ’70s. He was one of the first of the recent red spruce believers, and he harvested many trees to supply himself and a few others who were lucky enough to key into his business. He made guitars, mandolins, and dulcimers to support his hotrod automobile habit. He had strong opinions about wood that run counter to modern beliefs, and had the experience to back them up.Davis died before the interview was published. He will be missed. With 15 photos.

A Life in Lutherie: A Discussion with Manuel Velazquez and His Son Alfredo

2008
AL#96 p.6      ALA3 p.68         
Robert Ruck   Jeffrey-R. Elliott   Manuel Velazquez   Alfredo Velazquez                                                                               

▪ Manuel Velazquez built his first guitar in 1929. Can you imagine that? His son Alfredo is carrying on the tradition, though Manuel has not retired. He has definite opinions about what woods make the best guitar and how they should be finished. He is a giant in the business and must be admired for his tenacity as much as his ability. And a fun interview to boot. Mentions Bobri, Andres Segovia, Torres, Santos Hernandez, and Hermann Hauser. With 36 photos.

Sources

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.

Sources: Wood

1998
AL#53 p.62               
Cyndy Burton                                                                                           

▪ Ms. Burton has rounded up almost two pages of wood suppliers. If you can’t find it here you may have to go cut it yourself.

Scroll Carving

1997
AL#52 p.28   BRB5 p.152            
Guy Rabut                                                                                           

▪ To non-fiddle people all violins look about the same. To the initiated, however, they are vastly different. Besides offering a thorough description of his scroll carving techniques, Rabut gives us a glimpse into the world of the violin in-crowd where an appreciation for subtlety is the stock-in-trade. Guy is a high-profile maker who has had the opportunity to examine many world-class violins. With 52 photos.

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

Top 40 Wood List

1997
   LW p.10            read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ Range descriptions, scientific nomenclature, wood description, and uses in lutherie.

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

Wood Bibliography

1997
   LW p.23            read this article
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ Where to look for objective information about trees and wood.

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

Ebony and African Blackwood: Rare Gifts of Nature

1995
AL#43 p.18   BRB4 p.198            
Nicholas-Von Robison                                                                                           

▪ Both of these woods have recently become available as body wood for stringed instruments. Robison offers a technical look at two beautiful woods, and tries to predict their futures.

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

Fretboard Materials: A Semiscientific Survey

1994
AL#40 p.40   BRB4 p.112            
C.F. Casey                                                                                           

▪ Casey devised his own methods of testing fingerboard woods for strength and abrasion resistance. His results will probably surprise you.

Cutting Michigan Maple

1994
AL#37 p.40               read this article
Elon Howe                                                                                           

▪ Another luthier turns woodcutter using a Wood Mizer portable bandsaw, and maple isn’t the half of it. With 4 photos and a diagram for sawing logs into “bastard cut” mandolin wood.

Jatoba

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.

Some Alternative Lutherie Woods

1993
AL#35 p.26   BRB3 p.372            read this article
Tom Ribbecke                                                                                           

▪ Ribbecke gathered information from across the country for this talk, an introduction to the woods that may eventually—like it or not—change the look of the instruments we make and play.

Meet the Maker: Roberto Gomes

1993
AL#33 p.6   BRB3 p.272            
Cyndy Burton   Roberto Gomes                                                                                       

▪ A Brazilian guitar maker comments upon his situation in Brazil and his first trip to America as a luthier.

Brazilian Tonewoods

1993
AL#33 p.9   BRB3 p.275            read this article
Roberto Gomes                                                                                           

▪ Straight from the horse’s mouth—a Brazilian guitar maker talks about Brazilian tonewood. Ever wonder what a living rosewood tree looks like? Well, wonder no more. With 6 photos and a range map.

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

Brazilian Guitar Makers

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.

Torres Guitar Restoration

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.

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

1992
AL#29 p.58   BRB3 p.467            read this article
Cyndy Burton                                                                                           

▪ Seldom does a new catalog cause so much excitement. The reviewer especially likes it for bedtime reading.

Builders Broadsided by Brazilian Ban

1992
AL#30 p.4               
R.E. Brune                                                                                           

▪ CITES restrictions on Brazilian rosewood include a ban on the import/export of objects that contain that wood. There are exceptions, however. Brune gives us the lowdown on the original agreement.

Meet the Maker: Myles Gilmer

1991
AL#26 p.5   BRB3 p.42            
Todd Brotherton   Myles Gilmer                                                                                       

▪ Gilmer buys wood from all over the globe and sells it to a number of special interests in the woodworking field. He’s been around, he’s concerned about the forests and ethical harvesting, and he’s articulate. Without the Gilmers of America there would be very few independent professional instrument makers.

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

Thoughts on Steel String Guitar Making

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.

Voicing the Steel String Guitar

1990
AL#24 p.16   BRB2 p.470            
Dana Bourgeois                                                                                           

▪ This is perhaps the strongest article ever published in American Lutherie about voicing the top and bracing of the steel string guitar. The fallout from this piece has been very wide spread.

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

Working with Koa

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.

Meet the Maker: Frank “Andy” Johnson

1989
AL#19 p.40   BRB2 p.294            
Jonathon Peterson   Frank-“Andy” Johnson                                                                                       

▪ Johnson is a banjo restorationist and tonewood supplier from Washington State. He specializes in selling spruce to the major piano manufacturers.

Amazon Timbers Update

1989
AL#19 p.46   BRB2 p.302            
Todd Taggart                                                                                           

▪ Taggart’s prognosis for the future of traditional tonewoods is gloomy, but his experiences with controlled wood harvesting in South America shine a ray of hope on the situation. He also mentions solar box cookers, which can substitute for firewood in many third world countries where firewood is the chief use of timber. Taggart emphasizes conservation rather than alternative woods.

Stalking Northwest Tonewoods

1989
AL#18 p.6   BRB2 p.210            
Bruce Harvie   Casey Wood                                                                                       

▪ This is a Q&A session from the S. Dakota convention. The answer folks not only harvest and sell a wide variety of “designer” tonewoods, they are well up on alternative woods for lutherie. Very informative, and fun.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

‘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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.