Tag Archives: Fordyce¸ Alastair

Alastair Fordyce

Twelve-year Guild member Alastair Fordyce is a retired Scottish orthopedic and hand surgeon, and a member of the NCAL luthier’s group. He took to lutherie on the advice of his wife Moira, who “received” the suggestion while musing in Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire, England. When she looked up she was standing in front of the tomb of 18th-century English cello builder Benjamin Banks. He has just beaten his age (73) for the first time, with a round of 72 (gross) at San Clemente Golf Course.

▪ bio current as of 2006

Fighting With Wolves

2006
AL#87 p.48      ALA5 p.58         
Alastair Fordyce                                                                                           

▪ The author hunts wolf notes with a lump of clay, and once he finds the spot that cures them he swaps out the clay for a bit of wood that weighs the same as the clay. Pretty ingenious, huh? And it ought to work as well for any other instrument. It may not be bracing in the strictest sense, but if it works, it works. With 4 photos.

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