American Lutherie #149 - Summer 2023

We interview Ken Parker, a giant of the American Lutherie Boom. The world knows him as the maker of the Fly solidbody guitar, but now he has returned to his first love: the archtop guitar. Ever see a nice hunk of firewood and think, "I could make a guitar out of that"? So did Lee Herron. Guitar intonation; math, music, and mojo. How good is good enough? Charlie Price brings us one step closer. Or is it one step beyond? Imagine two interviews happening at the same time. That’s what happens as we meet Rebecca Urlacher and Paul Woolson and learn about their lutherie lives. John Calkin is shows us how to get the back of a ukulele glued onto the ribs quickly and accurately, with no cleanup needed. Make a flattop guitar bridge saddle out of a rock? Robin Connaughton says, "Try it!" and collects data with an ingenuously simple plucking technique. You know that tube they put in the port of a loudspeaker? Pretty much the same thing as a tornavoz in a guitar. Mark French and Eddy Efendy give us the math. Robert Hamm made a slick little shop-built thickness sander that fills a need between a full-sized auto-feed belt sander and a Robo-sander drum chucked up in a drill press. Karl Hoyt makes a simple, reliable, and easy to assemble bolt-on uke neck joint. Jon Sevy uses cheap gizmos from Harbor Freight to measure the thickness of the sides or plates of an assembled guitar. Fit the sole of a bridge to its domed soundboard the safe and easy way, says Bob Gleason. Mark French is back with a super-simple table saw jig to taper fretboards. Fourteen years ago, Graham McDonald surveyed the steel string guitar making books of the time. He’s back with an update. Warm up that brown paper tape with a hair dryer before you pull it off. A snipped-out plan drawing makes a template. Inflatable door-hanging jack also works as a lutherie clamp. See more.

Scheduled to ship to all 2023 members in Early July