Posted on May 21, 2020May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Oil Varnish Techniques Oil Varnish Techniques by David Rolfe Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #89, 1978 and in Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 I decided to investigate the use of traditional oil varnishes as used by violin makers. At first sight, there seemed to be a lot of information around with enough detail to get on with the job. But as I delved deeper, I found enormous gaps in details of technique and lack of information on what is important and what is not. This is a detailed summary of what I have learned so far. My basic sources of information are the books and articles listed at the end. Materials Varnish. Traditional oil varnishes consist of a variety of resins, heated and dissolved in linseed oil, and turpentine. Coloring is added, and these agents can either be from the heartwood of certain trees (like dragon’s blood or gamboge) or organic mineral salts. Linseed oil is a slow-drying oil, and in conjunction with the resins, goes through the process of oxidation and polymerization (molecules of short length combine to become longer). Polymerization occurs mainly in the presence of ultraviolet light and continues for decades. Turpentine is used as a thinner or as a solvent to get the varnish on and then to evaporate in a relatively short time. The important characteristics of the varnish in liquid form are: Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on May 5, 2020May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips World Forest Outlook World Forest Outlook by Nicholas Von Robison and Parry Thomas Originally published in American Lutherie #16, 1988 See also, “Acid Rain” by Nicholas Von Robison and Perry Thomas “Acid Rain Update” by Nicholas Von Robison Co-author Thomas recently returned from the World Congress of International Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO) in Ljubjana, Yugoslavia. At that Congress two topics held the limelight: tropical forest destruction, and air pollution effects on temperate forests. Parry sent me copies of his notes and many thoughts and comments from the attendees so American Lutherie readers can see what the current state of thoughts on world forest problems are. In this article we’ll only be able to scratch the surface, but we have provided a list of organizations where anyone can learn a lot more on the subjects. GOOD GUYS OR BAD GUYS First of all, in dealing with these controversial subjects it is difficult to sort out significant facts from biased reporting. Japan, currently the scapegoat for U.S. economic woes, is generally thought to be a major force in forest destruction because of their high level of wood imports. Asiaweek magazine, for instance, comments on forest destruction in the East: “the distant, generally unseen end of the vast tangle is Japan...(whose) interests control, through intermediaries, many of the concessionairies who organize the actual logging.” Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on May 5, 2020May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Acid Rain Update Acid Rain Update by Nicholas Von Robison Originally published in American Lutherie #7, 1986 See also, “Acid Rain” by Nicholas Von Robison and Perry Thomas “World Forest Outlook” by Nicholas Von Robison and Perry Thomas In GALQ 12 #1, Perry Thomas and I co-wrote an article on how the increasing acidification of rain and snow was causing serious trouble for world forests, especially high altitude ones that have little immunity to changes in the ecosystem. For the last 6 years, hundreds of studies by independent researchers have found the problem to be caused by emissions from coal fired industrial and energy plants. Yet despite the data and intense pressure from environmental groups, sport fishing organizations, and the Canadian government, the White House has refused to admit that a problem existed. President Reagan has privately stated that soot from Mount St. Helens and forest fires were the cause. When the National Academy of Sciences report recommended cutting sulfur dioxide emissions from coal fired plants, their acid rain study funding was abruptly stopped. On Capitol Hill, attempts to arrive at a solution have been thwarted by regional politics. States in the Mid-West, whose factories are considered the primary source for acid deposition in the Northeast, have refused to foot the bill for poisoned lakes and forests 1000 miles to the east and north. Western states opposed efforts to make the West help pay for smokestack scrubbers in the Midwest. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on May 4, 2020May 16, 2025 by Dale Phillips Free Plate Tuning, Part Two: Violins Free Plate Tuning, Part Two: Violins by Alan Carruth Originally published in American Lutherie #29, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 See also, Free Plate Tuning, Part One: Theory by Alan Carruth Free Plate Tuning, Part Three: Guitars by Alan Carruth Before I get into plate tuning proper I’d like to digress a bit and discuss the rationale behind the process, and a couple of other things I find it useful to keep in mind while I’m working. And I can’t think of a better way to begin than by telling you about one of my more elaborate experiments. Fig. 15 gives the relevant information on my fourth and fifth violins. The idea was to check out the influence of asymmetric back graduations by building a pair of closely-matched fiddles with that as the only variable. The one-piece backs were cut from the same plank of bird’s-eye maple and the tops were cut from a red spruce 4×6 that I took out of the wall of my house when I put in a new chimney. The molds were routed using a template. Archings were checked for height at over two dozen points on each plate and were held to .2MM. Graduation, weight, and frequency data is as shown. The delta f mentioned is the frequency drop obtained when a 5G weight was stuck to the plate in an active area of the given mode. Fittings and so on were matched as closely as possible, and the two bridges were cut back to back from the same piece of maple. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on March 14, 2020May 26, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Beam Stiffness vs. Strength Letter: Beam Stiffness vs. Strength by Fred T. Dickens Originally published in American Lutherie #41, 1994 Dear Sir, Please allow me to attempt a termination of the continuing misunderstandings originating with Mr. Ervin Somogyi’s interesting but flawed lecture given at the ’92 conference in South Dakota and perpetuated by its subsequent transcription in the GAL Journal and the letter in American Lutherie #39 from Mr. Dave Schwab commenting on the matter. The issue has to do with using the terms “strength” and “stiffness” interchangeably when discussing the mechanical characteristics of beams used as braces in guitar sounding boards. Both strength and stiffness of beams are important characteristics and depend on properties of the materials from which the beams are constructed as well as the physical dimensions of the beam. Both stiffness and strength of beams may be calculated using formulas which only require a knowledge of the material properties and physical dimensions. Those so inclined will find a very readable account of these formulas in Understanding Wood by R. Bruce Hoadley, ISBN 0-918804-05-01. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
