Posted on January 19, 2010September 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Banjo Resonator Clamp Stand Banjo Resonator Clamp Stand by James Gilbert Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #60, 1977 and Lutherie Tools, 1990 This jig is based on the use of over-center toggle clamps, which come in various sizes and can be purchased from suppliers of machine shops. ◆
Posted on January 19, 2010September 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips Product Review: Stew-Mac Shaped Braces Product Review: Stew-Mac Shaped Dreadnought Braces Reviewed by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #79, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Stewart-MacDonald kindly sent along a set of their shaped dreadnought braces for evaluation. This set up such an internal philosophical debate that I'd like to put off the brace examination for a minute. Just how much of an instrument can we job out and still call it our own? Two decades ago, when I was green and full of attitude, the answer was simple — none of it! Beginning luthiers often harbor a purist attitude that can leave them dreaming of harvesting their own trees, processing their own lumber, and drawing upon nothing from outside their shop but machine heads and strings. Those of us who have actually engaged in such activities have usually found them very satisfying but demanding the answer to another question: Do we want to be luthiers or lumberjacks? In other words, reality can bite us in the butt pretty early in the game. There is so much involved in building an instrument that calling for help in the form of commercial parts might be excused or even expected. Will a commercial truss rod degrade the quality of an instrument? No. Will a commercial bridge or pickguard devalue our work? I don't think so. OK, so how about a commercial set of braces? Suddenly it feels like we're heading into a different sort of territory. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on January 19, 2010September 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Lute Rib Clamp Lute Rib Clamp by Leo Anway Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #118, 1979 and Lutherie Tools, 1990 This is a simple device for holding each individual rib in place on the form in order to glue it. The diagrams illustrate how it works. ◆ Top view of plywood board (slightly smaller than lute outline)
Posted on January 19, 2010September 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Recycled/Reclaimed Wood Questions: Recycled/Reclaimed Wood by Dave Maize Originally published in American Lutherie #62, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Jason Rodgers of Portland, Oregon asks: Over the past couple of years, guitar lutherie has become an intense interest of mine. I’d like to find out about recycled/reclaimed wood. If wood is our medium, we’ve got to take care of it. Besides the whole sustainability argument, I think there is a quality aspect to recycled woods, as well. In many cases, you can find large dimensions, and they’re well seasoned, because they’ve been air dried as a ceiling beam for the last 50–100 years. When I open my shop in a few years I’m going to be wanting recycled wood that I can use to build some nice archtop guitars. Do you know of any companies who deal with recycled wood in our local Northwest (or anywhere else)? Being a prime region for both spruce and maple I would expect there to be some available the second time around. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on January 19, 2010September 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Custom CNC Orders Questions: Custom CNC Orders by Dana Bourgeois Originally published in American Lutherie #74, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Greg Pacetti of Fairbanks, Alaska asks: Do you know of a CNC machining company that could take a custom neck order of as little as thirty in quantity? Dana Bourgeois of Brunswick, Maine answers: Small runs are nice in theory, but one-time engineering, programming, and setup costs can kill you. For example, I just had a run of twenty-five pyramid bridges made by Maverick Precision Wood Products (207-225-5043; maverick@exploremaine.com). The one-time costs came to about $500, after which bridges cost $12 each. If I never make any more than twenty-five, the overall cost of each bridge (including setup, and so on) is $32. If I had wanted only one, Maverick would have made just one, but it would have cost $512. In reality, I will probably use five hundred of them over the next ten years and my cost will eventually come down to $13 each. Also remember that I supplied the CAD drawing, which meant that I got exactly the bridge I asked for. The engineering cost would have been much higher if I had given Maverick a bridge from which to generate their own drawing. The bottom line is to try not to make runs that are either too small or too large. A small builder might use up to twenty-five pyramid bridges over a three-to-five year period. At that rate, a cost of $32/bridge is realistic. ◆
