Posted on June 5, 2026June 5, 2026 by Dale Phillips Making an Archtop Pickguard Making an Archtop Pickguard by Nate Clark Originally published in American Lutherie #116, 2013 The ubiquitous tortoise pickguard. This one is from a 1947 Gibson ES-150 archtop (Photo 1). The glue joint between the pickguard and the celluloid “nut” that’s attached to the bracket has failed (Photo 2). The celluloid is deteriorated at this old glue joint as well as the point of contact with the pickup. I suppose I could repair the pickguard but it’s going to be quicker and more stable to make a new one from some fresh celluloid. To keep this job simple and profitable I’ll use a combination of woodworking hand tools and power tools to make a good looking pickguard reasonably fast. 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 June 5, 2026June 5, 2026 by Dale Phillips Pore Filling with Superglue Pore Filling with Superglue by Chuck Moore Originally published in American Lutherie #118, 2014 Since learning about the superglue (CA) pore-filling method from Steve Grimes in Maui, I’ve used it on at least four hundred ukuleles. It’s not for everybody though, and it will irritate your eyes. From what I’ve been able to find on the Internet, it is an irritant similar to pepper spray. Working in front of a fan is imperative, outdoors is recommended, and (as my grade school teachers used to say) neatness counts if you don’t want to end up with hands covered in glue and possibly stuck to your work. I’ve probably shown a hundred people how to do this. Some love it while others hate it. The best thing about it is that it is fast and effective. There is absolutely no shrink back if done properly. The company I get my CA glue from is CPH International in Los Angeles. They are super easy folks to work with and usually ship the same day they receive your order. Their website (www.starbond.com) has no prices. You must e-mail them for the price list. Pint bottles have cost $30 for as long as I’ve dealt with them, and a pint is by no means too much if you build a lot of instruments. The two types I use are EM-02 (thin) for general purpose and the EM 150 (medium) for grain filling. (The EM 2000 is too thick for pore filling.) EM 150 seems to be the perfect blend of viscosity and grain-filling capability. They will also give you a bunch of two ounce bottles with your order, so there is no need to buy any extras. As an aside, their aerosol cans of accelerator are good, but their pump bottles are junky. 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 June 5, 2026June 5, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Robbie O’Brien Meet the Maker: Robbie O'Brien by Brian Yarosh Originally published in American Lutherie #117, 2014 I’ve known Robbie O’Brien for more than five years through the local Colorado lutherie community, having taken his classes at Red Rocks Community College, and through his more recent association with the Colorado School of Lutherie. I can attest to his love of teaching and spreading the knowledge of guitar building throughout Colorado and the world. It was my privilege to sit down with him at his shop in Parker and get to know him a little better. Let’s start with some history. Tell us a little about yourself. My folks were military and I was born in Nuremberg, Germany. I don’t have German citizenship and I don’t speak German. I was there for about a year and a half before moving back to the States. I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where my father was a commercial pilot for Delta Airlines. 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 June 3, 2026June 4, 2026 by Dale Phillips Reviews: Making a Spanish Guitar by José L. Romanillos Reviews: Making a Spanish Guitar by José L. Romanillos by Pierre Audinet Originally published in American Lutherie #118, 2014 Making a Spanish Guitar José Luis Romanillos Edited by Marian Harris Winspear ISBN 13008619-001 RH Publications, 200 pp., 2013 www.romanillosguitarbooks.com, €70 (Euros) One of the much awaited for books on guitar making is now up for order! The book is disarmingly simple, and this may frustrate some, but it is in my view a must-have for any guitar maker with a genuine interest in classical nylon string guitars for two reasons. First, and this is probably what most readers seek, the book presents the technical specifications evolved by José Romanillos for the design of his instruments over the span of his career of fifty-plus years. But in a way, this is almost secondary to the other reason why this book is a must. This book is a testimony on the design of the Spanish guitar as a specific instrument standard within the broad family of nylon string guitars — for lack of a better word, since “nylon” appears a bit as an anachronism here! 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 June 3, 2026June 3, 2026 by Dale Phillips Big Shop-Made Dovetail Clamp Big Shop-Made Dovetail Clamp by Bob Gleason Originally published in American Lutherie #142, 2021 A friend sent me a link to a New York Times article on the Martin Guitar factory. It had a number of photos, one of which showed a worker fitting a dovetail with a unique clamp. It was a big wooden C-shaped frame with a large screw on the top. It only took a second for me to realize that such a clamp would be useful in my shop. All of my ukuleles and guitars have dovetail neck joints, and I’ve had a number of incidents over the years trying to clamp that joint. Cam clamps have a way of coming loose, as do sliding bar clamps. The clamp in the Times photo seemed like it was just the ticket for that task. 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.
