Posted on January 3, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: Stradivari by Stewart Pollens Review: Stradivari by Stewart Pollens Reviewed by David Gusset Originally published in American Lutherie #103, 2010 Stradivari by Stewart Pollens ISBN: 978-0521873048 Cambridge University Press, 2010 For over 200 years, Antonio Stradivari has been universally regarded as the greatest violin maker who ever lived, yet it is not widely known that he made virtually every kind of bowed and plucked string instrument popular in the Baroque period, including lutes, guitars, mandolins, viols, harps, and bows. And what do we actually know about the man and about his life and times? For a start, Antonio Stradivari (the Latinized form of his name “Antonius Stradiuarius” can be seen on the labels he inserted in his instruments) lived and worked in Cremona, Italy. He was born sometime between 1644 and 1649 and died in 1737 and was the successor to three previous generations of Cremonese violin makers of the Amati family. What do we know about Stradivari’s working methods, about how he designed and built his instruments? Certainly a lot can be learned from studying the more than 600 of his instruments that still exist, although many of us regrettably may never have the experience of studying firsthand his instruments inside and out. Furthermore, almost all of those surviving instruments have been altered in the process of repair and modernization. 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 January 3, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: Classic Guitar Making by Arthur E. Overholtzer Review: Classic Guitar Making by Arthur E. Overholtzer Reviewed by William McCaw Originally published in American Lutherie #1, 1985 and The Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume 1, 2000 Classic Guitar Making Arthur E. Overholtzer Williams Tool Company, 1983 (revised edition) Out of print (1999) For readers who are familiar with the original edition of Classic Guitar Making, this edition is a new printing, using a full-page format instead of the two-column style used in the original, and has about two-thirds of the illustrations (180). As far as I can tell, the text is the same, with some general tightening up of Art’s rambling style. The printing and illustrations are of a higher quality than the original version. The directory of sources for materials and supplies has been expanded and updated. When I first got interested in building classic guitars, I read several books and soon discovered that there were several ways of doing most of the construction operations. At that time, the first edition of this book was out of print. When I finally got a copy through interlibrary loan, it struck me as being the most logical and complete source that I had read on classical guitar building, so I started using Overholtzer methods. His concepts have done well for me and have been a good platform from which to experiment, in building eleven classic guitars, a fingerpicking steel string, and a 34" scale acoustic bass guitar. 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 January 3, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips A Scene from Dickens A Scene from Dickens by Steve Curtin Originally published in American Lutherie #7, 1986 and The Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume 1, 2000 See also, “H.L. Wild” by Paul Wyszkowski “Out of the Basement” by Richard Bingham I suppose the seeds of the notion to build an instrument were planted in many of us in The Last Whole Earth Catalog, from which I learned of this fabulous establishment on Manhattan's Lower East Side. I think I planned to build some dulcimers first, and embarked by train and subway for the place. This was 1974. Great neighborhood! Inside, I was greeted by a scene out of Dickens. The light through the unwashed windows and dust was poetic in the best cinematic style. Unfamiliar woods were everywhere, strewn in chaos. Light barely penetrated the rear of the shop. 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 January 2, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips Sharpening the Stellite Teeth on the 3″ Hitachi Blade Sharpening the Stellite Teeth on the 3" Hitachi Blade by Bruce Creps previously published in American Lutherie #91, 2007 See also, “Resawing Lutherie Wood” by Bruce Creps “Grading and Curing Lumber” by Bruce Creps With a shop-made jig you can sharpen your blade in place in less time than it takes to remove and reinstall it. You save money, conserve steel, and don’t need to fuss with fine-tuning a newly installed blade. I sharpen blades ten times, making my “cost per blade” under $13. I discard the blade after that because I have found cracks on a few blades after 12–15 sharpenings, and because the Stellite teeth taper in width so you lose set when you sharpen the teeth down to nubs. With insufficient set a band can rub the stock and heat up or wander. The blade will generally stay sharp for eight hours of production sawing of dry hardwood. I don’t go much beyond eight hours because a less-than-sharp blade may heat up and work harden the Stellite tips. The all-Stellite blade has a cutting (rake) angle of 22°, a sharpness angle of 50°, and a back (clearance) angle of 18°. For my purposes this blade is just right. I once used an alternate-tooth Stellite blade and got better performance when I increased its cutting angle from 16° to 22°. Otherwise I have not experimented with tooth geometry. 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 January 2, 2010March 11, 2024 by Dale Phillips Curing and Grading Lutherie Lumber Curing and Grading Lutherie Lumber by Bruce Creps previously published in American Lutherie #92, 2007 See also, “Resawing Lutherie Wood” by Bruce Creps “Sharpening the Stellite Teeth on the 3" Hitachi Blade” by Bruce Creps At a GAL Convention several years back a well-known luthier and lecturer stated that the best way to be assured a supply of properly processed tonewood was to harvest and air dry it yourself. He posited that due to turnaround and financial considerations most tonewood suppliers rush their kiln schedule and compromise the quality of the wood. For me, the wisdom of his statements was in stressing the importance of proper drying. I don’t know if the percentage of kiln-dried instrument-grade wood damaged or compromised due to improper drying is higher than the corresponding air-dried percentage. I do know that it is very easy to damage wood when air drying it. You don’t have to do anything. Neglect it and you can expect degrade: end checks, surface checks, warping, case-hardening, rot pockets, fungal stain and decay, and/or insect infestation. Improperly kiln-dried wood can exhibit checking, warping, and case-hardening. However, with kiln drying the fungi and pests in the wood will be killed, and colors can be clearer. The obvious disadvantages of kiln drying are that you need space and funds for a kiln, and you use lots of energy (unless you have a solar kiln). 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.
