Inlaying Guitar Fretboards with Glass by Rob Goldberg Originally published in American Lutherie #154, 2025   Using glass as an inlay material has opened up a world of possibilities for me. I now have a full color palette that I can use to create “paintings” on my instruments. Glass has its challenges, though, which I will describe. As […]

Recreating the Lacôte Pearl Rosette by Simon Burgun Originally published in American Lutherie #154, 2025   In my workshop, I specialize in replicas of Romantic guitars along with the restoration of 19th-century instruments. A guitar by René Lacôte, dated 1839 (Photo 1), came through my workshop for a minor checkup a few years ago, and I had the […]

Making Mandolins at Gibson by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #154, 2025   I have a weird job. I’m a professor of Engineering Technology at Purdue, where I have become the guitar guy. This wasn’t what I thought I would do when I arrived in 2004, but I am beyond fortunate that this is how it worked out. […]

Installing a Sideport with a Sliding Door by David Freeman Originally published in American Lutherie #154, 2025   This article is about the way I have seen and done sideports and the coverings that allow them to be opened and closed. The methods vary from no covering to fully adjustable closures. The simplest opening is […]

Meet the Maker: C.F. Casey by Newton Drysdale Originally published in American Lutherie #154, 2025   So, Fred: Were you a musician or a builder from the start? No, actually I began relatively late. But right from the early years I seemed to have a feel for sounds and words. For example, when I was about five, I informed […]