Posted on June 30, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Dulcimer 101 Dulcimer 101 by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #98, 2009 There's a good reason why dulcimers get no respect. They are most often judged by their worst players. No one faced with a no-talent, beginner guitarist says, “That instrument isn’t worth a damn.” But when confronted by someone trying to strum the dulcimer and warble through “Amazing Grace,” that’s exactly the attitude that most of us adopt — “That instrument isn’t worth my time.” But if you’ve ever heard the likes of Marks Biggs, Leo Kretzner, Harvey Reid, or Janita Baker, just to name a few, you know that the instrument is only limited by the ability and imagination of the player. So please leave your attitude at the door. I quit building dulcimers after about eighty pieces. When I ran out of market I moved on to other instruments. Guitars and banjos may be more complicated, but I never felt that I had outgrown dulcimers. Recently I met dulcimer teacher Dinah Ansley. Teachers of obscure instruments often become hubs of like-minded people. After examining and playing a couple pieces I had left after a decade of nonbuilding, Dinah told me that if I would make dulcimers again she would recommend them to her students. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 6, 2024May 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Stainless Steel Rusting Properties Questions: Stainless Steel Rusting Properties by Peter Dyer Originally published in American Lutherie #58, 1999 Peter Dyer of Winters, CA has perhaps the last word on the subject of stainless steel and its rusting properties and the Universal Side Bender: The Metals Handbook, Desk Edition, published by the American Society for Metals (6th printing, 1991) says, “In atmospheres free from chloride contamination, stainless steels have excellent corrosion resistance. Types 430, 302, 304, and 316 normally do not show even superficial rust. Some rusting may occur in marine atmospheres or in industrial exposure where surfaces become contaminated with chloride salts.” So, if you’re building guitars and using 302 or 304 stainless on the Universal Side Bender, absent the conditions described above, don’t worry about rust. I hope that this resolves any confusion generated by the seemingly contradictory statements earlier. ◆
Posted on August 1, 2022May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Danco Bend-O-Matic It Worked for Me: Danco Bend-O-Matic by Daniel Fobert Originally published in American Lutherie #90, 2007 Here are some pictures of my DANCO BEND-O-MATIC. I took on this project to advance my elementary machining skills and to get a laugh. My object was to be able to introduce a piece of fret wire into the BEND-O-MATIC, have a powered mechanism start automatically, bend the wire to a predetermined radius, and stop when the bend was complete — all without turning a crank. It was a great hit at last December’s LINT meeting (Luthier’s Interactive of North Texas) — at least as much as my one-handed 9v powered cam clamp. Everyone with a camera phone was maneuvering for a picture. 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 September 22, 2021May 6, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Paul Schuback Story The Paul Schuback Story from his 1986 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #9, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Paul Schuback was born in Barbados in the West Indies in 1946 and moved to the United States at the age of nine months. Through his experiences and training, he lived in thirty-three different homes before the age of twenty. His interest in musical instruments began when he was quite young, when he took up the violin at the age of seven. At the age of nine he began playing the cello, joining a youth symphony orchestra in Utah at the age of fifteen. Then, before graduating high school, he began his career as a luthier with a three-year apprenticeship to master Rene Morizot, in Mirecourt, France. Following this, he specialized in violin making in Mittenwald, Germany. He then became a graduate in bow making at the Morizot Freres again in Mirecourt, France. He continued his studies by researching historical instruments in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. From 1968 to 1971 he worked as journeyman in the Peter Paul Prier violin shop in Salt Lake City, Utah, before moving to Portland, Oregon, where he established his own workshop and where he resides today. 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 August 12, 2021May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Bending Sides with Silicone Blankets Bending Sides with Silicone Blankets by Michael Keller from his 1990 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #25, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Althrough I attended the 1977 Guild convention in Tacoma, I exhibited my instruments for the first time at the following year’s convention in Winfield, Kansas. I visited Stuart Mossman’s shop while I was there, and I saw the side-bending mold that he had. It must have cost a fortune. It was about the size of a Volkswagen van standing on end, and it had all sorts of hydraulic pumps and pistons. In a production shop that kind of tooling might make sense, but for a small shop like mine, making twenty to thirty instruments a year and bending wood for repairs, I don’t need that kind of investment. I bent sides for years over a hot pipe I bought at Lewis Music in Vancouver, B.C. I had to work at a regular job and save money for quite a while before I could afford to buy two Overholtzer side-bending molds. A friend of mine had a custom mold made by the Overholtzer company, and it cost $1,000, I believe. That’s a lot of money. I can bend guitar sides with either a hot pipe or a cast mold quickly and accurately, but I am in this to make a living, and if I can save time and money I will do it. That’s why I prefer my new method. By the way, would anybody like to buy two nice Overholtzer molds? 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.
