Posted on September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Six The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Six by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021 See also, A Guitar Is Born: Attending Charles Fox’s Hands-On Guitar Making Course by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part One by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Two by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Three by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Four by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five by Mark French The completed neck is attached to the body with four bolts, whose geometry is shown in Fig. 1. There are two bolts side by side under the overhanging part of the fretboard. Only one dotted line shows there. 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 September 9, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips Eight Concerns of Highly Successful Guitar Makers Eight Concerns of Highly Successful Guitar Makers by R.E. Bruné from his 2001 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #79, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Many of you know a little of my history, but I’ll say a bit more so you’ll understand where I’m coming from and why I will espouse some of the radical ideas that you may hear today. I began playing guitar in the early 1960s when I was just a teenager. I taught myself flamenco, then moved to Mexico City in 1968 and lived there for two years. I played in flamenco troupes for a number of dancers and singers including Roberto de Ronda, Lola Golan, and La Poli. Later I worked with other singers like Pepe Culata and Agujetas (Manuel de los Santos). So I began my career by struggling to make a living as a musician. My attitude toward the instrument was from the standpoint of a player. 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 August 7, 2026August 7, 2026 by Dale Phillips “Restomodding” Wall-Hanger Guitars “Restomodding” Wall-Hanger Guitars by Roger Häggström Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021 Cheap guitars were made in great numbers all over the world at the beginning of the last century. In Sweden, the driving force behind a burgeoning interest in guitars was the independent church movement. The prevailing sentiment was that every able-bodied parishioner should be able to play three chords on a guitar at prayer meetings and fundraisers (Photo 1). Many of these instruments still exist, mostly in unplayable condition. I have found ways to restore these wonderful old guitars and make them play and sound better than ever. I love the bass-balanced sound of old-style ladder bracing in a small steel-strung parlor guitar. The complex sounds keep me wanting to play another chord. Modern X bracing gives more bass but also less varied tone, in my opinion. 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 16, 2026June 16, 2026 by Dale Phillips Bridge Shaping and Routing Jig Bridge Shaping and Routing Jig by Paul Woolson Originally published in American Lutherie #79, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Ah, the bridge. From my research, this extremely important, yet often overlooked, element of the guitar has had little written about it. Many builders I’ve talked to are so daunted by the task of making bridges that they simply buy them premade and stick them on. To me, this is an injustice to the overall design of the guitar, often making the bridge look like an afterthought. You might notice that I use a very nontraditional bridge shape (Photo 1). I’ve chosen a design that complements many different elements of the guitars I build. From headstock, to fingerboard extension, to bridge, I try to incorporate the same design elements. I prefer to make all of my bridges from ebony. However, the following information can be used for almost any shape or wood choice, including standard winged bridges. The scallops of the winged bridge would have to be created in another step which could be easily done on a table saw, or by some other method. 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 12, 2026June 12, 2026 by Dale Phillips Let’s Catch Up With Graham Caldersmith Let's Catch Up With Graham Caldersmith by Juan Oscar Azaret Originally published in American Lutherie #132, 2017 Hop on a plane in Boston. Fly twenty-seven hours to Sydney, then connect on a prop plane to Port Macquarie on the coast of New South Wales. Rent a car (no, the steering wheel is not on that side, dummy), and drive 60KM southwest. (Stay to the left, the left, the LEFT!) Oops, here comes a traffic circle — drive around clockwise, cars on your right have the right of way, remember to exit left, and stay left. Why is that left wheel always grabbing the shoulder... where the heck is it, anyway? Now out of the city (whew!) and on beautiful Australian farmland — rolling green hills in the mild August winter. Past the logging town of Wauchope and the hamlet of Byabarra. The road narrows to a winding switchback climb up the steep slopes of Bago Bluff, and finally we find ourselves on a high plateau of rich farmland in the town of Comboyne, NSW, population two hundred. Comboyne is the home of luthier Graham Caldersmith and his partner Angela MacPherson (Photo 1). On a recent trip to visit our son in Australia, I took the time to spend a delightful day with Graham and Angela in their enchanting home/workshop/tea house where I learned much about lutherie and acoustics, and enjoyed their wonderful hospitality. 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.
