Posted on October 3, 2026October 29, 2026 by Dale Phillips 2003 Manuel Reyes Flamenco Guitar Notes on GAL Instrument Plan #53 2003 Manuel Reyes Flamenco Guitar by Tom Blackshear Originally published in American Lutherie #84, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 See also, Manuel Reyes: Guitarrero by R.E. Bruné The plan is straightforward and not complicated, but there are things that are difficult to show on a drawing; and there are things I’ve learned from my own experience that can help someone following the plan to make a very good flamenco guitar the first time. I’ll try to distinguish between what I think Reyes did to achieve the results that I saw and those things which I do to achieve similar ends. The top shape and dimensions as drawn assume an idealized symmetrical form not reflecting the exact shape of the individual instrument. I’d like to thank Chris Kamen of Classic Guitars International (www.classicguitar.com) for allowing me access to this instrument. The top. The top is of medium density and that is an important consideration. If it were a less dense, soft top, the final top thicknesses, 2.1MM in the center and 2.0MM at the edges would be too thin. The plan does not show any arching of the top, and it’s basically built flat. However, there is a small amount of rounding or pull up from string tension, and additionally there is about a 1/16˝ “lift” approximately 2˝ from the bottom edge which is greatest over the “inserts” — four 1/64˝-thick spruce patches between the inner five fan bars. Those five fan braces are slightly bent at that point. I don’t know how Reyes builds this in, but I do it with 1˝ wide 1/32˝ thick shims mounted on my flat workboard along the bottom edge. In other words, I glue on the fan bars flat against the shimmed workboard, which causes them to bend at that point. It’s important to clamp lightly; otherwise you cause a nasty looking distortion. When the top is under tension, it will pull up to about 1/16˝ in that area. The other two fan bars are perfectly flat. The shimming and the string tension make the part of the lower bout behind the bridge appear domed somewhat from side to side. But sighting from the soundhole to the bottom of the lower bout, it’s basically flat to the area of lift, just over those spruce inserts. 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 October 1, 2026October 26, 2026 by Dale Phillips Product Review: Stewart-MacDonald Fret Scale Rules Product Review: Stewart-MacDonald Fret Scale Rules by Harry Fleishman Originally published in American Lutherie #85, 2006 Whether we are building instruments or repairing them, measuring accurately is crucial to the work we do as luthiers. Measuring for frets, nuts, saddles, basic scales, and compensation, are really not things done best by eye or feel. Accurate work takes accurate tools. I remember a distant time when a depth gauge measuring down to 1/64˝ seemed amazing. A dial, or even digital, caliper in thousandths now seems critical. When checking for high frets we are working in the realm of tenths of thousandths! Of course, the real issues are how close a tolerance is necessary for a given job, and at what resolution can we actually work. I have a friend who began his woodworking career using a Numerically Controlled Router. Each day he would machine out his mahogany parts and then the next morning he would measure them and, when they were several thousandths off, start all over again. He didn’t realize that not only is it not feasible to work mahogany in thousandths, but that the wood shrank or expanded more than his acceptable tolerances in any period of even a few hours — just because of humidity changes in his shop. And mahogany is one of the more stable woods. 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 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2022 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 Six by Mark French The fretboard is the final part needed to complete the neck, our final guitar subassembly. The fretboard is important to both the instrument’s playability and its harmonic accuracy. Its dimensional, geometric, and other specifications represent thoughtful design decisions by its maker. The fretboard is fashioned from a fretboard “blank,” a hardwood billet sufficiently oversize to yield the intended fretboard, typically of rosewood or ebony. Charles’ production sequence should be familiar to anyone who has made a fretboard from scratch, regardless of the specific methods they’ve employed: 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 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.
