Posted on April 9, 2026April 9, 2026 by Dale Phillips About Alcohols Used as Solvents in French Polishing About Alcohols Used as Solvents in French Polishing by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #105, 2011 Most any kind of pure or nearly pure simple alcohol can be used as a solvent for shellac, because shellac will dissolve completely in any of them. But the choice of what kind of alcohol to use gets complicated pretty fast when issues of application, availability, price, and safety are considered. The two most common choices for shellac solvents for use in French polishing are ethanol and denatured alcohol, which is nominally ethanol to which some poisonous substance(s) has been added to make it undrinkable. Both of these are discussed here in terms of all of the qualities listed above. The research behind this article is one of those good examples of one thing leading to another. We were discussing the general availability of ethanol around the American Lutherie cyber water cooler one day, and this led to the realization that both Contributing Editor Cyndy Burton and I suffered from burning eyes when we have used denatured alcohol. This seemed odd, given the generally accepted belief of what is used to denature alcohol (methanol) and how little of it (5%) we believe there is in the mix. This in turn led to a detailed look at denatured alcohols, in terms of chemistry and safety, and this turned up information which I thought fascinating enough to share. 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 March 3, 2026March 3, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Ralph Novak Meet the Maker: Ralph Novak by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #70, 2002 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Six, 2013 There aren’t a lot of questions in this interview. Ralph’s mind is organized. I made the appointment to interview him during the 2001 GAL Convention, and when the appointed time rolled around his story poured out almost as if he were reading it — an interviewer’s dream. I’ll bet he’s always been that way. We should all be so lucky. The interview was later updated to late April 2002. How were you introduced to music and lutherie? I started with piano lessons in the third grade, and started playing guitar when I was fourteen. By the time I was fifteen I began modifying and customizing my guitars. My dad was helpful in that. He didn’t know anything about instruments, but he was an excellent woodworker, and even when I was a child he made his shop available to me. He’d show me his projects, maybe let me sand something, and answer any questions I came up with about the shop and the work. The shop was never locked up. I’d go down there and do stuff. 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 February 20, 2026February 20, 2026 by Dale Phillips Torres Guitar Restoration Torres Guitar Restoration by R.E. Bruné Originally published in American Lutherie #33, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Three, 2004 In March of 1986 I received in my workshop an 11-string guitar by Antonio Torres made in Almeria in 1884, and numbered #71. This instrument being perhaps unique in the world today for Torres’ work, it was imperative that it be adequately documented and ideally, restored as close as possible to original playing condition. The owner was quite anxious to pursue this course also, with the ultimate goal of selling it on the open market. Surviving guitars by Torres are quite rare, being limited to fewer than seventy known instruments, and this example is perhaps the only 11-string example remaining, although Prat alludes to two others in his Diccionario under the listing for Torres. It is not clear whether he is referring to the same instrument owned by several different people or different instruments owned by different people. Although Torres numbered his instruments made from 1880 until he died in 1892, apparently there is no surviving record of the details of each instrument nor who the original owners were. (Editor’s Note: After this article was written, José Romanillos published his excellent book, Antonio de Torres, Guitar Maker — His Life and Work. In it he presents photos, drawings, and descriptions of another surviving Torres 11-string, #83. Author Bruné urges all to acquire and study this book.) 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 October 10, 2025October 10, 2025 by Dale Phillips Finishing Techniques for Hiding Repair Work Finishing Techniques for Hiding Repair Work by Dan Erlewine from his 1992 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #36, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Three, 2004 I grew up looking at the record jackets of my parents’ folk music — Burl Ives, Marais & Miranda (Joseph Marais played a 00-28 herringbone), Josh White with his 00-45. When the Kingston Trio hit around ’59, and I saw those Martins, I just had to have one. I went down to a pawn shop on Michigan Avenue in Detroit and got a Domino, if anyone remembers those. Marc Silber can tell you who made them. I took it home and stripped off the paint so it looked like a Martin and the rest has been a lot of fun. Here are some tricks I learned after I applied for my first job as a luthier at Herb David’s Guitar Studio in 1962. (There’s more on Herb David in American Lutherie #26; more on Dan’s career in AL#25.) I was seventeen and out of high school. I had been hacking stuff in my dad’s workshop, but I wanted to learn more so I’d go over to Herb’s and hang around. I worked at McDonald’s, and I’d take him big bags of free cheeseburgers that I had made myself. They were triple-deckers, which they didn’t make then. One day Herb showed me a Gibson SJ with rosewood back and sides (now I realize just how rare that guitar was!). It had a big fist-sized hole punched through it. Herb said, “Fix this, kid.” 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 13, 2024May 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips Sealing with Shellac and Varnishing Rosewood Sealing with Shellac and Varnishing Rosewood by Neil Hebert Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #269, 1984 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume One, 2000 I have been using oil varnish on my instruments for years and have always found the finishing stages to be long and tedious. Still, I find the results of a good rubbed varnish job to be superior to lacquer; it gives the nicest “feel” to the guitar as well as showing the wood to the best advantage. One of the most ticklish problems in my experience is the seal coat of shellac, especially the first coat. The seal coat must be applied evenly in order to maintain consistent color on rosewood. The resins in the wood tend to wash out over the surface, which can result in irregular staining. I have tried three methods for applying this coat: 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.
