Posted on June 3, 2025June 4, 2025 by Dale Phillips Resurrecting the Family Banjo Resurrecting the Family Banjo by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #84, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Though the title says banjo, this could as easily be about any stringed instrument. We’ve all seen them, the family “heirloom” that some relative has decided deserves to be played again, perhaps because they think it will be cheaper than buying a comparable new one, but more likely for some sentimental reason. The number of such beaters you actually get to work on may vary with your locality. Sentimentality didn’t count for much in New Jersey, and I had a collection of junky guitars that had been abandoned once the concerned relative learned what the cost of resurrection would be. Virginians, on the other hand, seem to put more stock in sentimentality and I’ve had the chance to rebuild several instruments that probably weren’t worth the fee I charged. Though this is about restoring an instrument to playability, please understand that we’re not talking about restoration as a vintage specialist would understand it. That sort of restoration often requires specialized knowledge and may demand a lot of research as well as the exchange of hefty sums of cash. It’s not much fun, either, unless you suffer a certain type of personality. In fact, some of what you and your customer may decide to do may interfere with future restoration, so it pays to have some idea of what’s collectable and what’s not. 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 April 23, 2025May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Robert Ruck Meet the Maker: Robert Ruck by Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #93, 2008 Robert Ruck was one of the very first members of the Guild, and one of a handful of luthiers who attended our first convention in 1974. His passion for the music and culture of the guitar, his respect for its history, his hard work and dedication, and his prolific output have put him at the very top of his craft. I met him at our 1992 convention in South Dakota, where he spoke in detail about his building methods at that time (see AL#42 and BRBAL4). Fourteen years later, during the 2006 GAL Convention, we sat down over dinner and had this talk. Before we get to guitar making, I want to find out what influences first turned you to the light side, the creative side. As far as being exposed to anything artistic, my dad had a major influence in my life for sure. 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 July 8, 2024May 8, 2025 by Dale Phillips Pearly Shells and Nichols Pearly Shells and Nichols by David Nichols from his 1984 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #1, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume One, 2000 My shop recently did two guitars for the Martin Company which are elaborate enough that they encompass basically all the different techniques used in pearl inlay. We inlaid the tortoise shell pickguards, the rosewood headstocks, ebony fingerboards, and all edgebinding. I photographed many steps in this process, and we can look at these as examples. Here’s a picture of where I’m going to cut the pearl and do the inlay work (Photo 1). I have taken an extra liberty with our cutting board, drilling a series of holes in the back where I can stand all the little Dremel attachments that I’m going to need. When we cut pearl, it is either filed, or ground with the Dremel to an exacting contour after we saw it. It gives you a much better looking job if you touch up the sawn edges of the pieces before you put them in. 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 July 7, 2024May 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Gluing in India Questions: Gluing in India by Dale Zimmerman Originally published in American Lutherie #103, 2010 George Mathai from Kerala, India asks: My friend is a luthier based in the southern state of India, Kerala. For gluing the various parts and braces for his guitars and violins he uses Franklin Titebond glue and Behlen ground hide glue. However, in one of his custom-made flamenco guitars, a rattling sound brought the guitar back to the shop. One of the right fan braces had come off a bit and this was causing the rattling. For that guitar he had used the hide glue to glue the braces on. Kerala is well within the humid equatorial tropics and perhaps the humidity affected the gluing. What is the best glue that can be used to withstand high humidity? Dale Zimmerman from Franklin International in Columbus, Ohio responds: Hide glues such as our ready-to-use Titebond Liquid Hide Glue and most hot-pot hide glues are, and remain, quite sensitive to moisture. That affinity for moisture means that they tend to absorb water when exposed to high humidity or damp conditions, and that increase in moisture causes them to swell and weaken. Bonds that are not subject to stress may show little effect, as the glue loses that moisture and regains its strength as it returns to its original dry state. Where the bond is under stress, however, that stress is likely to cause some opening of the joint while the glue is softened. Ultimately then, the amount of change in a bond over time will be influenced by the concentration and duration of the moisture to which it is exposed and the stress, both inherent in the bond and that created as the wood involved changes in dimension in response to those changes in moisture content. That means that hide glues are generally considered a poor choice for bonds that are likely to be exposed to particularly humid conditions, especially those that are expected to be under meaningful stress. For such situations, yellow glues, which show little effect from dampness or elevated humidity are a decidedly better choice. ◆
Posted on July 7, 2024May 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Low Cost Emergency Lathe It Worked for Me: Low Cost Emergency Lathe by Gerhart Schmeltekopf Originally published in American Lutherie #29, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Most luthiers probably don’t have wood lathes, so I submit this low-cost, emergency lathe setup for the times you might want to make a music stand, washtub bass, or baseball bat for the local luthiers’ picnic. I bought commercial turnings to make a student harpsichord stand. They were “sanded and ready to finish,” so I knew that they would need to be sanded before finishing. They are too long for my lathe, so I rigged this temporary reciprocating or “pole” lathe to spin them and sand them. 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.
