Posted on June 13, 2024January 21, 2025 by Dale Phillips Routing Neck Dovetails, Part 2 Routing Neck Dovetails, Part 2 by Roy Woltz Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #162, 1980 Here is the simplified method of making dovetail neck joints with a router and dovetail bit. First, figure the depth of the guitar body at the heel. Mine are usually 3 3/8", so I make the dovetail 3" long. It will taper about 1/4" to the inch. The female jig is designed to be used with a holding mold attached to a table. The mold must be fastened to form a 90° angle to the table top and to bring the heel surface of the body into such a position that the jig can be extended over it. The body is put in the mod with the soundboard facing out, and is held in working position with the wedges and rubber bands. 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 June 13, 2024January 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Fretboard Slotting with a CNC Router Fretboard Slotting with a CNC Router by John Svizzero and R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #98, 2009 Lutherie shops with CNC machines use them for a number of applications, some of which are discussed in the article “Desktop CNC Machines” in AL#77. We (authors Svizzero and Mottola) met at meetings of the New England Luthiers and began comparing notes on our shop-built CNCs. Svizzero’s full-sized machine uses Porter-Cable routers as spindles, and Mottola’s desktop machine uses the Proxxon grinder. We have each been using CNC routers in our own shops for slotting fretboards. By CNC routing standards, fretboard slotting is a slow operation due to the small diameter end mills used (typically .022" to .025"), but in our small shops we have found slotting in this manner to be both cost effective in terms of time and to offer some advantages that other slotting schemes do not. With a suitable CNC machine already in the shop, it is possible to experiment with CNC fretboard slotting with a small investment in tooling and time. Our experiences may help others get over some of the startup problems. 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 June 13, 2024January 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Violin Bridge Holder Violin Bridge Holder by Alan Carruth Originally published in American Lutherie #7, 1986 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Thanks to George Manno for some feedback on his experience with bridge tuning. Bridges on good violins do tend to be quite similar, but I still like to work them up individually. And he is certainly right about fitting the feet! One dimension he seems to have left out is the thickness of the feet at the bottom of the bridge, generally given as 4.5MM (3/16"). If this is too heavy it can make the instrument sound “closed.” If you don’t want to thin it anymore a bit of wood can be removed from the end of the leg without affecting the stiffness too much. 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 June 6, 2024January 15, 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 June 6, 2024January 16, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: French Polish VS Olive Oil Questions: French Polish VS Olive Oil by Gary Southwell and Koen Padding Originally published in American Lutherie #97, 2009 Stuart Mewburn from London, England asks: A recent request for an instrument finished with olive oil prompted me to do an experiment. I took two pieces of European spruce, the same size, oil finished one and French polished the other. I used virgin olive oil, applying one layer a day with a cloth and finished the next morning with Micro-mesh. Over fifteen days it built up a lustrous finish. Over the same time I applied thirty layers of French polish to the second piece of spruce. The oiled spruce (fifteen layers) weighed 2g more than the bare wood. The French polished spruce (thirty layers) weighed 1g more than the bare wood. If these figures are multiplied up to the size of the lower bout it means that the oiled top adds 33.2g to the weight of the working part of the top and the French polish adds 16.2g. When you consider that a bridge weighs about 19g–20g that’s a significant increase in weight for the strings to drive. The experiment begs a couple of questions. Has anyone done similar tests for other guitar finishes? To what extent does the mass of the finish affect the tone of the instrument? And as an aside, how well will a finish like olive oil hold up? 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.
