Posted on April 27, 2026April 27, 2026 by Dale Phillips Elliptical Legacy Elliptical Legacy by James Condino and John Monteleone Originally published in American Lutherie #109, 2012 Recently I had the good fortune to examine and draw the beautiful D’Aqusito mandolin in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. While in the area, I visited several great guitar builders and got a chance to play dozens of fine D’Aquisto and D’Angelico instruments, most of them still in the trenches, gigging hard with the local fellows. John Monteleone did the restoration and finish work on the mandolin for the museum, and I stopped by John’s place for a bit of laughter and to pick a few tunes. The shop is an icon of 20th century guitar building. The walls are lined with photos of famous people and their instruments, along with little glimpses of the history of our craft. The original iconic photograph of a young Jimmy D’Aquisto standing next to an older John D’Angelico outside the Kenmore Street shop hangs on the wall. There are amazing instruments in various stages of construction and repair, and his old upright bass is instantly accessible right next to the main workbench in case a nice old jazz standard comes up on the radio and the moment strikes him. John’s wonderful stories connected the soul and craft of the mandolin and guitar from his shop on Long Island, through the traditions of some of the greatest luthiers of all time, all the way back to the origins in Italy. 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 April 27, 2026April 27, 2026 by Dale Phillips Molding Plastic Humbucking Mounting Rings Molding Plastic Humbucking Mounting Rings by Mike Doolin Originally published in American Lutherie #117, 2014 I switched over to playing 7-string guitar as of 2013, and consequently began building and modifying 7-string guitars to play. For electric guitar, the options for 7-string pickups and hardware are pretty slim compared to 6-string. There are a few pickup makers who make 7-string models, and happily Jason Loller makes a superb 7-string humbucker. But the only plastic mounting rings I could find were the thin ones for flat-topped solidbody guitars, and I mostly play archtops. So, I decided I’d have to make my own tall plastic mounting rings. I made the mold out of scrap 1/2˝ Delrin from TAP Plastics. I cut 1.718˝ wide strips (cleaning them up to that width on the jointer) to form the perimeter of the mold. I used a 1/4˝ sheet of UHMW plastic as the base since it’s inherently nonstick, over a scrap of 3/4˝ plywood. I fastened everything together with 1˝ nails, drilling .120˝ holes for them. This makes the whole assembly an easy friction fit. 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 April 24, 2026April 24, 2026 by Dale Phillips Questions: Best French Polish Procedure Questions: Best French Polish Procedure by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #109, 2012 Enrico Schiaffella from Rome, Italy asks: I am still looking for “the best way” for my French polish procedure. I would like to be assured about one point. Is it correct that French polish expert Cyndy Burton performs the pore-filling step using epoxy? What kind of epoxy? Is it possible to have a short version of her pore-filling procedure? Cyndy Burton from Portland, Oregon replies: Yes, I use Devcon five-minute epoxy, which is readily available in the U.S. A description of my method was published in AL#51 and is available in The Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five on p. 496. If you have difficulty locating it, please drop me an e-mail (cyndyb@hevanet.com). Caveat: not all epoxies are compatible with shellac.
Posted on April 24, 2026April 24, 2026 by Dale Phillips Questions: Restoring 1826 Panormo Questions: Restoring 1826 Panormo by Aaron Green and Thomas Knatt Originally published in American Lutherie #109, 2012 Dave Skye asks: I am restoring an 1826 Panormo. It has been through many hands and had many previous repairs of variable quality. When the guitar came to me, I believed it to be a working instrument, but when I strung it up, the bridge flew off revealing a gaping hole where once there had been soundboard. That is now water under the bridge and I have succeeded in repairing the soundboard. Also, in a previous repair having nothing to do with the hole under the bridge, another section of soundboard had been replaced. As you can see in the photo, it is the bass-side edge of the lower bout. It is an excellent repair structurally, but unfortunately the color of the wood is slightly lighter than the rest. Is there a way of gradually darkening this piece to match the original soundboard material? 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 April 23, 2026April 23, 2026 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Sander Drum It Worked for Me: Sander Drum by Harry Tomita Originally published in American Lutherie #109, 2012 The parts for this simple sander drum were purchased at the local hardware stores at reasonable prices. The heart of the unit is the PVC pipe which comes in 2˝, 3˝, and 4˝ diameters, with a wall thickness of 1/4˝. As shown in the top photo, it is cut to the desired length, and a 2˝ piece is saved for later measurement purposes. Using 2×4 lumber, two disks of diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the pipe are cut using a bandsaw. The center hole is drilled to accommodate the steel shaft of the sander, and the modified belt pulleys are screwed onto the disks as shown. 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.
