Posted on March 6, 2024March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Building the Kamanché Building the Kamanché by Nasser Shirazi Originally published in American Lutherie #4, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 The word kamanché in the Persian language (Farsi) means “small bow.” This instrument, with varying shape, size, and material, is widely used in Middle Eastern countries. The kamanché described in this article is modeled after the Persian (Iranian) instrument. The kamanché is a very old instrument and possibly dates back as much as 1500–2000 years, being another form of the ancient Indian ravanstron. In 1418 A.D. Ben Abd-ul-Cadir wrote a treatise (the manuscript of which is in the University of Leyden) which shows that its existence today has changed little since that time. A 16th-century Iranian miniature painting in the Khamza of the poet Nizami shows a kamanché very similar to the one described below. Various early European travelers to Iran have described it also. Among these are Sir W. Ouseley in 1819,1 and Sir Percy M. Sykes.2 Sykes describes a kamanché in Khorasan, an eastern province of Iran, as follows: “...made of walnut wood. The total length is 37", with fingerboard 9" in length. The instrument is handled like a violoncello; but in shape resembles a mandolin with a long spike of worked iron. The belly is constructed from a pumpkin covered with parchment and mounted with stripes of bone radiating from a turquoise. The neck is pierced on each side with three holes, and with a hollow at the back, 3" in length; there are three wire strings and six pegs, three of which are dummies. The bow resembles our double-bass bows and is 22" in length; it is made of gypchin wood and has a strap and a loop with which to tighten the horsehair. To complete the equipment, a bit of beeswax is tied on to serve as rosin.” 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 March 6, 2024March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Making a Weissenborn-Style Guitar Making a Weissenborn-style Guitar by John Calkin previously published in American Lutherie #102, 2010 “You shouldn’t write a Weissenborn story,” said Lamar Scomp, “’cuz I don’t want to build one.” Lamar tends to take everything personally, and the rest of humanity be damned. “You didn’t want to build a dulcimer either, until I twisted your arm. But you had fun with it, didn’t you?” I said. “Yup.” “And didn’t you tell me that playing dulcimer was making you a better guitar player?” “Yeah,” said Lamar suspiciously, like he could see the trap in front of him and knew he was going to step in it anyway. “Well, a Weissenborn is sort of the ultimate dulcimer on its way to becoming a guitar. The plates are flat, but braced like a guitar. My version has no taper to the sides, just like a dulcimer. Since it’s meant to be played with a slide, there are no frets to mess with, and setting the high action is a breeze. And it’s fun to play. I think you should check out some ace players on YouTube. You’ll be impressed.” “I don’t believe nothin’ I see online. It’s all computerized trickery,” he said. “OK, Lamar. But the Weissenborn is your next step on the way to making guitars. I think you need to build one.” 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 March 4, 2024March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Seedlac Seedlac by Nicholas Von Robison Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #150, 1980 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Seedlac resin, when combined with alcohol, gives a magnificent spirit varnish suitable for spraying or French polishing with qualities far superior to its better known cousin shellac. It’s more transparent, faster drying, harder, and more resistant to scuffing and moisture. The latter quality is of particular value as sweaty hands can play havoc on a shellac-based finish on a musical instrument. With all this going for it, it is not well known or used by luthiers to a great extent. The primary reason is that the major paint and varnish manufacturers buy most of the crop for their own needs, leaving little for the small-scale importers. About 60% of the resin is collected from an area between Calcutta and Central India with lesser amounts coming from Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. There is a distinct difference in the resin color from different areas. The lac west of Calcutta is yellow or orange, east and south of Calcutta it is red, a pale red in Assam, and a dark red in Thailand. The resin comes from various indigenous trees, primarily kusam (Scheichera trijuga) which has the best color (pale yellow) and quality, but others such as pala (Wrightia tomentosa), ber (Berrya amomilla), and ghont (Bursera serrata). Two crops occur each year, summer and winter, and they revolve around the life cycle of a scale-like insect (Laccifer lacca) which infests the host trees. This small (about the size of an apple seed) red critter was cultivated as early as 80 A.D. for the purplish dye it contains. But not until 1580, in the records of Akbar the Great, do we find any mention of seedlac resin for varnish making. 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 March 4, 2024March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Chemical Stains Chemical Stains by Michael Darnton Originally published in American Lutherie #32, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 One of the biggest problems for the violin maker trying to replicate the effects of time is the imitation of the color of ancient wood. Even unantiqued instruments benefit from the rich appearance of old, time-darkened wood under a coat of fine varnish. Chemical stains have the greatest promise for replicating the look of old wood. Unlike aniline and pigment dyes which insert foreign colors into the wood, either in the form of a soluble dye or of a solid pigment, chemical stains cause a color change in the wood itself. The change is both permanent and clean-looking when compared to that of aniline and pigment colors. 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 March 4, 2024March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Honest Ron’s Lacquer Finishing Technique Honest Ron’s Lacquer Finishing Technique by Ron Lira Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheets #262, 1983 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume One, 2000 Tools and Materials: High quality spray gun — Binks 69 Respirator and rubber gloves 1/2 h.p. or larger compressor 2 water traps in air line — Amflo 1060 Air regulator for 40 lbs.–50 lbs. static — Binks Hot plate with water tub Clean place to spray Air or electric buffer and pads Rodac 717 and Schlegel 875C pads 120-, 220-, 320-, 600-grit sandpaper 3M Tri-M-ite Fre-cut and wet or dry Behlen Pore-o-Pac paste wood filler Sherwin Williams T75C40 Finish lacquer Sherwin Williams T67F3 Vinyl sanding sealer Sherwin Williams R7K120 Thinner Sherwin Williams R7K27 Retarder Sherwin Williams D1T271 Rubbing compound Sherwin Williams D1T13 Polishing compound 3-M-05990 Imperial Hand glaze 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.
