Posted on

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

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.
Posted on

Miter Slot Sled

Miter Slot Sled

by John Calkin

Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, March 2024

 

This jig is more fallout from the week I spent in the last century in a class taught by Charles Fox. Jigs with clamps such as these have been all over my shop since then.

On top, the jig is nothing more than a panel of MDF, two lengths of 1/2" threaded rod, a pair of knobs, and two “jaws” cut from steel flat stock. The jaws were placed in a vise and one end was bent into a slight hook with a hammer. As you will see, aluminum might have been a better choice.

The underside of the jig is nothing more than randomly placed, recessed tee nuts and a wooden runner that fits nicely into the miter slot of the table saw. The runner left the panel overhanging the blade slightly so that a zero-tolerance saw cut could be made.

All layout is done on the object to be cut. Lines are placed on the edge of the jig, clamped down, and gently run through the blade.

Rough lumber can be given a clean edge as long as the dimension is within reach of the saw blade. BEWARE OF THE BLADE TOUCHING THE STEEL JAWS. THE RESULTS COULD BE DISASTROUS! Aluminum jaws make much more sense in this context. Note that helper blocks are needed to cut tall stock, in this case a pair of ukulele neck blanks. Make the cut slowly to prevent moving the stock, especially if the blade is less than newly sharpened.

Since this is the maximum depth that the saw can cut on this jig, the threaded rods were marked for length with a piece of masking tape, then cut back with a hack saw. ◆

Posted on

Mask for Belt Sanding

Mask for Belt Sanding

by John Calkin

Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, March 2024

 

My 6×48 belt sander is my favorite and most used machines, though getting the most out of it didn’t come easy. It takes a knack to use one accurately, and that took years to develop. Perhaps most importantly, I learned to join plates and sculpt necks, saving myself scads of time over the years.

This tip is about sanding parts on nearly completed instruments. It can be dangerous because the plates are already as thin as desired. In this case I needed to take down the end blocks of a dulcimer to the level of the plates. I had already shaped the sides of the blocks using a disk sander and sanding blocks. I used a scrap of poster board to mask the plates as I took down blocks to meet the plates.

The end blocks weren’t that much oversize. A hand plane might have done this job as fast as my belt sander, But I never use handtools if a machine will do the job.

Whew! I cut it close on this one, but it’s OK. The back of this dulcimer was already thinner than I liked.

JC-styro-sanding-mask-03

The block on the bridge end has to be larger to make room for some sort of string fixtures. There are also blocks inside the dulcimer to support the end blocks.

JC-styro-sanding-mask-04

The mask doesn’t have to be fancy or cover the entire plate. Sanding the block is done in quick steps with visual checking at every step.

JC-styro-sanding-mask-05

No sweat this time. All of the hand pressure on the sanding belt is applied to the block. I usually keep 80 grit belts on my sander. Sixty-grit would last longer and cut faster but the scratches require more work to remove.

JC-styro-sanding-mask-06

The abrasive barely touched the mahogany on this end. Most belt sanders of this size come with a 9" disk sander attached, but right from the factory mine wobbled badly. It was also frequently in the way, so I dismantled it. I considered returning the machine to Woodworker’s Supply, but repacking it would have been a lot of work. They still sell this machine. If they haven’t improved I wouldn’t buy it again. Standing the belt 90 degrees to the supplied work table turned out not to be a big deal, so I didn’t miss the disk sander very much. ◆

Posted on

Humbucking Pickup Wiring

Humbucking Pickup Wiring

by Daniel P. Coyle

Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #203, 1982



The use of dual-coil or “Humbucking” pickups enables a wide range of samples of string sounds, along with a heightened complexity of switching problems. A flexible switching installation for either 6-string electric guitars or electric basses has the ability to arrange the coils of the two separate pickups in the following configurations:

a) Pickups in either series or parallel configuration.
b) Coils within the pickups in either series or parallel configuration.
c) Coils within the pickups arranged as “single-coil” or “Humbucking”.
d) Ability to select either pickup individually or both pickups at once.
e) Phase reversal between pickups.
f) Tone control defeat.
g) The regular volume control and high-cut tone control.

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.