Posted on August 11, 2021March 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips “1704” Varnish Recipe “1704” Varnish Recipe by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #12, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 The subject of violin varnish and its making has been the topic of great debate and secrecy for the last hundred years. Many makers still spend a great deal of time chasing the elusive dream of coming up with the perfect varnish. Books and manuscripts are filled with endless recipes from the very basic to the most absurd. I have seen some formulas that call for ingredients such as goat urine, sheep bile, gold, and other even more exotic organic extracts that have to be boiled, dried, and then mixed with many different hazardous chemicals. I showed Dr. James Martin, head chemist for Bradshaw and Praeger Shellac Co., one of these more eccentric recipes. His reply to me was, “If you heat these chemicals, you will probably blow your shop to smithereens.” Needless to say, I took his advice. The varnish recipe described on the preceding page is known throughout the world as “1704”. The recipe came out of the old Wurlitzer shop in the early ’50s. As you can see, the varnish is a simple mixture of seedlac, gum, resin, and oil mixed with alcohol. 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 August 11, 2021March 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Applications of the Silicone Heating Blanket in Violin Making Applications of the Silicone Heating Blanket in Violin Making by George Borun Originally published in American Lutherie #34, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 In American Lutherie #25, Mike Keller describes how he uses silicone heating blankets for bending guitar sides, and mentions an earlier article in Fine Woodworking. The potential of these devices for use in violin making became obvious to me, and with some experimentation and adaptation, I’ve developed specific applications for the violin maker. Silicone heater blankets, also called flexible heaters, are available from two sources, with a number of standard sizes in stock at each company: Watlow Electric of St. Louis, Missouri (www.watlow.com) and Benchmark Thermal of Grass Valley, California (www.benchmarkthermal.com). Watlow markets through distributors. They have a large selection of stock sizes up to 35" long. Benchmark has a smaller stock size selection, but their prices are considerably lower. They will make any size you wish, but that adds to the cost and delivery time. Stock maximum length is 20", but this is more than long enough for violins. In bending bass ribs, I use two 10" wide blankets for the longer pieces, and only one for the center bout. The best units are 4W/sq.", rather than the 2W models. This type will get up to 500°F in a couple of minutes. Product catalogs are available which list the various sizes. 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 23, 2021March 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Drafting Instrument Plans Drafting Instrument Plans by Ted Davis from his 1984 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #4, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 I feel that for every 1% I put into the Guild, I get back about 120%. And I’m very high on the plan series. It’s an opportunity for repairmen and builders to preserve information about some instruments that would otherwise be lost. By making these plans available to more people, even if they don’t build them, they will see what they look like and what they are. Of course, you will also have the opportunity to build replicas of these fine old instruments. Many of them have historical value, and many of them have monetary value. I’m sure there are a lot of “neophyte” luthiers in the audience today that would like to contribute to the Guild’s publications but just don’t feel they have the experience. Well, here’s something you can do. I’m sure you know someone that has a fine old instrument that’s a collector’s item, or perhaps you have one yourself, or perhaps the repairman will have one come into his shop. Take a few hours, take the dimensions of it, sketch it, and you can draw it at your leisure. Drawing an instrument plan is not all that difficult, but it is time consuming. You’ll spend ten, twelve, maybe fifteen hours or more on your first 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 June 23, 2021March 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Pre-bending Herringbone Purfling Pre-bending Herringbone Purfling by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, June 2021 Herringbone purfling s a lot easier to work with if it is prebent before it is glued onto the guitar. This is best done after wetting it first. I always use a brush to spread glue on guitars. I keep a coffee cup of water handy at all times, along with an acid brush with the bristles properly trimmed back to the stiffness I like. I dip the brush, then hold it stationary as the strip of purfling is pulled across the cup underneath it. Soak the purfling well on both sides. This should take only seconds. Then the strip is pulled through a dry cloth. Soaking it for too long will encourage it to come apart as it is bent. Give the purfling a minute to absorb the water, then tape the butt end into the channel it will be glued in later. Wrap it carefully around the lower bout using a couple pieces of masking tape to hold it tight. More tape, as well as care, will be necessary to make it conform to the waist area. The wrap around the upper bout should be as easy as the lower bout. In the photo, you can see how much tape was used as well as the small fan used to dry the purfling before gluing it in place. All photos by John Calkin Herringbone will wrap around a moderate Venetian cutaway but do it gently and by stages. To be safe, the purfling can be wet and then sliced lengthwise on one of the glue joints using a single-edge razor blade. On a tight Venetian cutaway, the purfling must be sliced. On this tight-waisted jumbo guitar, the purfling was sliced from the top end to below the waist area to help coax this half-herringbone purfling to conform to the shape of the guitar. Sliced purfling doesn't need to be prebent but you might wish to wet it as you reach that portion of the install. Slicing the purfling can go awry and destroy it. Buy extra. ◆
Posted on June 1, 2021March 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Blackboard Eraser Polisher Blackboard Eraser Polisher by Michael Dresdner Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #288, 1984 and Lutherie Woods and Steel String Guitars, 1998 I’ve been using a blackboard eraser to do final dressing on my frets. I take this nice soft eraser and a piece of 600 paper and go across the fretboard. It’s beautiful; it just follows the curve and gives you a nice even rounded top. This is for polishing, after you’ve shaped the frets with files. ◆
