Posted on April 22, 2023March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Unified Repair Pricing Questions: Unified Repair Pricing Originally published in American Lutherie #25, 1991 John Kitakis from Hendersonville, NC writes: I’ve enjoyed toying with the idea of unified repair pricing throughout North America. To me, it seems unprofessional to have a wide variety of charges for the same repair. I suppose everyone has different needs and wants, and overheads vary, so this “discrepancy” may never be resolved. The repairman down the road (who says he doesn’t need much) will continue to charge $100 for a fret job, and $20 to reglue the bridge. I continue to have plenty of business, so I’ll continue to charge more. Below is a list of a few prices. My complete list is available upon request. 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 April 22, 2023March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Making a Living as a Luthier Letter: Making a Living as a Luthier by Bob Benedetto Originally published in American Lutherie #3, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume One, 2000 Dear GAL Staff and Members, I have been a Guild member for about ten years and always felt it to be a very worthwhile organization. No doubt, it is the single most important thing that has ever happened to our fine craft. Guild members have, by means of the Quarterly, supplied me with invaluable information and continue to do so. I would like to touch upon a point that concerns us all: making a living as a luthier. It’s a subject we all like to discuss at times and, of course, must concern ourselves with. I have had the pleasure of meeting many makers, repairpeople, and restorers over the years. Some make money and some don’t. Why do some of us succeed while others fail? The reasons I have found to be both consistent and predictable. 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 April 22, 2023March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Gourd Seeds Letter: Gourd Seeds by Tony Pizzo Originally published in American Lutherie #2, 1985 Yo Tim, Deb and Bonnie! American Lutherie looks great! You join a select group of survivors with this latest move. I’m going to (against my better judgement) try growing some gourds under plastic up here, but I don’t expect much, so no data sheet. But I’ve got a list of gourds and gourd seed for sale from The Gourd (February issue) magazine which may be of use to beleaguered luthiers. It may be easiest for people looking for gourds to contact Charlie Cannon as he’s already set up to sell them. Of course people who can get to the Ohio Fair can pick up gourds at the Gourd Show there — shipping can be a headache for growers. This is the best I’ve been able to come up with in this department. Very hard to get them on the east coast. (American Gourd Society, Box 274, Mt. Gilead, OH 43338 and Charlie Cannon, Rt. 1, Box 49, Hobgood, NC 27843) 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 April 22, 2023March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Novice Notes Novice Notes by Donald Curry Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Newsletter Vol. 4, #4, 1976 Tools are a prerequisite to any art or craft and so it is important for the beginner to have a thorough knowledge of tools and their proper applications before purchasing the first one. The quality and types of tools available to the luthier will have a direct effect on not only the finished product but also on the ease with which the work progresses. It is for these reasons that the amateur or novice luthier should have thorough knowledge of the tools utilized by the craft before beginning the work. It is also a good idea to know exactly what type instruments (violin, guitar, etc.) you wish to construct before you purchase tools. This will enable you to buy only those you specifically need avoiding the purchase of non-essential and duplicative tools. Tools of the luthier may be divided into three broad categories: (1) General woodworking tools; those tools used by all types of woodworkers such as carvers, cabinet makers, joiners, etc. (2) Special tools manufactured specifically for building or repairing one type or another musical instrument. (3) Special tools the luthier must either modify or adapt from an existing tool or fabricate from scratch. 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 April 22, 2023March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Novice Notes Novice Notes by Donald Curry Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Newsletter Vol. 4, #3, 1976 After having read my first two issues of the “Quarterly” and the G.A.L. Internal Affairs bulletin no. 2, I feel there is a need for more positive material and less criticism of everything and everybody. It is to this end that I hope this letter will serve. First I wish to address the problem of materials. In Vol. 4, No. 2 on page 19, Rick Boling has a poem which suggests a tree planting project. I am in full favor of such a proposal and I think all luthiers whether they be amateur or professional, beginner or master should support such a project. Without doubt a luthier depends on wood of high quality unless you are willing to accept a future populated by instruments with fiberglass bodies, aluminum necks, and made on assembly lines. Remember, trees are a renewable resource. To meet the more immediate needs of some luthiers, I would like to see a materials exchange program sponsored by the Guild. It would seem that there must be numerous professionals who have, over the years, obtained woods which for one reason or another they feel are not up to par for use in the very fine expensive instruments they make and so discard these pieces when these same woods might be perfectly satisfactory for the beginner who is still experimenting and does not want to invest in fine expensive wood. Those who have such discards, rather than letting it go to waste, could offer it for sale at reasonable prices through the Guild whereby they would be helping the beginner at no loss to themselves. 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.
