Posted on June 16, 2026June 16, 2026 by Dale Phillips Bridge Shaping and Routing Jig Bridge Shaping and Routing Jig by Paul Woolson Originally published in American Lutherie #79, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Ah, the bridge. From my research, this extremely important, yet often overlooked, element of the guitar has had little written about it. Many builders I’ve talked to are so daunted by the task of making bridges that they simply buy them premade and stick them on. To me, this is an injustice to the overall design of the guitar, often making the bridge look like an afterthought. You might notice that I use a very nontraditional bridge shape (Photo 1). I’ve chosen a design that complements many different elements of the guitars I build. From headstock, to fingerboard extension, to bridge, I try to incorporate the same design elements. I prefer to make all of my bridges from ebony. However, the following information can be used for almost any shape or wood choice, including standard winged bridges. The scallops of the winged bridge would have to be created in another step which could be easily done on a table saw, or by some other method. 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 June 16, 2026June 16, 2026 by Dale Phillips An Enhancement to the Outside Mold An Enhancement to the Outside Mold by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #79, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 The outside mold is a useful tool for side bending. If the side slat is bent to roughly the ultimate shape of the side and then clamped into the mold while still hot and damp, the slat will conform to the shape of the mold while it cools and dries. This works pretty well for the following reason. If you make a bend in wood, as it cools and dries it tends to revert to its original shape. This springback phenomenon causes all manner of grief with some approaches to side bending, but it can be used to advantage when using a mold. Sides can generally be over bent slightly and then clamped into the mold, where they will relax into the shape of the mold as they cool and dry. So for the most part, when using an outside mold you can just bend the wood to only the roughest approximation of the final shape and let the mold and springback take care of the rest. This technique works great for all of the areas where the mold is on the outside of the curve, but doesn’t work at all where the mold is on the inside of the curve, such as at the waist bends in an outside mold. That’s because springback makes the bent sides pull away from the mold at the waist as the wood cools and dries. 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 June 15, 2026June 15, 2026 by Dale Phillips Essential Tools: Scratches and a Detail Knife Essential Tools: Scratches and a Detail Knife by Eugene Clark with Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #80, 2004 and Big Red Book of American lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 What are scratch tools, Eugene? Scratches are something like one-tooth saws. The square one is like a rip tooth, a paring tool like a small chisel that takes a shaving out; and the pointed one is a parting tool that separates. So, you have a pointed scratch and a chisel-shaped scratch. The latter are really just violin purfling tools. These were hand forged from nails. On some of these German scratches you can pull the blade out of the handle and you will see the unaltered point of a nail — good Swedish nails, probably. Nails made from Swedish steel were very much in demand for tools like this. 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 June 12, 2026June 12, 2026 by Dale Phillips The “Mysteries” of Panormo The “Mysteries” of Panormo by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #132, 2017 One of the classics of lutherie literature is the book, The “Secrets” of Stradivari by violin historian Simone F. Sacconi. This thick book contains much detailed information on the instruments of the Cremonese master violin maker, enough so that, for some readers, what may have once been considered to be true secrets of design and construction are revealed. The title of this article is a takeoff on that of Sacconi’s book. Sacconi spent a lifetime researching the instruments detailed in his tome and so the information imparted there can be considered to be definitive. Having recently completed a single long construction project of a replica instrument by 19th century guitar maker Louis Panormo (Photo 1), I am in nowhere near a position to assume expertise in the “secrets” of Panormo’s guitars. But that project did introduce me to a number of features typical of instruments of that time and, in particular, of the instruments of that maker. 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 June 11, 2026June 15, 2026 by Dale Phillips Making Patterns for an Access Panel Making Patterns for an Access Panel by Lloyd Marsden Originally published in American Lutherie #80, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 The article by Larry Mills and Chris Jenkins on access panels (Al#76, pg 52) was a valuable explanation. I was beginning a new series of guitars and decided to try the system on one that will receive electronics. After thinking about Mills and Jenkins’ method for some time, I wanted to alter two aspects. The first was the initial patterns for the door and its opening. Not being the greatest at fitting things by bandsaw and sanding, I wanted to find a way to make the patterns so they would automatically fit together. The second was a picky desire to keep the side material continuous. I wanted the door to be veneered with the side material and be replaced so that the grain would remain continuous. 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.
