Posted on July 5, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Adjustable Truss Rod Adjustable Truss Rod by Jim Williams Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #277, 1984 and Lutherie Woods and Steel String Guitars, 1998 For many and varied reasons, many luthiers are wary of adjustable truss rods when building instruments. The most obvious reason is the difficulty of making and fitting a conventional truss rod as used by Gibson, Guild, and others. The efficacy of this system is often doubtful as well, plus there’s the legacy of broken pegheads that often results from the excavation of wood to accommodate the adjusting wrench. The drawings illustrate the difference in operation between the conventional system and the system I am describing which is similar to that used by Gurian and Rickenbacker. This method is also great for mandolins. You will need a 3' length of 3/16" steel rod, a small block of brass 1/2"×1/2"×3/8", a 3/16" U.N.S. thread Allen nut (what you in the U.S. call 10×32) and some 3/4" wide fiberglass packaging tape. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 5, 2024May 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Case for Using Natural Dyes The Case for Using Natural Dyes by Nicholas Von Robison Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly Volume 11, #1, 1983 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume One, 2000 Luthiers do not need to color their raw materials as much as other woodworkers. We use fine woods that can stand on their own merit without any help from the dye pot. But now and then we do find a need for dyes: for example, for rosettes, bindings, taking grey streaks from ebony, enhancing the color cast of wood, and tinting finishes. In 1856 young William Henry Perkin was trying to synthesize quinine but instead wound up with a black tarry mess. This was mauveine, the first of the coal-tar derived dyes. By 1900 the aniline dyes (coal-tar derived) had virtually replaced all other dye materials. Up to this point, dyeing was done with naturally occurring materials and was more of an art than a science. With aniline dyes results were predictable, repeatable, stable, nonfading, and a heck of a lot simpler. There was bound to be a reaction, of course. The art of natural dyeing is returning to the amateur weavers and textile artists; I doubt if woodworkers will be far behind. 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 July 1, 2024May 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Single String That is Too Sharp Questions: Single String That is Too Sharp by Neil Kok Originally published in American Lutherie #102, 2010 Neil Kok from Finland adds his answer to the question in AL #100 about problems with a single string that is too sharp: I was interested in John Calkin’s answer about modifying the saddle to remedy a guitar string that is too sharp. I have an example from one of my own guitars that may complement John’s answer with another solution. If the nut is not made exactly correctly, the string may not rest on the front edge of the nut but farther back, or even on its back edge. If the gap between nut and string is small enough, this may cause a sitar-like clatter and call our attention to the nut. But if there’s no clatter we may not notice this at all, and wonder why the string is sharp. I just filed a bit at the groove for the B string, giving it the right form, and the guitar plays beautifully in tune now.
Posted on July 1, 2024May 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Liquid Hide and White Glue Questions: Liquid Hide and White Glue by Dale Zimmerman Originally published in American Lutherie #101, 2010 JM from the Internet asks: Both liquid hide glue and white glue are reviled by a lot of luthiers, but I suspect that a lot of highly regarded instruments were made using these glues, since these were widely used before yellow glue was invented. This makes me want to take a more objective look at these glues. Does anyone have a comprehensive comparison of the qualities of these glues and also of hot hide glue and yellow glue? Dale Zimmerman from Franklin International in Columbus, Ohio responds: As JM suggested, there are clearly differences between the various types of glue, and luthiers have learned to especially appreciate the characteristics of hot hide glue and yellow glue and feel less comfortable with liquid hide glue and white glue. With that in mind, it might be good to start with the fact that there is almost no difference in strength between the various categories of products. 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 July 1, 2024May 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Guitar Stand Questions: Guitar Stand by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #67, 2001 Doug Lancaster from cyberspace asks: I’ve been working on the design of a high-end classical guitar stand and have begun to think about marketing it to dealers of classical guitars. Any suggestions? Editor responds: Yes, a quick look through Soundboard magazine (www.guitarfoundation.org), Guitar Review (www.guitarreview.com), and Acoustic Guitar magazine (www.acousticguitar.com), will reveal an unprecedented abundance of dealers. The websites are very handy places to get a feel for the relative values of instruments, too. Here’s a list which is by no means totally inclusive: (By the way, all the websites mentioned in this column are available as links at the GAL page.) Richard Bruné (Evanston, IL) www.rebrune.com Classic Guitars International (Los Angeles, CA area) www.classicguitar.com GSP (Guitar Solo, San Francisco, CA) www.gspguitar.com Guitar Salon International (Santa Monica, CA) www.guitarsalon.com The Guitar Salon (Beverly Maher, NY, NY) www.theguitarsalon.com Guitars International (Armin Kelly, Cleveland, OH) www.guitars-int.com Handpicked Guitars (Rik Jonna, Detroit, MI area) www.handpickedguitars.com Kirkpatrick Studio (Baltimore, MD) www.kirkpatrickguitar.com Pioneer Music (Portland, OR) www.pioneermusicco.com Rare and Fine Guitars (Bruce Banister, Jefferson, IA) www.classicalguitarnet.com Jerry Roberts Guitars (Nashville, TN) www.lamancha.com Rosewood Guitar (Seattle, WA) www.halcyon.com/rosewood Santa Fe Guitar Works (Santa Fe, NM) http://santafeguitar.com Trilogy Guitars (John Silva, Los Angeles, CA) www.trilogyguitars.com Dan Zeff Guitars (Los Angeles, CA) www.dzguitars.com
