Posted on September 9, 2026September 25, 2026 by Dale Phillips Rebuilding a Rebuilt Headstock Rebuilding a Rebuilt Headstock by Frank Ford Originally published in American Lutherie #80, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 See also, Meet the Maker: Frank Ford by Jonathon Peterson Here are some pictures of a recent repair that came across my workbench at Gryphon. This job was a little unusual, and it involved the type of problem solving which I enjoy. The patient was a 1916 Martin 0-30. The peghead had been converted from slotted to solid with ivory friction pegs (Photos 1 and 2) by someone who simply didn’t have a grasp of Martin’s style. Peg location was idiosyncratic, to say the least, and the peghead had been thinned drastically at the top end. The work was done neatly enough, with new veneer on the front and a nice mahogany veneer on the back, too. My job was to rebuild the peghead yet again, restoring normal thickness and converting it to a solid peghead that would accept regular Grover tuners. While a Martin of this vintage would ordinarily have friction pegs or a slotted headstock, I figured the request was reasonable, since Martin introduced the OM with solid headstock around fourteen years after this guitar was made. So, we (the owner and I) chose the 1930 OM headstock size and shape as a model. 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 September 3, 2026September 10, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Frank Ford Meet the Maker: Frank Ford by Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #80, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 See also, Rebuilding a Rebuilt Headstock by Frank Ford Hi, Frank. I have been wanting to do this for a long time. Just about everyone who is involved with guitar repair already knows something about you, either from magazine articles, appearances at conventions and schools, or from your web page, so I will dispense with the intro. Let’s start with where you grew up and how you first became interested in fretted instruments. I was born and raised in the Bay Area. When I arrived at U.C. Santa Barbara to start college in ’62, I had not played any music at all. I got into listening to folk music and then bluegrass as part of that first rebirth of bluegrass that went through the college community in the early ’60s. My college roommate decided he was going to play banjo. Everybody laughed at him, but a year later he was a competent Scruggs-style banjo player. Some of my friends said, “Gee, you listen to so much music, you ought to play, too.” I was rather taken by The Country Gentlemen at the time, and Bill Monroe, and a few others, so I bought a mandolin and started to play. 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 August 7, 2026August 7, 2026 by Dale Phillips “Restomodding” Wall-Hanger Guitars “Restomodding” Wall-Hanger Guitars by Roger Häggström Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021 Cheap guitars were made in great numbers all over the world at the beginning of the last century. In Sweden, the driving force behind a burgeoning interest in guitars was the independent church movement. The prevailing sentiment was that every able-bodied parishioner should be able to play three chords on a guitar at prayer meetings and fundraisers (Photo 1). Many of these instruments still exist, mostly in unplayable condition. I have found ways to restore these wonderful old guitars and make them play and sound better than ever. I love the bass-balanced sound of old-style ladder bracing in a small steel-strung parlor guitar. The complex sounds keep me wanting to play another chord. Modern X bracing gives more bass but also less varied tone, in my opinion. 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 July 21, 2026July 21, 2026 by Dale Phillips Uncle Dan’s Favorite New Vise Uncle Dan’s Favorite New Vise by Dan Erlewine Originally published in American Lutherie #142, 2021 Howdy, GAL. I miss you all! Some of you may already know about what I am showing here, but I’d be surprised if many did, as it’s so new on the market. It’s the greatest new tool in my shop, and in the shops of several professional luthier pals of mine: The Total Vise, a sturdy pedestal-stand and neck-holding vise that makes so many guitar repair, building, wiring, and setup jobs better, safer, and easier — especially for someone who doesn’t have a good-sized shop, benches, and permanent fixtures. Originally designed as a gun- and bow-making vise, the Total Vise’s maker, Jeff Howard, was surprised and pleased to find that a few luthiers stumbled upon his setup and liked it. Right away, Jeff asked us to help him design a version of it for guitar work, and we all chipped in over the last half year. Finally it’s ready for any professional, part-time, or novice luthier that wants the best setup for holding a guitar for serious business. The Total Vise has been a game-changer for us and we just want to tell the world about it. So here we’ll visit a few shops from around the country and see how the Total Vise is put to use. 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 July 15, 2026July 15, 2026 by Dale Phillips New Frets in Old Nibs New Frets in Old Nibs by Ben Haskenhoff Originally published in American Lutherie #142, 2021 A 2004 Hamer Monaco Elite recently passed over my workbench for a refret. It seemed like a good opportunity to take some pictures of my process for refretting a guitar while keeping the binding nibs intact. Photo 1. There were deep grooves and flat spots on the first several frets, and the wear went farther up the neck as well. 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.
