Posted on February 20, 2026February 20, 2026 by Dale Phillips Torres Guitar Restoration Torres Guitar Restoration by R.E. Bruné Originally published in American Lutherie #33, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Three, 2004 In March of 1986 I received in my workshop an 11-string guitar by Antonio Torres made in Almeria in 1884, and numbered #71. This instrument being perhaps unique in the world today for Torres’ work, it was imperative that it be adequately documented and ideally, restored as close as possible to original playing condition. The owner was quite anxious to pursue this course also, with the ultimate goal of selling it on the open market. Surviving guitars by Torres are quite rare, being limited to fewer than seventy known instruments, and this example is perhaps the only 11-string example remaining, although Prat alludes to two others in his Diccionario under the listing for Torres. It is not clear whether he is referring to the same instrument owned by several different people or different instruments owned by different people. Although Torres numbered his instruments made from 1880 until he died in 1892, apparently there is no surviving record of the details of each instrument nor who the original owners were. (Editor’s Note: After this article was written, José Romanillos published his excellent book, Antonio de Torres, Guitar Maker — His Life and Work. In it he presents photos, drawings, and descriptions of another surviving Torres 11-string, #83. Author Bruné urges all to acquire and study this book.) 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 January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 by Dale Phillips Partial Refrets Partial Refrets by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #90, 2007 Partial refrets are a somewhat different matter than a full refret. Full refrets are often done for reasons other than worn frets, such as a compression refret to take excess relief out of a neck with a nonoperative or nonadjustable truss rod, or to allow a fretboard hump at the body joint to be dressed out. Partial refrets are usually performed on an instrument that has been played exclusively on the first few frets. Those frets have been grooved by the strings to the point where the strings buzz on the seldom-used frets. Most of the time I like to replace a couple of the unmarred frets as well just to play it safe. Occasionally a fret in the middle of the fretboard gets damaged and must be replaced. The procedure for this is similar to a partial refret for worn frets. There are other reasons to perform a partial refret, such as installing taller frets by the nut to make a slightly back-bowed neck playable, but these considerations are not covered here. I used to dislike partial refrets and tried to talk the customer into a full refret. This insured that the same fretwire covered the entire fretboard and also put more money in my pocket. After a slight mental adjustment and some practice at partial refrets I have come to look forward to them. The money involved is less, but partial refrets are normally far less complicated than a full refret and take a predictable amount of time. 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 October 10, 2025October 10, 2025 by Dale Phillips Finishing Techniques for Hiding Repair Work Finishing Techniques for Hiding Repair Work by Dan Erlewine from his 1992 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #36, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Three, 2004 I grew up looking at the record jackets of my parents’ folk music — Burl Ives, Marais & Miranda (Joseph Marais played a 00-28 herringbone), Josh White with his 00-45. When the Kingston Trio hit around ’59, and I saw those Martins, I just had to have one. I went down to a pawn shop on Michigan Avenue in Detroit and got a Domino, if anyone remembers those. Marc Silber can tell you who made them. I took it home and stripped off the paint so it looked like a Martin and the rest has been a lot of fun. Here are some tricks I learned after I applied for my first job as a luthier at Herb David’s Guitar Studio in 1962. (There’s more on Herb David in American Lutherie #26; more on Dan’s career in AL#25.) I was seventeen and out of high school. I had been hacking stuff in my dad’s workshop, but I wanted to learn more so I’d go over to Herb’s and hang around. I worked at McDonald’s, and I’d take him big bags of free cheeseburgers that I had made myself. They were triple-deckers, which they didn’t make then. One day Herb showed me a Gibson SJ with rosewood back and sides (now I realize just how rare that guitar was!). It had a big fist-sized hole punched through it. Herb said, “Fix this, kid.” 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 3, 2025June 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Resurrecting the Family Banjo Resurrecting the Family Banjo by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #84, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Though the title says banjo, this could as easily be about any stringed instrument. We’ve all seen them, the family “heirloom” that some relative has decided deserves to be played again, perhaps because they think it will be cheaper than buying a comparable new one, but more likely for some sentimental reason. The number of such beaters you actually get to work on may vary with your locality. Sentimentality didn’t count for much in New Jersey, and I had a collection of junky guitars that had been abandoned once the concerned relative learned what the cost of resurrection would be. Virginians, on the other hand, seem to put more stock in sentimentality and I’ve had the chance to rebuild several instruments that probably weren’t worth the fee I charged. Though this is about restoring an instrument to playability, please understand that we’re not talking about restoration as a vintage specialist would understand it. That sort of restoration often requires specialized knowledge and may demand a lot of research as well as the exchange of hefty sums of cash. It’s not much fun, either, unless you suffer a certain type of personality. In fact, some of what you and your customer may decide to do may interfere with future restoration, so it pays to have some idea of what’s collectable and what’s not. 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 8, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Heat Pressing Heat Pressing by Leo Bidne Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #43, 1977 Heat pressing is the art of forming wood to a new and permanent shape with heat and pressure. With practice, it is an effective method of action adjustment when extreme measures are necessary; when time or poor construction methods develop a problem, has a fair idea of what a “good” action is, and is familiar with such terms as “action”, “buzzing”, “truss rod”, and the numbering system of frets, etc. The term “buzzing” assumes that the string is plucked moderately hard. Applied to guitars, the art of heat pressing is to create the optimum neck shape for a fretted, plucked string. This means a buzz-free, even action over the entire length of the fretboard. Part One explains what that neck shape is, clears up some of the fallacies and old wives’ tales on the subject, and points out some common neck problems. The Bow Basically, a plucked string travels in a bow, 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. 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.
