Posted on January 11, 2010May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Cleaning/Polishing of Violins Letter: Cleaning/Polishing of Violins by William T. Walls Originally published in American Lutherie #12, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Dear Guild Members, Reference is made to George Manno’s “Violin Q&A” regarding cleaning and polishing violins. I have been making, repairing, and restoring bowed instruments professionally for over fifty years and would like to offer my 2¢ worth. I strongly recommend that xylene and similar products for cleaning caked-on rosin be used with extreme caution, as some varnishes will dissolve or become tacky when wet with them. Test them in a small place in an area that will not be noticed if the varnish is susceptible to damage. If it appears that xylene is safe, rubbing with a cloth may require a lot of rubbing, and a lot of rubbing may damage the varnish. I have found the following to be completely safe, effective, and fast for any instrument regardless of how bad the rosin build-up is. 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 10, 2010May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Don’t Replace Bridge Plate Letter: Don't Replace Bridge Plate by John Higgins Originally published in American Lutherie #41, 1995 Greetings to All- As usual, the last issue of the quarterly was filled with loads of good stuff, with useful information available in all the articles. However, I must take exception to the premise of Bryan Galloup’s reason for replacing the bridgeplate on the 1962 D-28. He states he replaced it because “the balls on the string ends have worn all the way through (the plate) and into the top.” Had the top “bellied up” behind the bridge or sunk toward the soundhole, I would say such a repair would be warranted. Since only the ball ends are involved, I feel the better option is to install a piece of quartersawn maple, cut 0.100" thick by 5/8"×2 3/4", onto the existing plate with some yellow glue. When redrilled and slotted, it seats the ball ends properly, as well as pulling the winding back into the pin hole and off the saddle. The small amount of wood added doesn’t seem to affect the tone adversely, but helps due to the windings being off the saddle. Martin recommends this method when only ball-end wear is a factor, and I’ve found it to be very effective. 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 6, 2010May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Violin Set-Ups and Adjustments by Dan Erlewine and Paul Newson Review: Violin Set-Ups and Adjustments by Dan Erlewine with Paul Newson Reviewed by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #11, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Violin Set-Ups and Adjustments Dan Erlewine with Paul Newson VHS videotape (90 minutes) Stewart-MacDonald $26.95 from Stewart-MacDonald (1999) Teaching violin repairs from a television set! This first struck me as a most inane idea. My thoughts quickly changed after watching the first five minutes of this tape. Paul Newson is a fine repairman, and with Dan Erlewine’s commentary, this tape on violin repair and adjustments is a very good shop aid for a young luthier just starting out. 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 6, 2010May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Guitar Player Repair Guide by Dan Erlewine Review: Guitar Player Repair Guide by Dan Erlewine Reviewed by Manny Bettencourt Originally published in American Lutherie #26, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Guitar Player Repair Guide Dan Erlewine Backbeat Books (originally Miller Freeman), 309 pp. ISBN 0-87903-291-7 (ISBN 0-87930-188-0) This book is a must-have! Published recently, Dan’s book is a very up-to-date reference source for anyone in the repair field. It is very comprehensive in scope and covers all the major areas of guitar repair with an emphasis on electrics. The author’s conversational writing style, combined with excellent photographs and drawings, make this book very enjoyable to read. Starting with basics like intonation and neck evaluation, Dan moves on to cover everything from finishing to refretting. 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 6, 2010May 27, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: How to Repair Your Diatonic Accordion or Concertina by John Townley and Jehan Paul Review: How to Repair Your Diatonic Accordion or Concertina by John Townley and Jehan Paul Reviewed by John Calkin Origially published in American Lutherie #55, 1998 How to Repair Your Diatonic Accordion or Concertina John Townley and Jehan Paul Lark in the Morning LAR019 approx. 1 hour available from Mel Bay dealers and Elderly Instruments Townley and Paul set a new standard of sorts for instruction videos. Their workbench is a cafe table. Townley would blend right in at any luthier’s convention, while Paul looks like a Parisian street musician. It’s a Mutt-and-Jeff combination that works very well. As Paul says, “It’s important to be relaxed while working on accordions,” and the two belt down tequila as the show progresses. It’s pretty amusing at first, but by the end you’ll want to pour out some shooters for yourself for the second viewing. 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.
