Posted on March 1, 2025March 3, 2025 by Dale Phillips Vintage Restoration: Playability and Collectability Vintage Restoration: Playability and Collectability by Joe Konkoly from his 2011 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #111, 2012 Repair is the term I use for fixing what is broken. It also involves making the instrument playable, although with some older instruments it is not always advisable to try to achieve the level of playability that a modern instrument can deliver. There is often an emphasis to stay within the customer’s budget when doing repair work, and it may not be possible to do everything the instrument deserves. In that case you need to consider making the work reversible. Reversibility in repair work is also important for maintaining collectability. Modification means making improvements by changing the present situation. It can include adding features, upgrading parts, modernizing an instrument, or giving a modern instrument the look and feel of an older instrument. The original intent of the maker, as opposed to just the originality of the instrument, is important to consider when making changes to the instrument. And again, make it reversible. 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 March 1, 2025March 3, 2025 by Dale Phillips Inside the Elderly Repair Shop Inside the Elderly Repair Shop by Roger Alan Skipper with Joe Konkoly Originally published in American Lutherie #108, 2011 With eight repair guys in Elderly’s main shop, and three more working on setup, Joe Konkoly’s job as repair shop manager is both challenging and rewarding. The setup department handles new instruments and also helps coordinate the used instrument evaluations with the appraisal department. Every instrument that comes through the store, including new instruments and those at Elderly’s on consignment, visits the repair shop for inspection and setup. The main shop handles customer repairs in addition to all restoration and customization: neck resets, refretting, bridge work on acoustic guitars, electronics customization and repair and, finish work, and lots of banjo and mandolin repairs. Elderly’s wide variety of customers come with an equally diverse array of needs. While some are working in the studio, others simply want to sell a guitar for badly needed cash. Joe says that it’s tough to meet all those expectations, but it’s equally rewarding to meet them and make someone happy. 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 8, 2024October 1, 2024 by Dale Phillips Parametric Solid Modeling Software for Stringed Instrument Design Parametric Solid Modeling Software for Stringed Instrument Design by R.M. Mottola Originally published in American Lutherie #87, 2006 Most folks are awed when first witnessing a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine shaping an instrument part. Since such a demonstration makes the advantages of using this technology immediately obvious, a number of people look into acquiring these tools for their own use. A substantial portion quickly loses interest when finding out the depth of complexity of the tools needed to design and build in this manner. Computer Aided Design (CAD) software must be mastered in order to draw the parts. Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software must be mastered in order to specify how the drawings will be utilized in the machining process and to control the CNC machine. And the details of the CNC machine itself must be comprehended before real work can be performed. All of this conspires to lead all but the highly technical and/or highly motivated to the conclusion that these technologies need to be made a lot simpler and more accessible before they can be widely exploited in the industry. Adaptation and use of these technologies can be considered analogous to that of the automobile. When first introduced, the car was something only accessible to those who could understand all of the details of the machine (and repair all the parts, too), but eventually it evolved into a more commodity-like device that is usable with little or no knowledge of its inner workings. This article is an introduction to Parametric Solid Modeling (PSM), an existing second-generation CAD technology that offers potential to bring the benefits of CAD/CAM/CNC to a wider user base. A comprehensive library of parametric models of instrument parts and subassemblies could go a long way toward making these technologies generally accessible. The availability of such a library could render a number of aspects of instrument design to sequences of preparing simple drawings and filling in values in forms. No such library currently exists, but it is possible and likely that one could be developed. Folks working with PSM software in this industry undoubtedly have developed such models for their own use. I have some of my own and will use one as an example of how this technology works. 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 7, 2024October 1, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Martin Finish Questions: Martin finish by Walter Carter Originally published in American Lutherie #104, 2010 Kerry Char from Portland, Oregon asks: Exactly what kind of finish were Gibson and Martin using before they switched to nitrocellulose lacquer? How was it applied, and when was the switch. I’m thinking that it was oil varnish similar to violin varnish, because it is resistant to acetone. But if that’s the case, how did Gibson do some of their sunbursts? I know that the earlier ones were rubbed, but later ones from the ’20s and ’30s look sprayed. Walter Carter from Nashville, Tennessee replies: Neither Gibson nor Martin made an across-the-line change from varnish to lacquer. Richard Johnston and Dick Boak note in their recent book, Martin Guitars: A Technical Reference, that Martin finishes were French polish (shellac) until 1918, when they began experimenting with different combinations of varnish and lacquer. Martin first used nitrocellulose lacquer in 1926, and by 1929 it was the standard finish on most Martin guitars. For Gibsons, Stephen Gilchrist offers this information: 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 7, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Martin Style 5-18 Questions: Martin Style 5-18 by R.J. Klimpert Originally published in American Lutherie #103, 2010 Larry Crozier from the Internet asks: A customer wants a Martin-style 5-18 guitar built. I was wondering if GAL Plan #8 for the Martin 1-18 is the same or close enough. If not, could you recommend somewhere to get a 5-18 plan? R.J. Klimpert of Barrington, Rhode Island responds: The chief reason that the 1-18 pattern won’t work to build a 5-18 is that the Martin 5-18 is a “terz” guitar, meaning that the neck and scale length are considerably shorter than that of a regular Martin, allowing for the higher-than-standard tuning that terz guitars are known for. The 1-18’s body, while narrow and seemingly similar in size to a 5-18, is too long to allow for a terz short-scale neck. The 5-18 is actually closer to a Martin Style 51 baritone uke in body size and scale. In fact, Martin reportedly reused an old terz guitar pattern when they started producing the 10-string tiple in the late ’teens. As for finding a pattern that would work for building a 5-18, it might be possible to reduce the dimensions of a 000-18 — all except the width of the neck — to approximate the correct size and shape. Or conversely, scale UP the dimensions of a Martin tiple (GAL Plan #37), since the 5-18 terz guitar lies somewhere between the two. ◆
