Posted on June 6, 2024May 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: About Tusq Letter: About Tusq by Roger Sadowsky Originally published in American Lutherie #71, 2002 Dear Tim, In regard to Fred Carlson’s review of Tusq in AL#70, I have recently become a fan of Tusq saddles for under-saddle pickups. I’ve always struggled for good string-to-string balance and have tried every material and every trick in the book. I even published an article in another guitar publication about the fine art of achieving string balance with under saddle pickups. Building my Electric Nylon Guitar gives me an opportunity to evaluate materials under relatively controlled conditions. In the last twelve years I’ve built over 300. For years the best material I used was Micarta, but I frequently had to make three or four saddles per guitar to find the one that had the best string balance. Recently I tried Tusq and had perfect string balance on the first try. I have used it now for about six months and in every situation, I have had perfect string balance with the first saddle I made. For other applications I can appreciate the benefits of bone and ivory. But when it comes to string balance with an under saddle pickup, nothing is better than Tusq. ◆
Posted on April 21, 2023May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Henry Stocek Meet the Maker: Henry Stocek by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #62, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 There is a host of nonluthiers without whom lutherie would suffer. I refer to the makers and suppliers of the products that eventually comprise our instruments — the wood, trim items, pickups, cases, hardware, and finish products that make instruments more functional and more interesting. It should come as no surprise that most of these folks are as fascinating and dedicated as any luthier. We’ve met a few of them in these pages before, and I hope to give more of them the exposure they deserve. First up is Henry Stocek, the celluloid guru who introduced us to the art of turtleoid creation (see Reinventing the Celluloid Tortoise). He created Deep River Vintage Instrument Supply to furnish the trade with imitation tortoiseshell pickguard stock that was reminiscent of the color and patterns used in the ’30s. Other items are on the way. 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 4, 2022May 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Wet Inlay Wet Inlay by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #66, 2001 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 In my infancy as a luthier I didn’t have a lot of skills, but I still wanted my instruments to be different from any others. And I wanted them to be fancy. That might have been a combination headed for disaster, but I discovered a few tricks that let me achieve my goals while I simultaneously learned to build instruments worth owning and playing. One of those tricks was wet inlay. I loved the look of guitars draped in abalone trim, but I was sure the work was beyond me. Shell was also way too expensive for a project that might be botched and tossed in the dumpster. Tonewood was nearly out of my reach; there was no way I could invest in cut shell, too. The road to settling on turquoise trim was roundabout. I went to college in Colorado, where silver-and-turquoise Indian jewelry was everywhere. Most American turquoise is mined in Arizona, and the surrounding states have a strong turquoise culture. From a jewelry-making class, I learned that the blue stone is pretty hard, requiring lapidary equipment to cut and polish it. And not only is the good stuff fairly expensive, it’s pretty boring. Quality turquoise is a one-dimensional shade of blue with no grain or color intrusions. Eventually I realized that the jewelry I admired the most was the cheap stuff, chips of turquoise mixed in a clear matrix of some sort, ground flat, and polished. I was pretty sure I could do that to instruments. I could see into a future when turquoise-trimmed instruments would be my famous trademark. 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 4, 2022May 30, 2025 by Dale Phillips Reinventing the Celluloid Tortoise Reinventing the Celluloid Tortoise by Henry Stocek Originally published in American Lutherie #61, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Celluloid is a dinosaur, and making it is a disappearing art. Only musical instruments and ping-pong balls require it anymore. Yet it is the only plastic that can resemble organic materials, have a beautiful depth in its look, and be sliced into thin sheets that remain stable. Acetates and resins still cannot achieve the look and remain stable at the thicknesses required for pickguards. Its composition is very simple: cellulose soaked in a nitric acid solution and plasticized with camphor. Cellulose is derived from the cell walls of any plant. Cotton used to be the source of the cellulose used to make celluloid, but I think wood is the main source today because it’s the cheapest. In 1846, it was discovered that if cotton was soaked in a nitric acid solution, they got nitrocellulose. With a lot of nitric acid, it becomes an explosive — gun cotton. The Navy shoots big guns with this even today. With a less acidic application, the nitrocellulose is a nonexplosive stuff that can be molded into solid shapes, although it is very brittle. About 1860, John Wesley Hyatt accidentally discovered that by adding camphor, an aromatic paste from an Asian tree (think Vicks and mothballs), the nitrocellulose became a moldable solid that did not get brittle. Hence, celluloid. Today, solvents like acetone and alcohol are used to blend it. It’s cooked under pressure once the color composition has been established. It is an approximate science — more art and intuition than exactness. Hence the difficulty in achieving a tortoise pattern and color that come out right. 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 August 11, 2021May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Ren-Shaped Precision Mold Material Ren-Shaped Precision Mold Material by Ed Beylerian Originally published in American Lutherie #21, 1990 The demand for ever-increasing quality in end-use products has generated a concurrent need for improved modeling materials. Patterns and molds constructed from traditional materials such as laminated wood and plaster cannot maintain the precise tolerances required by model makers in the automotive, aerospace, foundry, and prototyping industries. With Ren-Shape 450, models can be built with a more stable medium, using precision numerically controlled (NC) machining equipment. I obtained a 2"×16"×60" board of Ren-Shape from Ciba-Geigy corporation, as well as the laminating compound and the repair kit. Ren-Shape is about the same hardness and density of a medium hard wood, and a tan color. The setting time of the two-part laminating compound is easily controlled by the amount of hardener used, and can range from one to six hours. The repair compound sets overnight. 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.
