Posted on July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips Greven Images Greven Images John Greven Demonstrates His Inlaying and Engraving Methods by John Greven from his 2001 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #72, 2002 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 In over forty years in this business, I’ve developed my own way of doing things. Today I’m going to show you my method for cutting the inlay out of shell or laminate, for cutting the hole for the inlay and gluing it in, and for engraving it to bring it to life. “Don’t try this at home, kids.” It’s my own method, not the gospel. I learned this on my own, and it works better than the standard technique of cutting pearl by hand for me. If you want to see the standard way, check out Larry Robinson’s book, The Art of Inlay. It has wonderful pictures. His method for cutting pearl, which is more orthodox, involves a simple cutting table that has a V-shaped cutout with a small hole at the narrow end, and you saw vertically as you hold the piece down on this table. I just never could get the hang of that; it seemed very cumbersome and slow. The one advantage I can see in that approach is that the material is always supported right next to your blade, so you can make little tight cuts with less risk of breakage. 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 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips An American in Mirecourt An American in Mirecourt Violin Construction as Learned by an Apprentice to René Morizot by Paul Schuback from his 1995 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #63, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 See also, An American in Mirecourt, Part Two by Paul Schuback When I started out, my idea was to make lutes. I haven’t made one yet, and the more time goes by, the less likely it is that I ever will, but that was my intention — to go to France and study lute making. I found out that lute building was not easy to learn, and violin making was more lucrative, so I decided to become a violin maker. I studied with René Morizot from 1962 to 1965. Between 1900 and the 1960s, to graduate from a violin apprenticeship program like I went through, you had to be able to make a violin in the white (en blanc), including the scroll, in a week. You started Tuesday morning, and by Saturday night, working eight hours a day, you had to have it done. That may seem fast, but it’s really not. Friends of mine, older guys, would actually make two violins a week, not including cutting the scrolls. They’d have a scroll maker cut the scrolls and necks, then they’d set them into their instruments. Cottage-industry people who worked at home could make up to six violins a week, in the white, ready to be varnished. It was piece work, and they were paid by the numbers that they made. If they made the six by Saturday, they’d get their quota. If they made more, they’d get bonuses. They were cheap instruments, but they worked. 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 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips An American in Mirecourt, Part Two An American in Mirecourt, Part Two Violin Construction as Learned by an Apprentice to René Morizot by Paul Schuback from his 1995 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #65, 2001 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 See also, An American in Mirecourt by Paul Schuback Roughing Out the Insides of Plates and Cutting f-holes After the outsides of the plates have been carved and scraped to their finished shapes and the purfling has been installed, the next step is to trace the f-holes onto the top. The f-holes will be cut out after the inside of the plate has been roughed out and the plate is thinner, but this is the time when you establish their positions. Measure 19.3MM from the edge of the plate at the neck end to find the bridge position on the centerline, and locate your f-hole template by referencing off of the bridge position and the centerline of the top. You can play with how they are angled to suit your own tastes. Trace the f-holes onto the top, and check to make sure that they end up an equal distance from the edges by measuring with a divider. The French always carve little hollows where the lower wings of the f-holes will go so that those areas will be recessed on the finished top. So after you have traced the f-holes, you gouge, plane, and scrape the wing areas out a little bit. In the process, you will cut away parts of your lines, so you will need to retrace them. 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 June 3, 2025June 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips An Introduction to Metal Engraving An Introduction to Metal Engraving by David Giulietti from his 2001 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #68, 2001 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Design is always the most important element in engraving. I like a clear, simple design that has a central theme. I like it to have a structure and a pattern that is easily read from across the room, but still looks nice when you get up close. If you don’t have a good plan to start with, any job becomes more difficult. Once you make a mark, it’s there and it is very hard to take it out, so it’s always good to know exactly where you are going to go before you start. It is helpful when starting a design to first look at the big picture before you fill in any of the details. Start with the general shape of the design. You’ve got a box, or a circle, or some kind of shape; no matter what it is, you always want to consider what the biggest lines are, and put them in first. I always draw my largest elements first, clean them up, and then add other smaller elements to the design, and work down from there. In drawing scrolls or people, or any design, it is always the same — start with the biggest elements and work down to fine details. When you work in this way, all of your design aspects come together as a unified whole. Everything flows together. 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 7, 2024May 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Low Cost Emergency Lathe It Worked for Me: Low Cost Emergency Lathe by Gerhart Schmeltekopf Originally published in American Lutherie #29, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Most luthiers probably don’t have wood lathes, so I submit this low-cost, emergency lathe setup for the times you might want to make a music stand, washtub bass, or baseball bat for the local luthiers’ picnic. I bought commercial turnings to make a student harpsichord stand. They were “sanded and ready to finish,” so I knew that they would need to be sanded before finishing. They are too long for my lathe, so I rigged this temporary reciprocating or “pole” lathe to spin them and sand them. 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.
