Posted on October 30, 2026October 30, 2026 by Dale Phillips The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part One The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part One by Mark French Originally published in American Lutherie #139, 2020 See also, A Guitar Is Born: Attending Charles Fox’s Hands-On Guitar Making Course by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Two by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Three by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Four by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Five by Mark French The Charles Fox Guitar-Building Method, Part Six by Mark French Charles Fox has been making guitars for about fifty years and, as a master luthier will, he has developed a personal approach to his craft. Building on a solid foundation of experimentation, he has developed a set of processes that let him complete tasks quickly, accurately, and repeatably, but with a deeper purpose. This is the first in a series of articles that describe Charles’ building method in detail. There are some good descriptions in print of how to make an acoustic guitar, so it may not be clear why we need another one. Books and extended articles are usually for beginning builders unfamiliar with making instruments, and describe basic processes for making good, traditional acoustic guitars. Some of these works are quite good and a few are iconic. However, this series of articles has a different purpose. It is intended for readers who have basic familiarity with acoustic guitars and guitar-making skills. 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 21, 2026November 3, 2026 by Dale Phillips Stop Giving Your Guitar the Finger Stop Giving Your Guitar the Finger by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #73, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Sometimes we make little changes to our shop routines that end up making large differences to our working lives. These small changes may have scant repercussions at the time, but they are cumulative. Comparing your instrument-making procedures from one year to the next should find that they have been streamlined and improved. Sometimes the result is nicer instruments, but just as often it is a nicer time spent at work, though in the end, I believe they will be the same thing. If your shop life is more pleasant and efficient, it has to show up in your instruments as higher quality and/or higher production. These changes seldom come as a thunderbolt that makes a quantum change, but more often as a nudge in a direction that feels good and makes me smile. At the same time a bit of self-rebuke may arise for not installing a change when it was first thought of. In some cases years may separate the birth of an idea and its initiation in the shop. I here offer you some of my little changes. Your reaction to some of them may be, “Well, heck, I thought that was obvious!” That only means you should have shared the idea with us long ago. 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 19, 2026October 30, 2026 by Dale Phillips Van Eps Fretboard Slotting Jig Van Eps Fretboard Slotting Jig by Jim DeCava Originally published in American Lutherie #74, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 The call came from Paul Morrissey, sole owner of Liberty Banjo Company in 1984. Would I like to buy some parts? I had no idea Paul was selling out. When I got there, 90% of everything was gone, sold to a company out West. I had been managing the repair department of an electronics firm that made digital nurse-call systems in 1975, and doing some banjo inlay work on the side. Bob Flesher asked if I’d like to work for Liberty full time when they opened a shop in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. Two weeks later, I was making banjos full time and have not stopped yet. I left to start my own business in 1983. 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 19, 2026October 30, 2026 by Dale Phillips Get Bent! A Versatile Shopmade Side Bender Get Bent! A Versatile Shopmade Side Bender by Mike Doolin Originally published in American Lutherie #74, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Here’s a side bender that fully supports the waist during the bend. It uses spring tension to keep the steel sheets in contact with the side at all times. The lower sheet is .007˝ spring steel, while the upper sheet is thin perforated stainless. They’re both permanently attached to the butt end of the form. At the other end, the lower sheet is attached to a pivoting frame with three springs; the upper sheet has its own three springs attached to a wood block which hooks onto the same frame. This allows the sheets to be separated to insert the side into the bender; then the spring sets are hooked together so the frame can pull both into tension. 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 19, 2026October 30, 2026 by Dale Phillips Neck Template Duplicating Carver Neck Template Duplicating Carver by Peter Hurney Originally published in American Lutherie #77, 2004 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Initially, I wanted to carve necks with a duplicating machine and benefit by the speed of the process. As it has evolved, the duplicating process that I am now enjoying does carve necks quickly, but a more important benefit for me is that it carves necks consistently. Nathan Ching, another ukulele builder in Hawaii, began the first carving machine I had a part in. He designed and scratch-built it with the help of a machinist. That machine was intended to use a router as a cutter, and Nathan, not finding a router bit with a long enough shank to successfully carve the heel, unwisely elected to use an extension device intended for increasing the reach of a drill bit. Bad idea. Having experienced nonlethal yet undesirable results, Nathan pushed the machine into the corner where it sat until I asked about it. I was given the machine (on loan) with wishes of good luck. 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.
