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.
Posted on August 11, 2021May 16, 2025 by Dale Phillips Applications of the Silicone Heating Blanket in Violin Making Applications of the Silicone Heating Blanket in Violin Making by George Borun Originally published in American Lutherie #34, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 In American Lutherie #25, Mike Keller describes how he uses silicone heating blankets for bending guitar sides, and mentions an earlier article in Fine Woodworking. The potential of these devices for use in violin making became obvious to me, and with some experimentation and adaptation, I’ve developed specific applications for the violin maker. Silicone heater blankets, also called flexible heaters, are available from two sources, with a number of standard sizes in stock at each company: Watlow Electric of St. Louis, Missouri (www.watlow.com) and Benchmark Thermal of Grass Valley, California (www.benchmarkthermal.com). Watlow markets through distributors. They have a large selection of stock sizes up to 35" long. Benchmark has a smaller stock size selection, but their prices are considerably lower. They will make any size you wish, but that adds to the cost and delivery time. Stock maximum length is 20", but this is more than long enough for violins. In bending bass ribs, I use two 10" wide blankets for the longer pieces, and only one for the center bout. The best units are 4W/sq.", rather than the 2W models. This type will get up to 500°F in a couple of minutes. Product catalogs are available which list the various sizes. 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 June 1, 2021May 21, 2025 by Dale Phillips Blackboard Eraser Polisher Blackboard Eraser Polisher by Michael Dresdner Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #288, 1984 and Lutherie Woods and Steel String Guitars, 1998 I’ve been using a blackboard eraser to do final dressing on my frets. I take this nice soft eraser and a piece of 600 paper and go across the fretboard. It’s beautiful; it just follows the curve and gives you a nice even rounded top. This is for polishing, after you’ve shaped the frets with files. ◆
Posted on April 13, 2021May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Bow Hair Jig Bow Hair Jig by Thomas Snyder Originally published in American Lutherie #3, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 As and apprentice luthier, I have come up with a better mousetrap for rehairing bows. The results with this method have been uniform hair tension, long-term retention, and reduction in rehairing time. The jig was fabricated from pine and oak. I used oak on all blocks. Item 4 makes a great carving back for ferrule wedges. I average ten bows a month and this method and jig has cut my time in half and increased the quality. On my sketch, items 2A, 2E, 2D, and 2F are the new additions to an old jig. I have made a few small changes. For the lack of a name, I will call this a “hair holder.” Item 2A swings aside to place hair over sponge rubber. The half of a 1/8" dowel holds the hair in place when the wing nuts are tightened. 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 June 24, 2019May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Grading and Resawing Lutherie Wood Resawing Lutherie Wood by Bruce Creps previously published in American Lutherie #91, 2007 See also, “Sharpening the Stellite Teeth on the 3" Hitachi Blade” by Bruce Creps “Grading and Curing Lumber” by Bruce Creps Harvesting, milling, and processing tonewood can be a wasteful business. Much of the wood used by luthiers comes from large, older trees, elders worthy of respect. As someone fortunate enough to work with these rare, high-grade woods, one of my top goals is to minimize waste by processing this valuable resource efficiently. This article concerns the Hitachi CB75F resaw, though much of what follows is general enough to be applicable to other resaws. Luthiers who buy resawn sets might glean information about how their wood is processed and what to request or avoid when ordering. A note on nomenclature: A resaw is an upright or horizontal bandsaw set up to make uniform rip cuts. The front of the saw is where you start feeding a cut. The face of a board is its wide, longitudinal surface; the edge is its narrow longitudinal surface; the end is its crosscut surface. The resaw blade is made up of its band and its teeth (terms not necessarily interchangeable). I refer to vertical-grain wood in place of quartersawn wood to avoid confusion, since a sawyer can get vertical-grain cuts without quartering a log. 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.
