Posted on July 28, 2026July 28, 2026 by Dale Phillips Review: The Master’s Bench by Paul Schmidt and Arian Sheets Review: The Master’s Bench by Paul Schmidt and Arian Sheets by Mike Doolin Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021 The Master’s BenchPaul Schmidt and Arian SheetsISBN 978-0984826940National Music Museum/University of South Dakota, 2016 The Master’s Bench, by Paul Schmidt and Arian Sheets, follows up on the story of the D’As with the fascinating and fortuitous backstory of the National Music Museum’s exhibit of their reconstructed workshop. While most of the book is a visual catalog of the instruments and tools, the early chapters serve as a valuable addendum to Acquired of the Angels. 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 16, 2026July 16, 2026 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Modified Zyliss Vise It Worked for Me: Modified Zyliss Vise by Steve Kennel Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021 The Zyliss vise is insanely expensive and implies more utility than it offers. I see these occasionally in dusty dark corners of other peoples’ shops, but never poised for action. This one followed me home from the local junk shop for less than the twenty bucks that was in my pocket, which seemed about right. I wanted a guitar neck vise and this looked like it could be adapted. The heart of the beast, the adaptation that makes this thing useful as a guitar vise, is the swivel jaw attachment. Photo 1 shows it in pieces. The swivel bracket is sawn from a short piece of square steel tubing. A 1/4˝ bolt is the pivot pin. The bolt head is capped with rubber, and you don’t need to ask why. Photo 2 shows it assembled and ready to be mounted to the Zyliss jaws with pairs of #10 screws through holes drilled in the Zyliss jaws. The hardwood jaws are faced with plumber’s gasket material, which is tough but soft enough to offer a good grip while not marring the work. 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 15, 2026July 15, 2026 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Junk Plane Makes Sanding Beam Handle It Worked for Me: Junk Plane Makes Sanding Beam Handle by Aaron Cash Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021 I use a large aluminum radius beam to radius my fretboards by hand. I plane the edges of the fretboard to approximate the shape of the radius, then use woven-fabric double-stick carpet tape to affix it to my shooting board (Photo 1). The beam is hard to hold onto, so I used some of the carpet tape to attach an old handyman plane body to the top of the beam. I run the beam down the edge of the shooting board to make sure I won’t drift to either side (Photo 2). This is much more comfortable, and it’s not permanent, so I can use the same plane body on different-sized beams. ◆ Photo 1. Both photos by Aaron Cash. Photo 2
Posted on June 24, 2026June 24, 2026 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Robert Anderson Meet the Maker: Robert Anderson by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021 Robert Anderson took the long road to banjo building, just as so many of us have approached lutherie. The instrument first came to his attention during a TV appearance by Eddie Peabody, but the desire to play came from Earl Scruggs via the movie Bonnie and Clyde. “My first banjo was a tenor because I didn’t know any better.” That’s a mistake many beginners have made. Once set on the right path, he acquired a cheap 5-string banjo just before starting college at Kent State in Ohio. As luck would have it, as he moved into his dorm room he heard bluegrass-style banjo being played in the room next door. His dorm neighbor, Ken Serger, became his first banjo instructor. 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 June 15, 2026June 15, 2026 by Dale Phillips Essential Tools: Scratches and a Detail Knife Essential Tools: Scratches and a Detail Knife by Eugene Clark with Jonathon Peterson Originally published in American Lutherie #80, 2004 and Big Red Book of American lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 What are scratch tools, Eugene? Scratches are something like one-tooth saws. The square one is like a rip tooth, a paring tool like a small chisel that takes a shaving out; and the pointed one is a parting tool that separates. So, you have a pointed scratch and a chisel-shaped scratch. The latter are really just violin purfling tools. These were hand forged from nails. On some of these German scratches you can pull the blade out of the handle and you will see the unaltered point of a nail — good Swedish nails, probably. Nails made from Swedish steel were very much in demand for tools like this. 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.
