Posted on August 1, 2022May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Curved Panel Templates Curved Panel Templates by Reagan Cole Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #80, 1978 Many instrument makers prefer to build guitars, mandolins and the like with pronounced curvature to the back panel(s). The most common method of fabricating a “vaulted” back is to work from a solid plug mold which must be carved and shaped to very exacting standards to produce acceptable results. The plug mold is in fact the best answer when one is building a number of identical instruments. The drafting technique I shall describe is a workable alternative for “one-off” projects or as an aid in visualizing three dimensional forms. Begin by making a full scale orthographic drawing of the intended form. This will show the back and side views, but it is not directly useful in determining the dimensions of thin wood (or other material) to be used in the construction. 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 1, 2022May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips Potassium Dichromate, Oxalic Acid, and Carnauba Wax Potassium Dichromate, Oxalic Acid, and Carnauba Wax by Jeffrey R. Elliott Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #52, and #55, 1977 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume One, 2000 Potassium dichromate. European luthiers commonly use potassium dichromate to give that nice, brown “aged” look to lighter, newer woods. It can be used by itself or mixed with aniline dyes for additional color tints. Primarily it has been used to darken the interiors of violin-family instruments, although I know of many who have used it on the exterior to darken spruce and maple. I have used it both inside and out to create a “naturally aged” looking wood on guitars. Potassium dichromate is a chemical activated by light from the sun, sunlamp, or infrared lamp, but direct, natural, full-spectrum sunlight is best. Beware: Indirect light will not activate it, and the solution will tend to color the wood a murky green. The solution is rather weak — two tablespoons to one gallon of water. It can be applied by brushing or by wiping it on with a cloth (wear gloves). Although I have never tried it, I imagine a spray method would work as well. Whichever method is used, a light, even coat is recommended. 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 July 8, 2022May 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Quickie Sander Fence Quickie Sander Fence by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, July 2022 Every lutherie shop has jigs hanging around. Often, lots of them. Every sort of stringed instrument is easier and faster to build using good jigs. If you decide that you'd like to build all of the instrument types commonly played in America you will accumulate a serious number of jigs. These days just about all of the most useful jigs can be purchased from a variety of dealers. They are very pretty and often better-made and more useful than a jig we would bother to make in our own shop. Well, prettier, anyhow. If you have entered lutherie in the last fifteen years you may have grown tired of old-timers complaining about this, as if making all of your own jigs was a right of passage that should never be skipped. "In my day we couldn't buy a guitar jig of any kind anywhere! We were lucky to find a book with pictures of guitars, let alone instructions to make them. Huff!" Well, sometimes we need a jig or fixture (what's the difference, anyhow?) that isn't instrument-specific, but machine-specific. I have vague memories of making a right-angle fence for my 6×48 belt sander. I still have the same sander, so when I rediscovered the jig---er, fixture---a few weeks ago I was glad to see it. But as soon as I turned my back, darn if it didn't go into hiding again. I have bumped around my little shop a number of times searching for it but to no avail. So, today I made a new one. I remember having to shim the old one to get it square. The new one came out dead on the money. I'll claim that forty years of experience was responsible for that, rather than blind luck. Old-farts in the game are entitled to that. Belt sanders vary enough in design that I won't bother listing any dimensions. I have included enough photos to suggest the jist of it. Anyway, you'll probably want the fence to be longer, or taller, or shaped like an animal for all I know. I sat it on a thin spacer to clear the belt, and it remained there nicely while I put on the clamps. Use the smallest clamps that will work in order not to bump them against the underside edge of the belt. Good luck. ◆ All photos by John Calkin.
Posted on July 1, 2022May 19, 2025 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Violin Bow Hair Storage It Worked for Me: Violin Bow Hair Storage by Al Stancel Originally published in American Lutherie #25, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Storage of violin bow hair might be a problem for some. Here is how we solve it at Casa Del Sol Violins. We make a wire horseshoe, insert it into the big end of the bundle of hair, tie it with dental floss, lightly superglue the hair ends, bend the wire back as shown in the drawing. Hang the bundle from the ceiling with a plastic bow tube slipped over it as a dust protector. The tube can be slid up and over the bundle for cutting individual hanks. The hair never gets dirty or tangled. 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 July 1, 2022May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Kevin La Due Meet the Maker: Kevin La Due by Cyndy Burton Originally published in American Lutherie #81, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 The fall colors of upstate New York were in full regalia as my sister and I drove towards Binghamton, New York, to meet my niece for lunch. She had just started a new job at nearby Vestal High School, where she’d met a teacher named Kevin La Due, who is teaching high-school kids to make guitars. It sounded like a story asking to be told. Please tell me about your program. I teach two sections of lutherie per year, one each semester, which distills down to about sixty class hours each semester, not really enough time to make a guitar. Most students work extra time before and after school and during their free class periods. Although about fifty students apply, we only have room for fifteen seniors at a time because of facility, prep time, and budget limitations. 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.
