Posted on August 11, 2021May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Lute Rib-Cutting Jig Lute Rib-Cutting Jig by Robert Cooper from his 1984 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #4, 1985 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 The lute I brought with me today has a half-round cross section. In such an instrument, each stave is identical in size and shape to its neighbor. A set of these ribs can be cut quite efficiently on a jig I made for use with a router fitted with a small circular saw blade. The main section of the jig is a solid wedge of wood, like a slice of apple. Or more like a slice of a pear. 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 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 30, 2025 by Dale Phillips Router Jig for Shaping a Neck Router Jig for Shaping a Neck by Mike Nealon Originally published in American Lutherie #62, 2000 This jig is designed to carve a guitar neck with a constant thickness of 5/8" from the nut to about the 10th fret. The shaft of the neck has a circular cross section and is cut so smoothly that only a minimal amount of finish sanding is required. To carve a neck to this shape profile while also tapering the neck width requires that the neck billet be placed at an angle to the axis of rotation, shown schematically in Fig. 1. These particular necks, which I make for thin-body (2 1/4˝) acoustic guitars, are cut to the specifications found on the Martin dreadnought blueprint (except for the taper and the length of the heel). Since the heel is only 2" tall, the router can pass over the top of the heel. The necks are 14.05" long from the nut to the body; the region of constant thickness is 11 1/4" long, leaving 2 3/4" for the curve of the heel. The jig is made in two parts separately mounted to a base plate: an inclined router table, and a rotation stage. The router table shown in Photo 1 is a wooden box on top of which will be a template to guide the router along a straight line. The rotation stage consists of a long narrow wooden platform, Photo 2, into which will be embedded a steel rod. The rod acts as the axis of rotation and is parallel to the base plate. The top of the rotation stage is tapered at the same angle as the router table. The neck billet is clamped, fretboard surface down, to this platform. 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 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Conical Fretboard Radiusing Jig Conical Fretboard Radiusing Jig by Mike Nealon Originally published in American Lutherie #66, 2001 How flat does the top surface of a fretboard need to be? A good working estimate would be to equate the tolerance to the gap between the top of the 2nd fret and the bottom of a string fretted at the 1st fret. The tolerance must be less than this gap or the 2nd fret will come into contact with the string. With the bottom of the open string about .01" above the top of the 1st fret and about 1/16" from the top of the 20th fret, the gap between the fretted string and the top of the second fret is about .005". Making a hardwood board flat to within .005" is not too difficult using ordinary woodworking tools. The router table and movable plate described here will produce a machine-carved surface smooth enough to require only a minimal amount of sanding or leveling. Photo 1 shows the jig fully assembled, with the router. Photo 2 shows the jig partially disasembled to show the function of the parts. The conical fretboard made with this jig has a 10" radius at the nut, flattening to a radius of 16" at the last fret. The fretboard blank is 3/8" × 2 1/2" × 21", and is flat on one side. The finished fretboards are 7/32" thick at the crown, and taper from 1 11/16" at the nut to 2 3/16" at the 12th fret (12.670" from the nut). 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.
