Posted on January 13, 2025May 2, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Myles Gilmer Meet the Maker: Myles Gilmer by Todd Brotherton Originally published in American Lutherie #26, 1991 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Three, 2004 Would you give us some background on yourself? The wood business that I’m doing now is an offshoot of what I was doing in the ’70s. My education was in medical research, but there weren’t too many jobs in that area, so I built furniture accessories and sold them to galleries and stores across the country for a few years. I lived in equatorial Africa in the early to mid ’70s. I was working in the wood business in Ghana and Liberia as a jack-of-all-trades, doing vehicle maintenance, repairing machine saws, and doing some cutting and milling. I spent a lot of time hiking in the forest. The trees are incredible there. I have photographs of a native hut next to a tree that was 220' tall and 12'–14' in diameter. People often imagine an African forest as being a jungle but it’s more like what we see here in the Northwest; an old growth high canopy forest, very open inside with not much secondary growth on the floor, and quite dark to walk through. When I moved back to the USA, I quickly found that there weren’t great sources for the wood I was interested in. I had friends in Africa and started importing a little for my production line. We started importing more, and soon my competitors were interested in buying. I was still producing wood pieces, but getting tired of production woodwork. Over a two-year period I just switched from being a manufacturer to being a supplier. 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, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Ed Arnold: String-Tie Kind of Guy Ed Arnold: String-Tie Kind of Guy by Nicholas Von Robison Originally published in American Lutherie #7, 1986 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume One, 2000 Ed Arnold is a crew-cut and string-tie kind of guy. I met him while crewing aboard his son-in-law’s thirty-two foot sloop Iolaire on definitely not a crew- cut and string-tie kind of day. As a storm scudded down on us and I ejected my lunch off to leeward, I watched Ed go forward with the lithe grace of an athlete to hank on the storm jib on that bucking bronco of a foredeck. Ed turned sixty-seven in June. He’s the kind of guy you can picture being at home on a rugged wilderness trail or negotiating a mountain pass on a donkey, and making it look easy. In his sixteen years as an exotic wood importer I’m sure he has ridden a few donkeys and walked a few dusty miles. A one-man operation, he went into Mexico and Central America, selected his trees, oversaw their handling and production, then shipped them home by container. He knows wood in a way that few luthiers ever will, our work beginning with the end result of Ed’s labors. I obtained some answers to things I have pondered over from time to time and even some I haven’t. Anybody know the Mexican name for mahogany? Zopilozontecomacuahitl. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 30, 2024May 12, 2025 by Dale Phillips Inside Pacific Rim Tonewoods Inside Pacific Rim Tonewoods by Steve McMinn Originally published in American Lutherie #33, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Three, 2004 We make wooden components for stringed musical instruments, mostly guitar soundboards. We attempt to be the best in the world at what we do. For the past five years, most of our production has been for large American guitar companies such as Martin and Taylor. In the past couple of years, though, we’ve begun to export much of our wood to Europe and Asia. Recently, we’ve begun to sell tops in small retail quantities and are now putting together a price list. Elizabeth Rozier, who bought, sold, and cataloged rare books for years, is handling the retail end of the business. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on August 12, 2021May 13, 2025 by Dale Phillips Some Alternative Lutherie Woods Some Alternative Lutherie Woods by Tom Ribbecke from his 1992 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #35, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 My name is Tom Ribbecke and I’m on the staff of Luthiers Mercantile, pretty much the technical guy there. What I’ve brought to this presentation is based on my years of building and repairing guitars along with my four years at Luthiers Mercantile. I’m not a botanist or scientist, no more than any of you are... except for the botanists and scientists who are here. (laughter) I know there are many here as I caught Nick Von Robison’s workshop earlier today. So when I was asked to do this presentation, I thought, what could I do to focus on the alternative woods situation which is pretty much on all our minds these days? I’ve brought woods which have come up in my discussions with customers, things that we sell, and just about anything I could get ahold of on short notice. When I look at materials, and people present them to me, I see things in blocks and 1" thick material and it’s hard to make judgments on what will sound good. Most guitar makers, like myself, like to hold, fondle, mutilate, and bang on the material in dimensions that are appropriate for the guitar. So this is what I’ve brought — woods of many species that could be used or considered for guitar building in appropriate sizes and thicknesses. I’ve brought some things that are commonly available, some not so available, and some which might be considered exotics. Many of these I’ve lacquered — usually with a lacquer gun in one hand and a phone in the other. The lacquer will give you an idea of the color of these materials. 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.
