Posted on July 7, 2024May 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Douglas Fir Stradivari Questions: Douglas Fir Stradivari by R.E. Bruné Originally published in American Lutherie #102, 2010 James Condino of Ashville, North Carolina asks: I used to have an article from a guitar magazine in the ’80s about one of the Stradivari guitars. The article claimed that the top was made of Douglas fir. How likely is that? R.E. Bruné of Evanston, Illinois answers: In reference to Stradivari using Douglas fir, this is a virtual impossibility. The wood is not native to Europe, and was not in commercial circulation in Europe in Stradivari’s day. Perhaps the confusion arises from the nomenclature of wood in which Americans tend to call most conifer soundboards of European origin “spruce” and the British use “pine” to refer to the same materials. In actuality, most are of the genus Abies or true fir, of which there are many varieties native to Europe such as Abies pectinata and Abies alba. (Google these and other species for more information.) Douglas fir is not a true fir, being of the genus Pseudotsuga. Picea is the Latin name for true spruces which are also used for instrument soundboards, of which there are also many varieties. All of these are difficult to positively identify once they are on a completed instrument, especially one that has aged for several centuries. ◆
Posted on July 7, 2024May 21, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Gourd Seeds Letter: Gourd Seeds by Tony Pizzo Originally published in American Lutherie #2, 1985 Yo Tim, Deb and Bonnie! American Lutherie looks great! You join a select group of survivors with this latest move. I’m going to (against my better judgement) try growing some gourds under plastic up here, but I don’t expect much, so no data sheet. But I’ve got a list of gourds and gourd seed for sale from The Gourd (February issue) magazine which may be of use to beleaguered luthiers. It may be easiest for people looking for gourds to contact Charlie Cannon as he’s already set up to sell them. Of course people who can get to the Ohio Fair can pick up gourds at the Gourd Show there — shipping can be a headache for growers. This is the best I’ve been able to come up with in this department. Very hard to get them on the east coast. (American Gourd Society, Box 274, Mt. Gilead, OH 43338 and Charlie Cannon, Rt. 1, Box 49, Hobgood, NC 27843) 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 July 7, 2024May 6, 2025 by Dale Phillips Lemon Oil and Carnauba Wax Lemon Oil and Carnauba Wax by Jimmie Van Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Data Sheet #97, 1978 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 In a living tree the cell walls are saturated with water and pretty much keep their shape. After a tree is cut down and the wood is processed by air drying or kiln drying, most of the water is removed. The wood can shrink up to 20%. This wood is now like a sponge and even a finish like lacquer, varnish, or shellac only slows the rate of moisture absorption or loss. Thus, over time, the cells lose part of their ability to remain at or return to the size that you had originally intended. We see the results in swelling, shrinking, and cracking. Using pure lemon oil as a cleaner and carnauba wax as a sealer can further protect woods and slow down the changes on finished instruments. It is important to start with lemon oil that you know is pure. Most products sold as lemon oil contain considerable amounts of petroleum distillates and synthetics. Avoid these. You may be able to locate lemon oil through an essential oils store or a store carrying natural products (if it’s food quality, it’s probably the right stuff). First I make sure that the surface of the guitar or other wood instrument is free of old wax by using a mild wax remover. (The lemon oil will dissolve previous coats of carnauba wax.) I keep a soft, oil-moistened cloth in a sealable glass jar to keep it from evaporating between instruments. With this cloth I spread a coat of lemon oil over the entire instrument, letting it stand for fifteen to forty-five minutes or until most of the oil has been absorbed. Wipe any remaining oil off after this time as the wood will only take in what it needs. Pure lemon oil will not harm acetate or celluloid, but it can damage styrene. This can be a problem on some cheap instruments. Although pure lemon oil does not harm most finishes, I recommend caution, especially around stains. Lemon oil is also good for removing rosin buildup on violins, cleaning strings, and bringing up the sheen of finished or unfinished mother-of-pearl. 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 July 7, 2024June 12, 2025 by Dale Phillips Violin Q&A, Part One Violin Q&A, Part One by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #9, #10, #11, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 In the last year I have received many letters concerning the repair articles I have written for American Lutherie. For the most part, the writers have thanked me for my willingness to share with the membership. Along with the comments on past articles, there are always a few questions asking my opinion about what to use or where to buy, and so on. I’d like to share some of those questions, along with my replies. No matter what I use to polish a violin, it never seems to clean it completely. Do you have any suggestions? I have never found a product that cleans as well as polishes, although many manufacturers claim that their product will do both. Taking into consideration the instrument’s age, type of varnish, and how dirty it is, there are a number of cleaning products that you can use. Example: a French violin, ca. 1875, covered with a thin spirit varnish, with enough caked-on rosin so that ridges have formed on either side of the fingerboard. 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 July 5, 2024May 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips Blood, Sweat & Sap Blood, Sweat & Sap by Nicholas Von Robison Originally published as Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly Volume 10, #2, 1982 Sometime last spring I dreamed I was back in the Northwest for a short vacation. I had gone there to enjoy the trees - and was stunned to learn there weren’t any! All the forests had been paved over for condos, trailer parks, ski lodges, and fast food joints. I don’t know just what triggered such a nightmare. I have learned in recent years that beer and pizza don’t go down as easily after midnight as they used to. More likely it was something I had read. I often read things (and more often write things) that are equally indigestible. But never after midnight. No, it was probably the conversation with a luthier friend of mine, a splinter group agnostic who confessed to me that he really doesn’t believe that trees have a life of their own, that they speak to you in voices loud and soft, or that they should be approached as shrines. He tossed off Torres, Stradivari, Orville, C.F.; had only started his preachings on epoxy, graphite, fiberglass and polymers before I straight-armed him with a braced soundboard and tapped out a few tones. He recoiled of course, but on his way out the door parleyed that he could never accept the divinity of the old masters although they were great teachers. I’ll never attend woodshop vespers with that fellow again! 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.
