Posted on June 6, 2024May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Kauri Wood Questions: Kauri Wood by Laurie Williams Originally published in American Lutherie #95, 2008 Chris Powck asks: Where can I purchase planks or billets of kauri wood? I want to use this wood for instruments other than flattop guitars. Laurie Williams from New Zealand responds: Kauri is the local name of Agathis australis which is endemic to New Zealand. Similar species throughout Australia, the Pacific islands, and Indonesia are sold as Queensland kauri, Island kauri, or Fijian kauri. I will restrict my comments to New Zealand kauri, which is the one you would have heard of in musical instrument circles in the last decade. Aside from the trees growing today, there are also ancient kauri logs that have been preserved in peat swamps in the north of New Zealand. These logs are from 3,000 to 45,000 years old. 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 June 6, 2024May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Ossifying Wood Questions: Ossifying Wood by Rick Rubin Originally published in American Lutherie #95, 2008 see also, Questions: Ossification of Guitar Soundboards by Benz Tschannen Rick Rubin from Spokane, Washington responds to Benz Tschannen’s question in AL #89 and AL #93 on the use of sodium silicate, aka water glass, for ossifying wood: I’d refer you to the article I wrote in 1990 (Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Two, p. 362). Save yourself the grief: sodium silicate is very destructive to your tops. I was glad to hear that you’d just been experimenting on samples and not on an instrument yet.
Posted on August 1, 2022May 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips Wood Salvaging Down Under Wood Salvaging Down Under by Des Anthony Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 6 #2, 1978 and Lutherie Woods and Steel String Guitars, 1998 Woodstock. No, not that Woodstock, but a one-shop, no-houses Woodstock in North Queensland, Australia. At last the moment had arrived. It was a typical hot summer’s day and I was armed with the necessary tools. There was still that feeling of uncertainty in my mind that what I was to do was totally criminal. Sharing the shed with the ’dozers and tractors was an old upright Victor piano. Nobody wanted it anymore so I was able to carry out my plan. At home, our towns usually have a festival each year, and in that festival procession there is always an old car whereupon, for a fee, you may smash with a sledge hammer. Well, I wasn’t in that kind of mood, but I was still going to reduce this piano to an unrecognizable mess, but, I hope with a more dignified ending. 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 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Quartersawn Wood Questions: Quartersawn Wood by Alan Ollivant Originally published in American Lutherie #74, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 John Forcade of Poulsbo, Washington asks: I have acquired six large maple rounds and would like to quartersaw them and let them dry out for a few years. They are about 45" long and 3' in diameter. I am not an experienced woodworker so I am looking for some specific directions on how to quartersaw. I would assume I am going to have to split the rounds into fourths by hand and then cut a board off one face, then cut the next board off the opposite face until each quarter is completely cut? Am I on the right track? Also, once I split each round open, how can I determine the quality of the maple? Am I going to be primarily looking for figure? If the wood is good and I keep it, how long should I let it dry before using it? Should it be kept in a controlled environment from day one? I also have some koa from the big island. What differentiates quality koa from average koa? 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 28, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Ebony Tailpiece Cracks Questions: Ebony Tailpiece Cracks by Ted Megas Originally published in American Lutherie #73, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 Susan from cyberspace asks: I have a new custom-made archtop and the ebony tailpiece has developed a few very thin/small cracks. Should I use lemon oil on it? I have a humidifier in the room, but it seems impossible to keep the humidity at a constant level. Ted Megas of Portland, Oregon responds: I would be concerned that the structure of the tailpiece is undermined. A cracked tailpiece is potentially a very dangerous situation, since it’s under a lot of tension. I’ve even heard of tailpieces exploding. Lemon oil will neither fix the cracks nor prevent further cracking. You need to be in touch with the maker of the guitar or a reputable repairperson. 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.
