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.
Posted on April 8, 2022May 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Cleaning Shop, Part 2 Cleaning Shop, Part 2 by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, April 2022 see also, Cleaning Shop Part 1 by John Calkin There aren’t many scraps in a guitar shop that are useful for making guitars. What guitarmaker would throw those out? But if you scale down to flat-back mandolins or ukuleles you can make use of a lot of expensive material that would otherwise end up in a landfill. The wood I threw out in Cleaning Shop Part 1 was wood I thought I wouldn’t live long enough to use. I had no one to pass it on to. After working for Huss & Dalton for 19 years and more than 4000 guitars I had a crazy amount of scraps. The material I still have should keep me working on my own for years to come. ◆ Quartersawn spruce and cedar strips for center seam back grafts. All photos by John Calkin. Fingerboard cut-offs for banjo tailpieces, heel caps, inlays, etc. Rosewood aplenty for headstock caps, inlays, heel caps, laminated fingerboards and bridges. Material for back grafts and end grafts. Neck stock. (The fingerboards didn’t come from anyone’s scrap pile.) Spruce and mahogany ukulele tops and backs. Mahogany for uke sides comes from the neck stock. More fingerboard cut-offs, good for fingerboard bindings and laminated bridges. Just to present ideas, these ukulele or mandolin fretboards were laminated from mahogany and rosewood. A banjo tailpiece. Unfinished boxes made of mahogany, rosewood, and ebony. What? You don’t make crafty gifts and stuff in your shop? see also, Cleaning Shop Part 1 by John Calkin
