Posted on July 1, 2022March 5, 2024 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, 2022March 5, 2024 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, 2022March 5, 2024 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
Posted on March 4, 2022March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Adirondack Spruce Growth Rates and Accessibility Adirondack Spruce Growth Rates and Accessibility by Ralph S. Charles III Originally published in American Lutherie #81, 2005 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015 With a day job in the forestry and logging industry, I know a little something about wood. After thirty years of selling saw logs and pulpwood for a living, I thought that a move into the tonewood business would be a natural transition into retirement. Membership in the GAL, however, has uncovered a realization that some luthiers may appreciate my perspective on tree growth rates in general, and Adirondack spruce in particular. The grading of wood for instrument tops takes into account at least the following considerations: evenness of grain, straightness of grain, tightness of grain, color or discoloration, location or lack of knots, figure, heavy grain lines, pitch pockets, foreign objects (bullets and barbed wire), closeness to quarter and runout, and stiffness. The following discussion is directed at the evenness and tightness of grain which are a direct result of the laying down of the annual growth ring. 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 March 4, 2022March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Rosewood and Ebony Shortage Rosewood and Ebony Shortage by Robert O. Larson Originally published in Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly, Volume 8 ,#1, 1980 Note: Mr. Larson is President of VIKWOOD LTD., a large American Importer of rosewood, ebony, and spruce. He is a member of the Forest Products Research Society and has served as Tropical Woods Committee Chairman and is currently on the Mid-West Board of Directors. Innumerable articles have been written during the past year concerning the extreme shortage of rosewood and ebony supplies for the luthier trade. Having just returned in November from my second trip to India in 1979, I am happy to report that the situation is not as glum as it appears from the articles in the trade journals. There are adequate supplies of rosewood and ebony logs and a large number of competent log converters who can supply dimensioned items such as backs and sides, fingerboards, and even machined bridges in goodly quantity. 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.
