Posted on December 21, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Cleaning Shop, Part 1 Cleaning Shop, Part 1 by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, December 2021 see also, Cleaning Shop Part 2 by John Calkin Anyone who has entered the field of lutherie in the last 25 years will have a difficult time envisioning the lutherie scene when we Old Farts came up in the 1960s through about 1985. There were very few books available, and useful magazine articles were scarce. Tools and jigs had to be made in the shop. Previously owned instruments were used; there were no vintage instruments until George Gruhn began telling us there were. A few small outfits sold tonewood. There were no mega-suppliers like today. When I slotted my first fretboards I saved the sawdust in 35MM film canisters to use as wood filler. I saved every scrap of precious hardwood I encountered. My life as a luthier packrat had begun. I had my own shop from 1980 until 1997. I started with dulcimers and added hammered dulcimers, electric guitars, flattop mandolins, bouzoukis, resonator guitars, bowed psalteries, banjos, ukuleles, and acoustic guitars. Each instrument required separate molds, benders, wood, workboards, jigs, and often tools. I was able to move quite a bit of stuff when I changed states, maintaining my status as a packrat, but my bad habit exploded when I hired on with Huss & Dalton. I worked there for 19 years, and many scraps from the more than 4000 guitars and banjos we made came home with me. As the years went by I spent less and less time in my shop, yet the collection of stuff continued to swell. Seriously, the concrete floor began to fracture. I knew other packrats well enough to notice the signs of the disease. As their collections increased, the old stuff was buried under the new. Yet in their minds they not only thought they could remember it all but how and when it would all be used. They were pathetic. When I finally realized I was avoiding my shop because of the clutter, I had to face the fact that I was one of "them". I began tossing bits and pieces but the shop looked the same. I backed my truck up to the shop door and threw in all the obvious dross, but the next day I couldn't tell the difference. The second load contained enough rosewood and ebony to tilt my truck slightly sideways, not to mention sections of old-growth redwood 6x6s a friend had given me that I was eventually going to jig up to resaw into quartersawn soprano ukulele tops. Parts of my shop saw daylight for the first time in 20 years. I'm still not done, but I think I've lost my rank as a first-class packrat. I'm down to third-class, maybe. So what was all that stuff? You'll have to wait for Part 2. ◆ Both photos by John Calkin. see also, Cleaning Shop Part 2 by John Calkin
Posted on October 26, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Prepping Rough Planks for Solid Bodies Prepping Rough Planks for Solid Bodies by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, October 2021 There are plenty of places online where we can purchase prepped electric guitar body blanks. But who can refuse free wood when it is offered? Several rough planks of 2"×9"×12' poplar came to me out of the blue. They had been painted on two sides, but so what? They had spent years in a dry barn. I cut them down to 6' to fit them in my little pickup truck, hauled them home, and stored them in my mower shed for two more years. All photos by John Calkin I have been working on electric ukuleles, mandolins, and mini guitars, and that is where the poplar is destined to be used. The first step was to cut a plank into 15" lengths using a sled on the table saw. Though it looks like the plank will be run against the fence, there will be plenty of clearance after the cut is set up. Two pieces sat evenly on the saw deck so I proceeded to run them through the drum sander, first the humped side and then the cupped side. One edge was sanded flat (but not perfectly) on the 6"×48" belt sander in order to run it evenly against the table saw fence while the other side was trimmed clean and perpendicular to the faces. In this photo, the second edge is about to be trimmed. That's as far as I will take them for now. They are shy of the 1 3/4" thickness used for most Fender electrics but plenty thick enough for smaller solidbodies. When the time comes, the shorter length will be sliced up to widen the longer piece as necessary, making the bit still covered in red paint irrelevant. Once joined the blank may be thinned even more to accept a top of figured wood, but that lies in the future. The three blanks off the board that rocked too much on a flat surface would still rock after thickness sanding, so they will get a slightly different treatment later. ◆
Posted on September 22, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Shop-Made Bandsaw Dust Port Shop-Made Bandsaw Dust Port by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, September 2021 My old bandsaw was made before dust ports were added to every power machine, so I made one out of wood. It's a close copy of the heavy-gauge steel cover for the lower wheel but made out of light plywood. The dust port itself was purchased and screwed to the cover. A mahogany interface to accept the 3" vacuum hose was made to fit the port. The sides of the cover were kerfed to permit easy bending to match the original metal cover. I think the rest of the construction is self-explanatory. ◆ All photos by John Calkin
Posted on June 23, 2021March 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Pre-bending Herringbone Purfling Pre-bending Herringbone Purfling by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, June 2021 Herringbone purfling s a lot easier to work with if it is prebent before it is glued onto the guitar. This is best done after wetting it first. I always use a brush to spread glue on guitars. I keep a coffee cup of water handy at all times, along with an acid brush with the bristles properly trimmed back to the stiffness I like. I dip the brush, then hold it stationary as the strip of purfling is pulled across the cup underneath it. Soak the purfling well on both sides. This should take only seconds. Then the strip is pulled through a dry cloth. Soaking it for too long will encourage it to come apart as it is bent. Give the purfling a minute to absorb the water, then tape the butt end into the channel it will be glued in later. Wrap it carefully around the lower bout using a couple pieces of masking tape to hold it tight. More tape, as well as care, will be necessary to make it conform to the waist area. The wrap around the upper bout should be as easy as the lower bout. In the photo, you can see how much tape was used as well as the small fan used to dry the purfling before gluing it in place. All photos by John Calkin Herringbone will wrap around a moderate Venetian cutaway but do it gently and by stages. To be safe, the purfling can be wet and then sliced lengthwise on one of the glue joints using a single-edge razor blade. On a tight Venetian cutaway, the purfling must be sliced. On this tight-waisted jumbo guitar, the purfling was sliced from the top end to below the waist area to help coax this half-herringbone purfling to conform to the shape of the guitar. Sliced purfling doesn't need to be prebent but you might wish to wet it as you reach that portion of the install. Slicing the purfling can go awry and destroy it. Buy extra. ◆
Posted on April 8, 2021March 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Hand Sander Dust Collection Hand Sander Dust Collection by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, April 2021 Shop dust is a pervasive enemy that can cause damage to the lungs and sinuses. One of the silliest inventions ever is the dust collection bag that is hung on many hand sanders in an attempt to convince woodworkers that the manufacturers care about our health. They don't work, they might even blow off of the machine causing a dust cloud of their own, and the irregular port sizes make it difficult to improvise a vacuum hookup. I broke down and bought a new DeWalt DWE6421 sander along with the DWV9000 hose-to-sander adaptor and a 20' length of 2" hose, all for about $110 from Amazon. The long hose is to keep me as far away from the noisy shop vac as possible, though I still wear earmuffs while working. The rig works very well, much better than even the powerful down-draft table I used at Huss & Dalton Guitars. It's not perfect, though, and a particle mask should still be worn for safety. All photos by John Calkin Remember that the filter in the shop vac will clog up and need cleaning long before the collection tub is full. As the photo illustrates, it is way too easy to put off cleaning it for too long. I intend to be more diligent. ◆
