Posted on January 19, 2010September 9, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Recycled/Reclaimed Wood Questions: Recycled/Reclaimed Wood by Dave Maize Originally published in American Lutherie #62, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 Jason Rodgers of Portland, Oregon asks: Over the past couple of years, guitar lutherie has become an intense interest of mine. I’d like to find out about recycled/reclaimed wood. If wood is our medium, we’ve got to take care of it. Besides the whole sustainability argument, I think there is a quality aspect to recycled woods, as well. In many cases, you can find large dimensions, and they’re well seasoned, because they’ve been air dried as a ceiling beam for the last 50–100 years. When I open my shop in a few years I’m going to be wanting recycled wood that I can use to build some nice archtop guitars. Do you know of any companies who deal with recycled wood in our local Northwest (or anywhere else)? Being a prime region for both spruce and maple I would expect there to be some available the second time around. 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. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on January 6, 2010May 23, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Building a Herringbone Style Acoustic Guitar by Don MacRostie and Dan Erlewine Review: Building a Herringbone Style Acoustic Guitar by Don MacRostie and Dan Erlewine Reviewed by Dave Maize Originally published in American Lutherie #33, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Building a Herringbone Style Acoustic Guitar Don MacRostie and Dan Erlewine Stewart-MacDonald Guitar Supply Shop Video tape, 90 minutes Building a Herringbone Style Acoustic Guitar is a 90-minute video sold by Stewart-MacDonald originally to accompany their Herringbone Guitar Kit. The kit has since been discontinued but individual parts are still available. The video guides the beginning luthier through the process of building a rosewood and spruce Herringbone dreadnaught. The video is well-organized, dividing its time between constructing the body, finishing and fitting the neck to the body, sanding and finishing and setup. The producers of the video have realized that the viewer may be building their one and only guitar. Therefore, they have successfully attempted to demonstrate the process using a fairly modest array of tools (razor knife, straightedge, chisel, coping saw, router, and a few clamps). In addition, the video avoids requiring the novice to build elaborate jigs just to get their first taste of lutherie. A clever heavy-cardboard inside form and outside U-shaped holder keep the rim in the correct shape until top and back are attached, avoiding having to build a more time-consuming outside mold. A nice feature of the tape is the use of a simply built, versatile workboard which is used in a variety of configurations throughout the process. 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.
