Posted on April 23, 2025June 20, 2025 by Dale Phillips What is the Flamenco Guitar? What is the Flamenco Guitar? by Richard Bruné, Eugene Clark, and John Park, with moderator and organizer Jeffrey Elliott from their 2006 GAL Convention panel discussion Originally published in American Lutherie #97, 2009 Jeffrey Elliott: Our panelists are all esteemed flamenco guitar makers and accomplished flamenco players. I’ll begin by asking each of them to answer a single big question: What is the flamenco guitar? Richard Bruné: Here’s a little quiz. These pictures (below) show three guitars by Domingo Esteso, illuminated from the inside so we can see the bracing pattern. Would anybody venture a guess, according to conventional wisdom, which is the flamenco guitar? The one on the left is a 1932 with rosewood sides and back. In the middle is a 1936; it’s part of my collection. And the one on the right (also far right) is the flamenco guitar, La Maravilla, which was made for Ramón Montoya. It actually has very high action, almost like a classical guitar. 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 July 1, 2024May 22, 2025 by Dale Phillips Letter: Thicknessing Router Article in AL#101 – Surfacing Bit Letter: Thicknessing Router Article in AL#101 - Surfacing Bit by John Park Originally published in American Lutherie #102, 2010 Tim, Since the thicknessing router article (AL#101, p. 58) was written, a friend has tried using a 1" surfacing bit. It has blades on the bottom, much like an auger, which seems to have the trait of lifting the wood. I think it has a propeller action that creates a suction problem. In my opinion, using a cutter like that defeats the purpose. A straight bit cuts the end grain and so can disregard runout and figure. There will always be a slight suction due to the velocity of the air over the top surface being higher than the air under the wood. This is Bernoulli’s Principle which is what gives wings lift. I use a 3/4" straight bit and I’ve yet to encounter enough lift to make a significant error at a dimension of about 2MM or .080". Using this device to give less thickness than that could cause problems because the span from the hold-down remains fixed while the stiffness drops as the cube of the thickness. In other words, making veneer would not be practical. 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.
