Posted on February 1, 2026April 3, 2026 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Cutting Tentellones It Worked for Me: Cutting Tentellones by Rodney Stedall Originally published in American Lutherie #119, 2014 I cut my tentellones on a hobby bandsaw in a direction such that the wood tearout is on the gluing side. This keeps the visible side neat. Once the strips have been cut up, one needs to get rid of the furry edges. I made a de-furrer by cutting a short piece of a large round cardboard carton and lining the inside with 60-grit sandpaper. I then fitted a thin wooden base as well as a removable lid which are also lined with sandpaper. The lid is secured with a rubber band attached to two hooks on each side. Rough tentellones are placed in the box and shaken vigorously in all directions. They come out completely sanded and ready for insertion. ◆ Photo by Rodney Stedall.
Posted on July 1, 2024May 29, 2025 by Dale Phillips Questions: Custom Rosettes Questions: Custom Rosettes by Rodney Stedall Originally published in American Lutherie #70, 2002 Rodney Stedall of Pretoria, South Africa answers Milan Sabljic’s question regarding having custom rosettes made in small quantities. On a recent trip to Germany I came across a small third-generation rosette factory in Kornwestheim near Stuttgardt. Karl Zeeh, the grandfather of Martin Zeeh (whom I met), started the business many years ago. They manufacture customized rosettes and also supply custom bindings and backstrips. The visit was fascinating and the variety of laminated products is extensive, definitely worth investigating. Karl Zeeh, 70806 Kornwestheim, 49-715-47365; fax 49-715-424340. ◆
Posted on July 1, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Lutherie in South Africa Letter: Lutherie in South Africa by Rodney Stedall Originally published in American Lutherie #70, 2002 Dear Tim, Ron Bushman was in South Africa recently on a business trip. He’s a part-time luthier living in Fullerton, California (hometown of Leo Fender) with about twenty-five classical and flamenco guitars carrying his label. He also plays flamenco very well. Ron Bushman admires a Portugese guitarra made by François Pistorius. Both photos by Rodney Stedall I took the day off to offer Ron a bit of South African luthiers’ hospitality. After collecting him at his hotel we went off to Silverton Houthandelaars (wood dealers) to look for indigenous woods. He selected some impressive backs and sides from kiaat and a nice piece of tambotie for headstock veneers. We then visited François Pistorius who impressed Ron with his Portuguese guitarra, an offset-soundhole classical, and his famous double-neck steel string/bouzouki combination on which he plays Celtic music that he learned during his apprenticeship in Galway, Ireland. François added to Ron’s load by kindly giving him a back and side set of bubinga (African rosewood). François plays his double-neck guitar/bouzouki. Then to my workshop where we cut the kiaat into luggage-size pieces. I was able to give Ron a nice quartersawn neck set of boekenhout (African beech) with its beautiful flaming as well as some leadwood (hardekool) and black ivory which I had previously cut into thin bookmatched pieces for head veneers. We then treated Ron to a traditional meal of stywe pap (stiff corn porridge) and bredie (tomato onion gravy) with sosaties (shish kebab) braaied (barbequed) on an open fire made from bushveld leadwood. We sent Ron off, fully laden with his stock of South African tonewoods to remind him of his visit to our beautiful country. ◆
Posted on June 30, 2024May 14, 2025 by Dale Phillips Meet the Maker: Mervyn Davis Meet the Maker: Mervyn Davis by Rodney Stedall Originally published in American Luthier #90, 2007 I first met Mervyn in 1998 at his old farm shed workshop in the countryside just outside Pretoria. I had just started my first instrument and had a need to ask questions of someone with experience in building stringed instruments. I found Mervyn to be a deep thinker, very knowledgeable, and willing to share with me the answers to my questions. Mervyn’s knowledge and insight into stringed instruments stems from many years of self-inspired building and innovation. Most South African luthiers like myself can claim to have gone through the Mervyn Davis school at some stage of their building career. The interview below serves to prove Mervyn’s willingness to share his years of experience freely with others. Mervyn, you have thirty-plus years of stringed instrument building experience. Can you tell us what instruments you have made? Guitars, violins, lutes, electrics, archtops, and mandolins of every description. But there are hundreds that I will regretfully never get around to making. My curiosity is still drawing me deeper into the endless well of questions and answers that experimentation offers and which, I am sure, is exactly what got all of us luthiers into the craft to begin with. 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. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on June 13, 2024May 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips Kiaat Kiaat by Rodney Stedall Originally published in American Lutherie #90, 2007 Kiaat (Pterocarpus angiolensisis) is found in south-central Africa. It is from the same family as padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii) which is known to be a good tonewood with sound properties somewhere between Brazilian and Indian rosewood according to the LMI catalog. It does not have as intense a red coloring as padauk but varies in color from a pale uniform brown to having irregular reddish/orange streaks and occasional flame. It has a fairly large percentage of oatmeal-colored sapwood of an inferior quality. This is generally eliminated when building guitars. Grain can be quite variable, from wavy to straight. It has excellent drying properties and dry weight is about 640KG/M3. Its strength is generally about 30% lower than padauk. It cuts, sands, and bends easily. It is moderately porous and takes any finish or polish well. Kiaat is freely available in lumberyards in South Africa but it is very seldom quartersawn and of the necessary guitar back dimensions as is required for guitar making. Luthiers spend hours searching through piles of wood stock to find suitable size, grain, and cut. The sap of the kiaat tree has cultural and medicinal significance. The red sap is mixed with fat and used as red face paint in tribal rituals. It has been believed to have magical healing powers especially concerning blood disorders as well as other medicinal uses. ◆ Seeking lutherie wood in southern Africa. Camel thorn trees in Botswana. Both photos courtesy of Mervyn Davis. Crossing the Zambezi River.
