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An Introduction to French Polishing by Cyndy Burton, Greg Byers, Robert Steinegger, & Buzz Vineyard
This workshop lecture and its audience participation make a wonderful case for the value of collected experience. These seven pages of text and photos offer tips and information not to be found in any of the French polishing videos and articles that have come out since, as well as explaining the basics of finishing with shellac.
Why Are Old Violins Superior? by Graham Caldersmith
Is it possible that old fiddles aren't superior? Yes, but the only people who want to believe that it's true are the contemporary violin makers. Human nature would rather cast its faith to a mythical past than deal honestly with the present. Or not. Caldersmith doesn't pretend to settle the debate.
Gene Rhinehart's Resophonic Guitar Cones by Ed Vande Voorde
Rhinehart's Dobro cones have developed a wonderful reputation. In this interview he outlines his material choices and production techniques.
Which Spruce Is That? by Dana Bourgeois
Where did Martin buy their spruce from year to year during their vintage days? Bourgeois discovered that there is no way to know, and that guitar experts are forced to guess.
Archtop Guitars: Is Bigger Better? by Steve Grimes
A noted maker of archtop guitars offers a detailed description of the method he uses to adjust the tone of his instruments during the carving process. He finds he is willing to sacrifice a little volume in order to attain a precise tonal character.
Two Tools For Within by Harry Fleishman
Fleishman's tools are a rubber band-powered jack clamp for reglueing braces, and a homemade wrench for tightening output jack nuts inside an acoustic guitar.
Historical Lute Construction: The Erlangen Lectures, Day 3 by Robert Lundberg
This portion of the series deals with the soundboard, or belly, of the lute, including the braces and rosette. Many drawings illustrate the shape and thickness of historical lute tops. Beautiful drawings accompany the 15 photos of astonishing rosettes (the drawings are not patterns of the photos). Where did those old guys find the patience? This is the third of 19 installments.
Lute Rosette Patterns by Robert Lundberg
Lundberg offers seven rosette drawings for copying, or for using as a point of departure.
10-cs Renaissance Lute after Magno Dieffopruchar, 1612 An Instrument Plan by Robert Lundberg
This is a reduced version of our full-scale GAL Instrument Plan #20. It is not intended to furnish a complete visual statement, but should be used in conjunction with the text to build an instrument.
7-cs Renaissance Alto Lute after Wendelio Venere, 1592 An Instrument Plan by Robert Lundberg
The is a reduced version of GAL full-scale GAL Instrument Plan #21. The warning above applies here, also. This plan should be used with the text.
Flattening Rosewood Potato Chips by Ervin Somogyi
Somogyi saves a stash of warped rosewood guitar sets by clamping them between aluminum plates and heating them with a clothes iron.
Diary of a Shop Accident by Nicholas Von Robison
Robison saws off the tip of his thumb. A shop safety reminder for the experienced craftsperson.
Our Great Spherical Friend, Part 5: An Experimental Bass by Frederick C. Lyman, Jr.
Lyman forges ahead in his quest for a cheap but satisfying substitute for the traditional solid wood bass viol. This segment describes an experimental bass made of lauan plywood and 2x4 studs. The results leave him hopeful that he is on the right track.
'Formula 411' Varnish Recipe by George Manno
Manno offers a recipe for a golden-red varnish for use on new violins.
Portland's World Forestry Center Exhibition by Jonathon Peterson
Peterson is a devoted fan of this organization, which disseminates educational information about forestry related topics and provide the forest products industries a "place where they can put their best foot forward". The Center's Handmade Musical Instrument Show is the chief draw for luthiers.
File Sharpening by Jonathon Peterson
Peterson finds a relatively safe method of sharpening files by acid etching. THE ORIGINAL PUBLICATION OF THIS ARTICLE CONTAINED A SERIOUS ERROR. ACID SHOULD ALWAYS BE ADDED TO WATER, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. THIS ERROR HAS BEEN CORRECTED IN THE REPRINTS.
Accident Prevention: A Case History by Jeffrey Elliott
Elliott observes that one of the best ways to ensure the safety of a guitar is to make sure it is a good fit in its case.
A Sort-Of-Controlled Bracing Experiment by Richard Jordan
Jordan used spruce of different stiffness to brace three nearly identical classical guitars, and found the differences to be dramatic. His stiffness test was especially easy to run.
Review: Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology by William R. Cumpiano and Jonathan D. Natelson. Reviewed by Cyndy Burton
This book, which has since become sort of the Bible of guitarmaking, is described by the reviewer as "the book we've all been waiting for."
This issue is no longer available individually. Its contents are
included in The Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Vol. 2.
(excluding any of the Historical Lute Construction articles by
Robert Lundberg which are available in a book by the same name)
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