Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Planing leaves a smooth hard uninterrupted surface. Sanding effectively destroys the surface the depth of the grit. So a side sanded to 1.8mm has the stiffness of a slightly thinner side which is an advantage when bending. A side planed to 1.8mm has the strength of a 1.8mm side.

I built my workshop from a shed frame. It has Hebel panel cladding that is screwed onto the shed frame instead of colorbond steel. The Hebel panel provides insulation and is fire proof, but you need to make sure the foundations are big enough to support the extra weight. I lined it with insulation ...

I've no idea about temperature as I've never measured it. But what I can offer that would be useful here is to soak the sides in a hot water with a cup of fabric softener for half an hour. Enough water to cover them, then weigh the side down so it doesn't float about. Wrap in baking paper and bend a...

TomBicknell wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:26 am

Cheers guys! Have you ever tried knives to carve the heel or volute etc?

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJAQHRLPAY5/

Aye, it should probably come with sub titles....

Folks, I've a tutorial on video streaming up on my website. It'a one you pay for, sorry it's not free, but I have to make a living etc... Its priced around half of what I charge for a private lesson, and it's pretty densely packed with information. 3 methods, first uses hand tools and a bandsaw, the...

You might want to ask your insurer about what effect building with SIPs might have on your insurance. Some really don't like them.

Depends on how much time and money you want to spend. If you can, insulate and seal the whole thing, buy a really good dehumidifier like a Thorair. For a smaller cheaper unit, I've heard good things about the Midea Cube. At the least, make a small room you can get a gobar deck in, along with whateve...

In the next week I'll be releasing a new video. It has taken a lot of work to put together.

You can learn about it here:


youtu.be/CX60lMZxJ0A

It'll be for sale in a few days.

Been posting short videos over on Facecrack and Instagram. Not instructional, more just a record of how I work. Take a look, happy to answer questions. Click "Load more" at the foot of the page as there are about 20 so far.

https://nkforsterguitars.com/workshop-diary/

To cut the mortise and drill the holes:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv_L_iLg2y3/

To transfer the holes:

https://www.bunnings.com.au/ryobi-6mm-d ... k_p0466327

A question to both Nigel and Allen: Do you have any concerns regarding the longevity of CA as a finish? I ask because I finished an internal door knob with CA over a year ago, it gets handled multiple times a day and the finish is holding up fine. On the other hand, at the same time, I finished ano...

A question to both Nigel and Allen: Do you have any concerns regarding the longevity of CA as a finish? I ask because I finished an internal door knob with CA over a year ago, it gets handled multiple times a day and the finish is holding up fine. On the other hand, at the same time, I finished ano...

I've been using a very simple and effective pore fill for the last few months. Prior I was using epoxy. It worked, but it took longer than I liked. 1) Having sanded to 320 grit, seal the back, sides and neck with thin superglue. I use Starbond heavy Thin, though the fumes are foul. Make sure you're ...

Anyone got a board of figured jarrah they can sell me to make some binding?

Don't know if I've posted about this, but a while ago I realised I could bend a side in not much more time than I could put one in a machine, so I thought it a good idea to make a bender that could handle a pair of sides at once. I based the design on the Mike Doolin machine where the slats are unde...

There really isn't any money in making cases which is why no one wants to do it. For a while I couldn't source cases for my Big Celtic mandolins, so had to buy heavy duty rifle cases. The inside foam was laser cut and my wife would cut and stitch fabric to cover the foam. They were pretty expensive....

I swapped the washer for two smaller ones, but the idea is the same.

Here it is working:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyziHrUSGvK/

Hi, that's a nifty-looking setup, how is fret spacing arrived at? I suppose you could make kerfing on that too. Taff Same as most other slotting set ups. With a template and a pin. You could make kerfing but there are better ways. You'd need a wider blade than 0.6mm too. I like jigs that are more a...

I've not slotted a board for years. Ebony dust was really doing me in so about 10 years ago I shipped all by fretboards to a lad who slotted them and radiused the lot on his cnc for a very reasonable price. But I'm starting to get to the end of that batch. I've also been using LMI for their slotting...

Weird, i send overseas through pack and send (who then use DHL in most cases). Never had to jump through any hoops. Last instrument was valued and insured at $9750 aud. I used to self insure, but swapped to trusting PnS' insurance. I didn't know PackSend insured up to that sort of amount, I'll take...

kiwigeo wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 28, 2023 4:06 pm

Thanks Nigel.

Who was the guy a few years back who tried to claim semi hemispherical fretting as his own? I believe there were some legal threats made at the time.

No idea. I thought Harry Fleishman came up with it. Least he told me he did.

Posted a video a couple of days ago talking about the ins and outs of semi hemispherical fretting.


youtu.be/fSLqg1elLF0

There are timestamps in the description so you can find the bits you need.

Lads, Robbie O'Brien and I had a chat the other day about my new ebook. The Video is up on YouTube:


youtu.be/TQ8wVMHIgxk