Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

I love the look of the Homebush top.

I made a guitar out of recycled bits of various NZ music industry institutions and auctioned it off to raise funds for Red Cross after the first Canterbury quake: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1222/5104007327_d0b331a2ba_z.jpg http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashcustomworks/sets/72157625216141476/ Unfor...

I've got a little bit of whitebait kauri in veneer form and some planks. Haven't decided for sure what to make with it yet, but an archtop is high on the list.

It bugs me that this resource is apparently easier to get in the US than it is here, but that's big market buying power for you.

I have some NZ grown paulownia that I've made a solid telecaster out of. It seems very much like swamp ash, but lighter and brighter. The guitar sounds fantastic, although could stand to be a little warmer with all the maple neck and attacky sounding tele bits on it. Next attempt will be something w...

Oh Joy, Picked up a great stash of Blackwood recently and now I'm itchy and puffy just like the time I found a great stash of Silky Oak. That stuff knocked me out of action for a week and four years later I can still sometimes feel the itch. Or it could be the mango I ate yesterday... here's hoping ...

I mostly make solid electrics, so my tops usually aren't spruce, but you're right. I've ripped kahikatea, which is very sprucey and it took three times as long as hard maple with a 3TPI blade.

Hi Richard! That's Mirocat PC3220, which is a solvent based pre-cat lacquer.

I'm talking about the new water based stuff (WB8060), which I can't find mention of anywhere here.

Hey hey! I just had a look around and couldn't find any talk of the Mirotone water based products, but wondered if anyone has tried them or heard about them: http://www.mirotone.com/Mirotec-WB-Water-Based-Coatings/default.aspx The prices seem quite appealing and the absence of evil solvents is what ...

I got the Hafco 335 from Machinery Warehouse in Auckland earlier this year. I can't say I'm overly thrilled with it as it doesn't rip tops as well as I had hoped and I think the blade guides are too far from the table surface, so I modified mine with an extra guide after a short time. I leave it set...

I've used a lot of Fiji mahogany over the last six years, almost all for electric guitars. Mine has been from two lots, one has lots of soft, light, very resonant wood and the older lot is more figured, harder, darker and heavier. More like what you'd expect mahogany to be. Does anyone have any thou...