Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Hey all, although I had to give up the guitars, I've been watching regularly, and am amazed, as always, by the work here. Just thought to drop in and say me and the missus have moved to the UK. Been here a month now, and both working. She's loving it, and her 1 year approval has already turned into ...

My pleasure, Steve. I have watched your project on. The knife forum, and it looks a winner. As the boys over there said, you can sort out the minor imperfections later, but you'll not likely need to, as it looks fine. Remember, it is a working tool, and will dull and scratch in its own time as well....

Nice Greg. That the one you had on the way when I came by yours? Looks good. Remember, you will cring every time someone looks at one of your guitars--I do--but they will only be bewildered by the fact that yu actually made it. All of what we see as unsightly blemishes are invisible to them. For com...

Hey Steve. Sorry, didn't see this post before. Good to see you found the blade forum. But, I find trolling YouTube to be more helpful. One idea you might pursue for steel is to pick up a Damascus blank off eBay. I got one for $50 or so, delivered. Looks the goods. Will look for the seller. Just depe...

What does the figure look like? If it has a nice look, a blank for knife handles would be nice.....here is my last build. Bubinga, and nice figure. Very hard and big pores, the cross grain burns if the sanding is too aggressive, but a nice timber....I would take some, if the price is good...

Hah, I, to, seem to not be up on the proper techniques for making damascus, Nick. I'm going to cut open my first try and have a look inside somtime soon, as I think it didn't turn out too well. It is only a first try, and I think it didn't get hot enough to start with. Even if only half of it actual...

It's actually not all that hot Jim. I just stick the steel in and wander off. I want to build a coal-fired forge next and that will be pretty well self-contained, and won't actually radiate as much heat as the gas one. I'm also hoping it'll be cheaper. Gas tanks go about two days......gonna get a 45...

yeah, wasn't a total win, but 80% got done, and I think the rest can be brought into line. Tricky stuff. Not made easier by the idea that every video of the process is shot in semi-dark sheds, garages etc, but I'm working outdoors in bright daylight. I'll bet there is a big difference, and I assume ...

Thanks, Markus.

I'm not sure the bracewood would survive!

Been trying a bit of forge welding for pattern welded steel knives today.......WOW! Looks a LOT crazier in pix....

Thanks guys. Greg, the handle on the little one is leopardwood that I bought as knife scales intending to turn them into Uke bridges, and the sashimi knife is EIR/Aluminium/Blackwood/Aluminium/EIR. The rosewood is leftover from fretboards, the blackwood is from that block I showed you, and the al sp...

Hi guys. Some had expressed an interest in seeing what I was going to do now that I've given up guitars due to allergic responses. That, being knife making. As a chef, it fits. There are some ideas I have of knnoves that would be of use to me that I can't really find in the market. These are my firs...

Hey guys. I'm still around. Too old and crotchety to go missing for too long. But, I'm a chef, in Byron Shire. That means that school holidays are crazy. Eric 4 12's was 4 12hr+ shifts in a row. Then, I changed jobs right after holidays were over. Ended up as 12 days straight of long shifts, but the...

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to see if the boss hasn Aloe Vera in her gardern, or look into getting one. I'm willing to give anything a try, usually. As for the timbers I have left? I reckon the Blackwood would work nicely, though the Myrtle set will likley come up nicely, and not be a combinati...

For high gloss, I used 3220 directly onto the wood. No sanding sealer. Worked a treat, but takes a bit of practice to finish well.....

Thanks Martin. I'm not too worried, and I think that knife-making will be fun. As I chef, it will also be a hobby I can put to good use. I have enjoyed guitar making immensly, and will surely check in, as I am always amazed by the work shown here. I do have one last one in the works, which I'll post...

Stu, that does, indeed, suck. But I'll get over it, and find another avenue to express my creative side. And, thanks for your confidence Kim. I find the challenge to create more satisfying than just doing it right. I reckon I'd be trying something else before too long anyway. I love building guitars...

Thanks. I'm really bummed, Jim. I was getting to the point, after ten builds, that I thought I was starting to get pretty good at this, but...... Steve, I got a few years left, if I stop. 51, but a bad smoking habit and allergies led to the current state of affairs. I've started to put a few bits up...

Maybe not too awful for the rest of you. I had a visit at the quack's a couple months ago, and discussed my super sensitivity to wood dust, and how building guitars leaves me quite literally breathless when it comes time to sanding. I work outside, usually, wear a dust canister respirator, remove my...

I picked up one like that a while ago, thinking to use it for bridge pins, but it's 5 degree, not 3. Mine is anyway. I use screw in strap buttons, but I think the usual timber ones are 5 degree?

Hmmmm....shame you couldn't find any nice blackheart for this project.....

Wish we had smilies for eyes hanging out of the head. Top work, as usual...

One for sale for me a town or two over for pretty cheap, well, so far. Looks like a combo table saw and jointer, neither of which I have. Anyone have experience with these? Would it be worth a couple hundred? Keeping in mind that virtually nothing turns up near enough me to warrant the trip to pick ...

I've seen some nice silver wattle.

There are better sources than me on here for solid body timbers, but Blackwood and Qld Maple are pretty common and both can have some awesome figure in them. Even un figured, they are attractive timbers. Or, you can do a drop top of almost anything, Eastern Maple, blackwood, etc, etc. I made a tele ...

Just to throw a hand grenade onto a bon fire, I'll state my opinion that the timber contributes very little -- if anything at all-- to the tone of an electric guitar. Your electronics and the signal path are the determinators of what an electric sounds like. There! I said it, and I'm not taking it b...

top notch stuff there......well done.....looks great