Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Yes, it is a good idea to hollow out the flat face of the heel - the face that contacts the sides at the neck joint - so that you have a small surface area around the edge to floss for the fitting process. But that doesn't fix your 3mm height issue. To fix that I would enlarge the holes in the neck ...

On your specific question of whether it is OK to have an insert for a cutaway section I think definitely yes. Here is one of mine. An essential tip in doing the cutaway is the slot cut into the mould shown by the arrow in this photo. This allows the side that is bent into the cutaway to extend beyon...

Hi Tiana and welcome to ANZLF. Mould building is a rarely discussed topic, so thanks for raising it! Here are a few of mine hanging on the wall. moulds.jpg I throw them together fairly roughly and quickly from cheap and available material such as MDF sheets or plywood. They are definitely not pretty...

That is why I asked where you are located. Someone might be nearby to you and happen to have the book or plans for you to borrow? Well I guess I was referring to myself. I have a copy of the Collins book, and the book by Francois Charle called The Story of Selmer Maccaferri guitars - which is the d...

Another patent-able invention Taffy. Nice one. I spent a while looking at the photos wondering about the functional importance of having two tuners installed while using this jig - but I am guessing that was just a random feature of the instrument modelling the system? Glad to hear that the biblical...

That is why I asked where you are located.
Someone might be nearby to you and happen to have the book or plans for you to borrow?

Hi Major and welcome to ANZLF. You will get lots of help with your project here, and there are a few contributors with quite a bit of experience with Maccaferri style instruments. Have you chosen which of the Maccaferri designs you want to do, and do you have plans yet? They are not too difficult to...

Hi Martin. Share some good repair stories with us too if you like. Cheers, Mark

Hi Johnny. Good on you for jumping in and giving it a go. I understand completely the thought that you can't start by working on any kind of nice timber, but don't go too far in the other direction either. For my first build (an acoustic) I bought a kit (from StewMac, or LMI - I can't remember now) ...

Generally speaking shellac is compatible with virtually any other finish including oils, nitro, poly and other varnishes. It can go under them or on top of them and not cause any problems. The only caveat is that some sprayed finishes (most notably nitro) may react poorly with underlying layers that...

That top looks sensational. Love the f-hole bindings.

Happy New Year Allen. Lovely work, once again. Could you occasionally show us an example of your stuff-ups and mistakes just to make the rest of us feel better? But seriously, you are really producing exceptional instruments these days, and raising the bar for everyone. What is your method for cutti...

Thanks for the tips Ian. What you describe for the finishing routing is much the same as I had planned, but I am always anxious when making it up as I go along. It is very reassuring to hear from someone who has actually made it work.
Cheers and HNY
mm

The important thing to understand about using any of these things is that it is a pre-treatment. You saturate the timber and than leave it to dry. Then bend by whatever method you prefer. At least, that is how I use it. It doesn’t seem to cause any problems with finish that will be applied later. Ce...

A traditional veneer softening recipe is 6 parts water, 3 parts alcohol (methylated spirits), 1 part glycerol (buy it at a pharmacy). Some recipes also add 1 part yellow glue. I have used this, Supersoft 2 and Rivergum brand from Carbatec. I think they all work, and in about equal measure. The home ...

Hi Ian. Nice, individual and distinctive, a little bit quirky. Definitely worth putting your name on. I don't know ukes, and have never made an electric. However, I have been planning to do a blue burst/fade sort of thing like you have done. I really like that. I also use hand applied oil finishes r...

That is annoying! Might be worth an email or phone call enquiry? If they still won't ship overseas you can use a parcel forwarding service like Shipito - or get it sent to your cousin Randy in Minneapolis.

If it is flexible enough to do the inner ring of the rosette is should bend around the edge of the body without difficulty, even a cutaway. Gurian stuff has a good reputation for quality. Quite a lot of the purfling material that you see for sale on Stew-Mac or other sellers is actually sourced from...

OK, you will be good for tools then - but some luthiery specific things like a bending iron, fret hammer and nippers, bridge clamps, reamers might be additional purchases along the way. The Myrtle could certainly make good back and sides. You will want a softwood like spruce or cedar for the soundbo...

Hi Jack
Welcome to ANZLF.

Gurian Instruments is always a good place to look.
This one looks pretty close
https://shop.gurianinstruments.com/coll ... 3835074620

Hi Steve and welcome. We are here to help - always fun and challenging in equal measure for the first build, but you probably have a lifetime of skills that will assist you. I had none!
What are you planning in terms of guitar style and also timbers? What tools are you starting with?
Cheers
Mark

Hi Jules It is true that using a really thin veneer for a rosette is a challenge because you are likely to sand through it as you try to level it after inlaying in the soundboard. You could glue a number of layers of the same veneer together to make a thicker piece. Or glue a single thin sheet on a ...

If I don't spray stuff, would shellac - TM - shellac do the same. I guess this is a question I should answer for myself. Thanks for the inspiration.

A small amount goes a long way. I just checked and found that I have actually been using a different brand of hard wax oil - Whittles Evolution. But let’s assume it has the same coverage as Osmo. Whittles claim a coverage of “up to 30 sq metres per litre”. Presumably that is for a single coat, and I...

That looks really great Wayne. I love how this work can be put aside for ages and then you just pick it up again when you can! So, why the sound port on the treble side? Nothing wrong with that, but I am used to seeing them point towards the player. That one could be good for pointing towards a floo...