Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Dave, In this case I could also think of another place to put the long tool - ooh is that another Aussie euphamism? we save that last option for storing the long tool for when a customer (hypothetically speaking as i have none) comes back complaining that the guitar only plays a G cord, but is usele...

I am a tinkerer and love doing adjustments on things, mucking around, testing different things, so like Craig think it would be cool to be able to easily set the action. I would do it every time I tuned if need be if it was easy enough. I do it on my electric guitars. The reason I was thinking about...

I may have missed this idea somewhere in this interesting thread but one way to avoid having hardware showing in the heal would be to have the internal set bolt and use a long handled tool through the tail jack/plug hole to adjust it. Then you can set the action with the strings to tension.
Dom

Kim, nice work. I think its great that you are happy to push things. I don't for one minute believe that guitar design is in some long-term equilibrium where there is no room for improvements or even total revolution. What worked for martin in 1930 was in part due to the materials they had access to...

Hey Kim, (and with absolutely no offence intended to anyone unless you think you deserve it) if we had all stuck to the plan we would never have thought to go past banging sticks on the ground to make music, or Torres would never have started using fan bracing, or Martin would ... you get the pictur...

What they all said x 2
Dom

No worries Hesh. You are easy to please. The string file is a good idea to get that smooth worn in slot. (Will I mention that you-know-who has that tip in his book? Nuh). You could probably use a grit of some sort in there to help the string cut. Polishing compound perhaps? The nameless one also sug...

Personally, I think we should keep what we do with our nuts to ourselves :oops: , or find a forum that is into that kind of thing. :lol: Hesh, I was never any good at pissing contests anyway. But I am still interested in the why. How about next time you are hanging with your repair buddies you ask t...

Yep, I have used a few different rasps in the past and love these. They are so versatile. The pointy narrow end lets you get into small holes or curves and wide bit is good for levelling and the they cut very fast both wood and skin :( I have found. They also cut well at most angles, that is at 90 d...

Hesh, I am sure these guys are great at what they do but I am looking for a rationale not just a recommendation. I imagine service differentiation in the US is important to remain competitive and can see why the top guys have to disagree with each other. This makes it important to think through thes...

Graham, I would be keen on strings also. With any group buys from the US time is on our side. The dollar hit 94US last week and the economic fundamentals only point to it going higher. That is our commodity prices are going to keep rising and it looks like the $OZ will stay high for many years. I re...

By the way there are many myths in guitar building and one of them, started by Dan Earlywine is that 1/2 the string should be exposed above the nut...... This is BS and it makes no difference if the nut top and the string tops are flush. I have Dan Erlewine's books and find his advise highly detail...

Yeh Gratay, I've got stuff from Timbecon and they are very fast with post. Good place.
Dom

I made up some frames with a piece of 2x1 pine on the bottom and put 2 long threaded rods about 18" long and 12 apart on each end. 3 of these go on the bottom then my stack with stickers like Martin. I can put another 2x1 over the bolts on top of my stack and clamp it down if I need to and it makes ...

http://www.joewoodworker.com/.
Allen, try this place. These guys also have info and kits for building vacuum presses. Cool web site. I heard you could use glycerin for softening and tried some on scrap but with heat, it cooked and discoloured like caramel.
Dom

I have found that it is easier to bend bindngs in the bender if I bundle up a bunch together. It must work by reducing the surface area where heat can escape because the edges are touching and this (I assume) helps get and keep the binding hotter during bending. The mass is larger. Like others, I pu...

Does anyone know if bone dust is bad for you? The few nuts and saddles i have made with bone blanks stink when cut. But I also worried about the dust.
Dom

I've studied lots of things from botany, horticulture, politics and economics and now lutherie. I love books and buy heaps and have learned one important thing. That is, It is a mistake to read a technical book once and think that every lesson has been learned. This is even more so with books like t...

Hey Steve, stay away from the 120volt stuff from the US. To expensive to get stepdown transformers etc and i don't think they have 240volt control gear yet. For a temp controller/timer, i have been thinking that you could use the controls from a discarded cloths dryer. They seem like the pefect thin...

Yep, all of the above. 1. tuners. 2. bindings. 3. figured maple drop tops for electrics 4. EIR
Dom

Yep, love them. They are 40 bucks US on the GAL site. You got to be able to get them into Australia for much less than 100 $OZ. Just wait until the US economy tanks a bit more and the $OZ will be close to parity.
Dom

Gilet in Sydney had some and I got a set last year. It was cheap, about $60 for the set I think. The info I got was that it is just plantation grown EIR. Obviously very fast growing with wide spaced grain. Smells just like EIR when cut Here's a pic http://www.mcguitars.com.au/phpBB2/userpix/62_Son_0...

BTW, Bill Cumpiano carves the neck after the fingerboard is glued on in his book.

Yeh, thanks Rick. Frankly, you are not the only person giving advice on internet forums and if you read my post, you will find that it is not the fact that wood is organic and moves around that is confusing, but the conflicting advice given on various internet forums. Others will say that to avoid b...

Thanks Rick and Allen, I am not disagreeing with your excellent advice. But I am trying to think through this to understand the potential problem for myself. What is the actual issue. I mean, is a neck likely to get backbow or too much relief, in which case it could be adjusted with the truss rod un...