Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

This is my first classical guitar. It has taken around 3 years, rumbling along slowly in the background. Made the big effort to finish it for Port Fairy. Glad I did, I like it, and so far it has kicked the behind of every other classical guitar I have had access to. A customer told me he had a "wond...

Case arrived today at the last minute, so if you are going to Port Fairy I will have it there.

Hiscox for OM guitars. I used Presto for custom cases for odd instruments, but they have closed down "temporarily".

Here is a picture of the main top mode on the latest mandolin. You can see the fingerboard extension over the sound hole. Without it the main air mode was bang on G#, the fingerboard extension lowered it about 1/2 semitone. Mandolins are a bit more complicated than guitars because there is a tailpie...

Forgot to mention that the last mandolin I measured with the interval of 4 semitones, recently finished, sounds devine. About as close to the perfect sounding mandolin I have ever had the pleasure of playing. I went through a similar process as in the book i.e. what is the perfect mandolin, and rede...

Following on from the other mandolin thoughts thread which referred to my flat top mandolins, I have been measuring some arch top mandolins. The results have been very interesting. Firstly some background. Many years ago I began measuring free plate modes in archtop mandolins after reading up on som...

I am calling this tenor guitar the Gillian Alcock special in memory of my great friend and colleague Gillian Alcock who passed away in November last year. The top is made from King Billy Pine from Gillian's last King Billy plank from our tree we purchased in 1997. If she had not been forced to retir...

Yep drives me mad as well. Last year I thought the case problems were solved, but then it all turned to shit. Maybe I should build classical guitars, no problems with cases so long as you stick with a standard shape and size. Hey wait a minute, I have just finished my first classical guitar, woo hoo...

Here is a mandola recently finished. All Aussie wood except for a bit of Ebony in the fingerboard, headstock, bridge and pickguard clamp. King Billy Pine top, Blackwood back, sides and neck, Myrtle pickguard and Ivorywood bindings. Sounds like a lovely sweet sounding mandola. I was hoping to have th...

Latest mandolin from the workshop. An assymetrical two point, short scale (13in). Based on a Lyon and Healy I imported into Australia about 5 years ago, made around 1924. This mandolin is the sweetest and most gorgous sounding mandolin I have ever had the pleasure of playing so is very pleasing. Qui...

I am in Bega. You are welcome to drop in and tour the workshop. I don't know of any timber suppliers down this way.

Thanks Trevor Yep the principles in the book have now been applied in the mandolin world, but whether or not anyone in the mandolin world actually takes any notice is another question. Tradition is a powerful thing. It has been a bit of, duh why didn't I think of that before. I have read the books, ...

In a thread a few months ago I presented a pancake type of mandolin with a Gidgee back and sides, and asked if any had used Gidgee because it sounded better than any other pancake flattop mandolin I had made. Trevor Gore commented that with Gidgee, the back would be a dead back because it was so hea...

Looks like Queensland Maple to me.

Me too. Dowel from Mitre 10, chopped up. They work fine, are cheap and only a couple have snapped. Easily replaced if they do snap.

Yep, also done more times than I care to remember. Sometimes use a scraper, or alcohol, but usually sandpaper and lots ends up in the bin. Lots of sandpaper, lots of elbow grease, and lots of patience, but always I am happy I got it off and start all over again. Second attempt is always much better.

Here she is at the 2011 National Folk Festival, before she retired.

I have just heard that the great hammer dulcimer maker Gillian Alcock has passed. She was one of my greatest and longest friends, an inspiration when I first started making mandolins. I have one of her dulcimers and it is one very fine instrument. Gillian has been battling MS for many years, and wha...

I have not looked at this thread for a while, but it bothers me that anyone would advocate exporting CITES listed species without the paperwork. What I outlined is the LEGAL way to export instruments to the USA, assuming they are worth more than $2000 USD. Exporting any species of rosewood from Aust...

Assuming your declare your banjo ukes are worth less than $2000 USD, then you do not need to do the Lacy Act paperwork. That might explain the zero issues.

What did you use for kerfing material on this lil beauty please Peter?

King Billy Pine.

Well it sold on Tuesday to the first person apart from me to play it, so I have started work on another one. I have enough Gidgee for 2 more.

No it is a Red Spruce top.

Finally some pictures of the mandolin.

Anyone used Gidgee for back and sides? I have just strung up a flat top mandolin with ringed Gidgee back and sides and it is the best sounding flat top mandolin I have made. 1hr after putting the strings on it beat what is now the second best. When I started this mandolin I said I would never use Gi...