Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

1.6 before you finish sand is just too thin for most WRC. Did you happen to weigh the top before, during, and after? What are you going for? A concept of thickness or actual stiffness/deflection? Building by the numbers...thickness numbers... doesn't really work when you're building at the edge for ...

I'd like to point out that unless you're working in a complete vacuum, deflection testing is not particularly new, nor is it exclusive to Ervin. I'd suggest that guitar makers look around a bit and, for instance, look at what's going on in the mandolin world. Also check out the work of Alan Carruth ...

Amine blush can be removed with sanding and/or water. One recommendation is to use ScotchBrite with water. The amines are a waxy material that are not cut with ordinary solvents, but do wash away with water. Weird... Google "amine blush" and be amazed at how much there is on-line about it, mostly fr...

I pre-shape with a custom round over bit on an overarm pin router, then go to Nicholson #50 rasps...much like the Dragon. I make my pegheads separately from the shaft of the necks and then scarf them on after the basic machine work is done. This leaves only the hand stop area needing much hand carvi...

Clearly Ervin is a master craftsman and a true artist. I guess the real question is whether or not his approach can lead to mere mortals being able to achieve consistent sonic results that help sell musical tools. I suspect it's hard for many to separate the visual splendor of Ervin's guitars from t...

Why not shellac, then epoxy, sand, and more shellac? Often I find that clear filler is the least noticeable as it takes color on from it's surroundings.

Dennis, The Steinberger/Grimes guitars have not proved successful in the market place. Steve has pretty much give up on that design; I've talked to him about it. The Larsons and Tilton's work was mainly the longitudinal brace from tailblock to headblock. The Tilton guitars (which were, by the way, m...

Just don't check my bank account if you're looking for success! The past few years have been brutal...

In the end, it is not we who decide whether our designs and creations are the best thing since sliced bread, it is the musicians (not collectors) who buy and use our guitars.

I'd be cautious about letting ego rule over musicianship.

If you really want to learn more of the science end of how guitars work, pay attention to both David Hurd (Kawika) and Alan Carruth on the guitar scene and David Cohen for mandolins. Both will tell you that the air modes are not a pump unless you think of a pump in the alternating pressure mode. The...

I'll remember to bring it to the Cairns Ukulele Festival next year! I'll try to remember to bring the person in the shirt, too...

Thanks, Hesh.

RT

Ervin's guitars are often lacquered here in my spray booth by Addam Stark, an independent finisher who does work for a lot of well known luthiers here in the US. Ervin's guitars have backs that are unbelievably thin; he's really getting a lot of back radiation of sound from the guitars. I think that...

Make a thin bodied guitar...

Greg Smallman's guitars are designed to hit the back wall of a 3,500 seat concert venue with little or no amplification, and Greg's clients tend to be pretty serious concert players. Ervin's guitars are designed to blow you away in your living room, and his clients tend to be collectors and living r...

Fill the pores in a spruce? You'll always get a bit of fuzz and such on the first coats of anything. Romanillos uses a ground of egg white as a sealer on wood before French polishing. Egg white brushed on, allowed to dry, and then sanded lightly... I like "Waterlox"...a very thin tung oil "long oil"...

Allen and all, looks like we're up on June 29th & 30th, July 1 & 2; that's Tuesday through Friday. If I do my part of the job right, we'll have a dozen or so ukes up and playing early Friday afternoon. Allen, we should chat, and I need your email address which for some reason isn't in my Yahoo or G-...

Allen, I've no doubt that you're far more than ready! These pineapple ukes are a piece of cake to assemble, and there's lots of room and time for really great discussions on the history of lutherie, the techniques we use vs. other valid ways to build, etc. We'll have them all glued up by the end of ...

I'll be back in Tassie in late November/early December doing my mando or uke course, and it looks like I'll be back in July to teach with Allen McFarlen at the upcoming Cairns Ukulele Festival. We're just working out details and hope to teach as many as 12 people to build (OK, Allen, are you ready?!...

John, there are just a raft of reasons why to tilt back the saddle, and the only negative is that you do have to know your saddle height before gluing the bridge so the intonation comes right. Of course with my tilt design, I can move the entire neck in and out + or - 1/8", so I just need to get it ...

Allen (and others), that's one of the things I love about the tilt-adjustable neck...action is independent of saddle height or string height off the top. I set mine up to fairly conventional measurements, but then I (or my customers) can get the action wherever needed without messing with the saddle...

I'd agree with the stain drop-fill approach.

I hate wenge! It's pretty, but have you ever gotten splinters that bad from anything else?

There are several issues to consider here: 1) The height of the saddle above the bridge which in part controls the break angle of string going over the saddle. This can affect string breakage if the break angle is too severe. It has absolutely nothing to do with string tension, though. That's one of...

de Torres probably did not drink Tequila which is from Mexico. de Torres was a Spaniard...

And that's all I'll say about this subject.

Bob (and all), the industry is pretty committed to polyester these days, be it UV cured or catalyst cured. Even boutique companies like Santa Cruz and Collings are using poly for the build coats under nitro because done right, it doesn't shrink back into the pores. There are other suppliers of poly....