Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Deems yes I have gone through this loop and I simply don't know enough to form an opinion. I notice that the pretty much universal standard for classical at 650 mm is around 25.6 inches so that would be moving in the right direction. But maybe there are good reasons for not going to a longer scale l...

I realise this is a slightly old topic but I don't think we have really bottomed it out. If a player is saying to you that she really wants a 14 fret body joint (plus a cutaway) is there a good way to do this and still give a great sounding guitar.P I'm thinking in terms of falcate bracing here. In ...

I had to buy them since I can't resist guitar books. As people have said the finishing and the fretting volumes look really useful. And I quite like the style of the tips books, again I suspect there are some gems in there. And Jeremy no, the hardest part of shopping with them is to stop putting thi...

The primary sound producing component is the top. If there was going to be an effect produced by the glue used it surely would show in the glue used for braces and top to side joints. I would be seriously surprised if such an effect could be demonstrated audibly. The back and sides will be providing...

Or dry PTFE lubricant spray. It is surprising how much of the force used in planing is down to friction rather than the cutting action.

I am in the same position. My recently completed 12 fret got a lot of praise, but the serious players wanted not only a cutaway but a 14 fret body join. Is the fact of moving the bridge up from the centre of the lower bout very significant, and if so, is there a design solution to mitigate this? I w...

Well Mooshala as also an amateur builder I have this same issue of guitars littering the house. So after some serious thought, and the fact that my recent steel string got such rave reviews from some serious players I have decided that it is time to let some of them out into the world. Some I will g...

Thanks Martin. D'you reckon I'm good for a stripe or two. Corporal perhaps? I reckon I am part of a small army core putting out the message for both the Gore designs and for non tropical timbers in the UK. Surprised how few people who have played the guitar have objected to the maple body. Maybe peo...

I recently strung up my first steel string based on Trevor's medium sized falcate braced design. Tried to stick closely to the model though ineveitably as an amateur I had a few, what did someone call them 'opportunities for design development' ! So there are definitely a few cosmetic issues. BUT it...

Most people probably know this but I thought I'd throw it in anyway. Recently strung up a new steel string based on Trevor's medium body size and it sounds great but had a rattle on the third open string. Did all the usual checks including filling and recutting the string slot, but it persisted. I t...

I would aim for something a bit softer than concrete on the floor. Both for your feet and the dropped chisels!

Having strung my falcate braced SS last week, (will post pics and analysis soon), and waiting for it to settle before final setup, I have had a great clear out of the workshop, so the answer is nothing. Not even dust. The place hasn't looked so clean since I moved in and started working in it! The b...

This maybe not the right place for a long discussion on this but as a classical player with weak nails this is close to my heart. When I have used a nail repair kit using silk fabric and CA glue it has worked but leaves the nail weakened so the damned thing breaks again when it has regrown. I wonder...

Richard for the particular spruce I had, I had to use 4 plies for the secondaries. The stuff just wouldn't go round the curve any thicker. Which is OK. Not too much extra work and may lead to a stiffer brace anyway.

Dave

Thanks Allen I'll remember that next time.

I've finally reached the stage of wet sanding the current build. Which is great. I can't wait to get some strings on and hear how it sounds. BUT just about the hardest thing in the whole process is when you have to throw a dollop of warm, soapy water on to this lovely construction that you have care...

As below I'm trying to finish spraying nitrocellulose on a falcate braced steel string and getting very frustrated. Despite going through Allen's tutorial I still don't really have a clue and I am getting desperate to put some strings on!
Think I can get another coat on tonight.

Cheers Dave

Martin, Trevor thanks for the useful insights - as ever. I found I had been daft. When I thought I had cleaned back to bare wood I was actually nowhere near as I found out today when I went to remove it all again - crikey I'd put a lot of lacquer on that back! Anyway I had a mishmash of nitro, CA sh...

We keep getting told that pretty much any finish will stick to shellac but what about the other way round? That might sound a bit silly but I am in the situation where I have scraped off a nitro finish because I had a couple of little knot holes that I thought were filled but weren't. I had tried fi...

Yes - as should other sports people everywhere.

I was getting fed up with VA on my laptop (Windows7) refusing to save settings whereas the same version of VA on my other machine (Win8) would so I did a bit more digging. I suspected it was either trying to write it in the wrong place or it was a permissions thing. So... By setting the security on ...

Oh and have you got your fft and sampling sizes right?
FFT at 16384 and
Sampling at 11025 Hz

Ah ha. I went through this, it was infuriating. Click on capture THEN start tapping at just over 1 sec intervals. When done VA will give you a new window with the captured spectrum and a phase spectrum. You can get rid of the latter by unclicking in view. Then select your region with the mouse. Also...

It is indeed a nice clean design. You are not alone with the necks - my first build had to have a new neck as I couldn't get the geometry right. Build 2 I managed to blow the headstock apart trying to pattern rout the outline. Fingers crossed for the current one! But what fun to be able to play a gu...

Actually Martin it is a really old Elu which I think was one of the earliest design of routers. It is still going because for years it sat in a cupboard while I was too busy commuting and working to get into the workshop! And yes I have almost finished shaping that neck. I have been running pretty m...