Letter to the editor by Lloyd Scott Oglesby
An analytical chemist offers some fascinating information about hide glue. It turns out that formaldehyde makes hide glue waterproof. Jump ahead to American Lutherie #15 for Oglesby's how-to article about hide glue.

Letter to the editor by Alan L. Wall
Wall has discovered that the easiest way to make the wooden portions of spool clamps is with a hole saw.

Letter to the editor by Michael R. Parsons
Parsons relates his history of building instruments from salvaged wood.

Non-Traditional Aesthetics in Lutherie
The following four articles demonstrate how innovation and individual flair can lead to instruments that don't resemble the rest of the pack.

Developing a New Design by Steve Klein
Klein's lecture outlines his aesthetic concerns about the contemporary steel string guitar, and many of the details of his ever-evolving, iconoclastic instruments. With several nice drawings and two photos.

Marvels Among the Reeds by Susan Norris
Norris offers no details about her asymmetric 10-string fiddle, but the one good photo adds much to a delightful little article.

Innovative Concepts Within Fixed Limits by Gila Eban
Eban builds Kasha-style classical guitars. She comments at length about how her aesthetic concept for the guitar evolved, and offers many details of her construction procedures. (See also Plan #5.) Her descriptions of her work are so entrancing that you will long for more photos than the five that are offered. With rosette drawings.

Why Make It Square? by Fred Carlson
Carlson makes a case for less conformity in lutherie. Only one photo of one of his dramatic, asymmetrical guitars, but it's quite inspiring.

Embarrassing Moments in Lutherie by Nicholas Von Robison
Hardly anybody's embarrassing moment is as embarrassing as Robison's.

Indian Import and Export by Gulab Gidwani
A well-known importer and dealer of tonewoods relates some of the difficulties of doing business with third-world nations, such as getting a sawyer of railroad ties to cut fretboards.

Sitar Repair by Dave Schneider
Don't take that repair job without this article! One question remains unanswered: why does sanding the finish of a sitar release such a strong smell of tobacco?

The Scalloped Fretboard by Dave Schneider
This little article doesn't offer a lot of detail, but it might be all you need.

Modified F3 Mandolin by Robert Steinegger, Nicholas Von Robison, and Tim Olsen
Steineggar made a mandolin based on the work of Orville Gibson, but modified the neck pitch and soundboard arch to make it satisfy contemporary playing standards. He also changed some materials. With two photos and a scaled down version of our Instrument Plan #15.

Violin Q & A by George Manno
Manno is an honest man (even when honesty hurts), knowledgeable and opinionated. An especially strong column that touches upon repair prices, colors for varnish touch-ups, tonewood sources, Polish white bow hair, and Tetto Gallo violins.

The Steel String Guitar Today A Panel Discussion with Max Krimmel, Jean Larrivee, Bruce Ross, Ervin Somogyi, and Robert Steinegger
Such panel discussions are always interesting, but this one especially so, mostly because three of the five panelists run one-man shops. The questions (and even many answers) don't seem to change much from year to year, but it's good to hear from some smaller voices in the industry for a change.

Roy Smeck: Wizard of the Strings by James Garber
This is an interview with the man who may have been the best known instrumentalist of his time, the Chet Atkins of vaudeville, if you will. The conversation is mostly about his instruments.

Harvey Thomas and the Infernal Music Machine by Tim Olsen
A rollicking, good-time account of a time gone by and a free-spirited maker of outrageous electric guitars who was pretty much unknown outside of his own territory. It'll make you feel good.

Review: Violin Set-Ups and Adjustments by Dan Erlewine and Paul Newson. Reviewed by George J. Manno.
The reviewer finds this video to be a wise investment, especially for one new to the craft.

Review: The Manuscript on Violinmaking by Giovanni Antonio Marchi. Reviewed by Don Overstreet
The reviewer finds the book to be of mild interest for the violin historian, but seems to have been generally disappointed in its usfulness to the luthier.

Review: Appraisers Reference Manual of Authentic String Instruments and Bows by Thomas E. Florence. Reviewed by George J. Manno
The reviewer finds this to be the one book that every violin shop and instrument appraiser should own. 'Nuff said.

Spraying Stand for Guitar
With this stand-alone jig you can spray or brush an instrument without having to touch it.

This issue is no longer available individually. Its contents are
included in The Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Vol. 1.