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Meet the Maker: Roberto Gomes by Cyndy Burton
A Brazilian guitar maker comments upon his situation in Brazil and his first trip to America as a luthier.
Brazilian Tonewoods by Roberto Gomes
Straight from the horse's mouth---a Brazilian guitar maker talks about Brazilian tonewood. Ever wonder what a living rosewood tree looks like? Well, wonder no more. With six photos and a range map.
Brazilian Guitarmakers by Roberto Gomes
Gomes offers a list and short description of some current Brazilian builders.
Torres Guitar Restoration by R.E. Brune
Brune describes a rare 11-string Torres guitar and the manner in which he restored it.
Stalking the Wild Maple by John Boser
Gathering one's own tonewood can be a tiresome pursuit. Boser takes a humorous look at one of his futile expeditions.
Building Hollow Radius Forms by Colin Kaminski
Kaminski's form uses two sheets of plywood of different thicknesses. They are joined at the center, and the thin sheet is curved with rows of wedges. A wood frame is built around the plywood, then polyester is poured between the sheets to make the radius permanent. It works, but it can be messy.
Inside Pacific Rim Tonewoods by Steve McMinn
The head honcho of a new designer tonewood company describes his operation.
The Great White Sitka by Jeffrey R. Elliott
How does one hack a log that's eleven feet wide into 4000 guitar tops? Very carefully! Photos detail the decimation of Moby Spruce. By the way, this is a log that Steve McMinn rescued from the pulp mill.
Innovative Instruments for the Performing Musician by Francis Kosheleff
Another page of humor from the mildly depraved mind of Kosheleff.
Reproducing the Finish of the 'Rawlins' Stradivari Guitar by Geary Baese
When a violin guy gets on the trail of an old guitar it comes out sounding an awful lot like a violin article. And when Stradivari is involved what else can one expect? Baese makes an educated guess about the materials and techniques that finished a famous guitar.
Micro Mesh by David Freeman
Micro Mesh is the latest word in sand paper. In fact, it's not even paper and it doesn't feel sandy. Freeman and his students use it for all wet-sanding chores, including the final gloss finish. It's that fine.
At The Workbench by Wes Brandt
A well-known repairman delivers eight tips, including an alternate way to bend a Venetian cutaway, tool tips, and a way to bend sides more accurately.
Big Blue Ladder by Harold Turner
Turner thinks you might like to try white pine as a tonewood. But you'll have to harvest it yourself. Here's some suggestions about how to go about it.
Sustainability: An Issue Facing Luthiers by John Curtis
Curtis is a wood dealer and a founder of WARP (Woodworkers Alliance for Rainforest Protection). Here he examines international law, species extinction, conservation, and local economies in the Third World. Oh yeah, and the American luthier's place in this scheme.
Shortening Schaller Shafts by David Golber
If stock tuners stick up too far from the top of your headstock you can fix them, but it requires a machinist's lathe.
Carving Neck Facets by John Calkin
Calkin offers a neck shaping method that gives pre-conceived notions a chance to be born. What you want in a neck is what you get, quickly and with straight lines.
Electronic Answer Man by Rick Turner
Turner talks about building pickup/microphone systems into an acoustic guitar.
Violin Q & A by Michael Darnton
What is a spiral bushing, and when do you use it? It's a one-question column this time around.
Product Reviews by Harry Fleishman
Fleishman tests the Dean Markley SST acoustic guitar pickup (saddle/transducer) and decides that it may fit certain needs but it doesn't offer faithful reproduction of the guitar's acoustic sound.
It Worked For Me
Member-supplied info about turning a WWI aircraft into a guitar bridge with tuners, and the Wonder Vise for clamping down acoustic guitars.
Review: Building a Herringbone-style Acoustic Guitar by Don MacRostie and Dan Erlewine Reviewed by Dave Maize.
Videos begin to get their due in the review department. The reviewer decides this tape is a valuable aid for the first-time builder.
Questions edited by Cyndy Burton
Readers supply info about Quarterman resonator cones, a hurdy-gurdy book, bracing cedar classical guitar tops, and dealing with dead spots in bass guitar necks.
'Way, 'WAY Down South by Bill Garofalo
While in Argentina Garofalo and his wife trek to a guitar factory only to find that it makes (surprise!) amplified acoustics and solidbody instruments.
This issue is no longer available individually. Its contents are
included in The Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Vol. 3.
(excluding any of the Historical Lute Construction articles by
Robert Lundberg which are available in a book by the same name)
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