Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Think i'm overdue for a build thread.... Finished this Flamenco Negra last week for Spanish guitarist Paco Lara. 6 week build from start to completion, strings on for the first time last Sunday, picked up by the customer on Wednesday, on stage on tour on Thursday. :D Soundboard: Spruce Back and Side...

Worse case - drill a 3/8 round hole and hand chisel in corners to make it square.
Not ideal, and takes some extra time, but will get the job done. I did this for years before getting a morticer.

Interested Zendo.
Feel free to give me a call, number is here: https://toscanoguitars.com.au/contact/

I do Spanish heel joints on all the very few ukes I make.
As a first build I recommend to keep it simple, and it doesn't get much simpler then a Spanish heel. However if wanting to test your skills a dovetail or even a bolt on / off is ok.

While I give credit to taylor for doing something different, at least different to the other big name factories. I've had 2 people drop in to my workshop with new v-class guitars, a 600 and an 800 series. One of these guys placed an order with me for a commission falcate SS after playing a demo one ...

I found this very inspiring Steve. I want your life! :D I was articular struck by the statistic of 30% of people not being guitarists. I am also very pleased for you that it only took 18 months to get your order books full, that is amazingly good work. As others have suggested I will spend some tim...

Ive recently been able to secure pretty good pricing from stewmac/LMI.
However am yet to get charged GST from either, buying monthly from both.

So you are wanting to glue a bridge plate ontop of the fabric? What's your reasons for not wantng to use epoxy? My first guess would be one of the thicker epoxy's that also gap fill eg techniglue. As opposed to west systems which when applying enough to take into account the fabric soaking it up wou...

Hey Trent. I have- Mic: https://www.musoscorner.com.au/akg-p170-project-studio-instrument-condenser-microphone Interface: https://www.storedj.com.au/native-instruments-komplete-audio-6-plus-komplete-elements Connected to my laptop. This setup is used to record all my audio, eg: https://www.youtube.c...

Hi Alan, I went full time into the guitar making and teaching realm 18months ago (from a 16yr corporate IT career). I own the Sydney workshop of the Australian Guitar Making School, i find teaching to be fun, enjoyable, most rewarding, and certainly helps pay the bills and put food on the table. The...

I used to cut mine by hand..... :toi True story. Now i use the Stew Mac jig with a makite laminate trimmer. Works ok, go full depth in one pass and honestly have never had a tear out issue. Make sure to keep the cutter sharp. I dont bother sharpening mine, instead replace it every ~15 guitars or so....

MY question is: what do other classical makers do. 1. No neck reinforcement or 2. A hardwood insert or 3. Carbon fibre. OR 4. Truss rod? I put a truss rod in most my nylon string instruments nowadays with spanish heel body joins. The exception to this is flamenco blancas where im trying to keep wei...

I did a $200 order with LMI on July 5th, arrived last week, I wasnt charged GST.

Have done some ebay orders and noticed ebay is charging the GST at the checkout like Simso mentioned.

Sorry for continuing off topic Trent.... I also find it hard to justify a cost of greater than 3500 when I know what a person can buy in this price range. Dont take this the wrong way Steve (and i understnd your situation is very different to most builders as your focus is on repairs), but I think t...

simso wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 15, 2018 4:21 pm

For other note, typically I build a custom acoustic for 3500, the same time spent doing repairs will net in around 6000 so I only build acoustics on the rare occasion.

Steve

Why charge 3500 for a build then? Doesn't seem like a wise business decision.

Well done Trent, and i hope you get many more!! Some advice (or moreso - things i wish someone told me when doing my first lot of commissions). - Don't cut yourself short when quoting, you are offering a premium product so charge a suitable price. - Provide realistic time frames so to not end up rus...

Wowsers... Following to see the finished repair.

This one below was my first full body hard shellac finish.
Trick i found was to let the finish harden for a good ~6 weeks before hitting it with the micro mesh. I final buffed with the micro mesh liquid polish.

Thanks Martin.
2 spots available for anyone interested.

It should, yes, ensure you sand the shell to a high grit. Typically 800 is enough.
You can do this in your finish prep stage.

Hi all. For anyone interested, here's a great opportunity to extend your guitar design knowledge with the guy who literally wrote the book on the subject. Trevor Gore will be running one of his 3 day Modal Tuning courses in my workshop later this year. Some dot points about the course: • Guitars rad...

Not much interest. Im not that bad to hang out with..... am i?

I'll probably end up arranging something with my students as heaps of them are keen and host in my workshop on a Friday evening.
Mark, and Martin (and anyone else) are welcome to join us.

I realised that we already use a depth stop on our fret saw to cut specific depths and this could be used to do a series of cuts in a brace to be followed by a chisel. It worked well for me. Great idea!! I have a small fine Japanese saw which turns out the teeth are cut exactly 2mm into the blade. ...

So do we have to get the shell inlay to exactly match the final surface of the top? Or is there a way of thinning it down, maybe with fine abrasives? I dont use it much myself, but a lot of my students do. I get them to cut the channel so the shell is just proud of the top. Talking less then a quar...

Does the hole go through to the otherside? If so as Martin mentioned push it through with some wire or a nail from the saddle side. Otherwise maybe you could drill a temporary hole from the saddle side at an angle over the top of the saddle slot to meet up with the end of your drill bit then push it...