Search found 1068 matches

by Mark McLean
Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:40 pm
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: Walnut bend
Replies: 12
Views: 676

Re: Walnut bend

Walnut usually bends easily. 1.8 mm is pretty thin, so should not fight you too much. Maybe that is just a difficult piece of wood?
by Mark McLean
Thu Mar 07, 2024 8:37 am
Forum: The Gallery
Topic: Edvin Guitars first falcate braced OM Size
Replies: 9
Views: 885

Re: Edvin Guitars first falcate braced OM Size

That is a beautiful guitar! Welcome to ANZLF and thanks for sharing your work. I spent last night carving a maple neck with ebony fingerboard and started wondering what sort of fret position markers to put on it. Now I am going to use the idea of your edge markers which can be seen from the front an...
by Mark McLean
Wed Feb 21, 2024 6:42 am
Forum: Anything Goes
Topic: RIP Jeff Beck
Replies: 4
Views: 12202

Re: RIP Jeff Beck

It is a pretty standard headstock shape of Paul Reed Smith (PRS) guitars.
by Mark McLean
Tue Feb 13, 2024 5:42 am
Forum: The Gallery
Topic: Tommy a 000 style guitar
Replies: 3
Views: 1011

Re: Tommy a 000 style guitar

That one is a stunner Taffy. I love the inlay work and the story telling. I am sure that Tommy's family will cherish it. And you still have a few sets of that walnut to work with!
by Mark McLean
Mon Feb 12, 2024 10:11 pm
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: Mandolin bracing. Help needed
Replies: 12
Views: 1360

Re: Mandolin bracing. Help needed

Aha!
And the build photos on your website are a fantastic resource that I had not found before. Thanks.
by Mark McLean
Mon Feb 12, 2024 5:30 am
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: Mandolin bracing. Help needed
Replies: 12
Views: 1360

Re: Mandolin bracing. Help needed

Thanks Peter, you are helping me conceptualize the differences between the mandolin and guitar soundboards. It occurs to me that there is also a big difference between the effect of f-holes on either side of the bridge, versus a central round or oval hole in front of the bridge. The f-hole design re...
by Mark McLean
Wed Feb 07, 2024 1:40 pm
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: Mandolin bracing. Help needed
Replies: 12
Views: 1360

Re: Mandolin bracing. Help needed

The first mandolin-style instrument that I made suffered the same problem. Clearly I had under braced it - perhaps because I was used to building flat top guitars and I underestimated the power of the downforce on the bridge in an instrument with a tailpiece. I "fixed" it by removing the back, remod...
by Mark McLean
Sun Jan 28, 2024 8:24 pm
Forum: Anything Goes
Topic: Another side project
Replies: 4
Views: 1539

Re: Another side project

Nice! That is a skill that I would love to have, but I am clueless about electronics. Maybe later
by Mark McLean
Sat Jan 27, 2024 10:27 am
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: 12 string build advice
Replies: 12
Views: 1858

Re: 12 string build advice

Brett, Taffy and I are leading you down a rabbit hole with the neck block reinforcement, aka flying buttresses, aka “tone tubes”. This is certainly not a common thing and is not found, to my knowledge, in any factory made guitars. It was an idea propagated by some prominent luthier innovators such a...
by Mark McLean
Fri Jan 26, 2024 3:40 pm
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: pinless bridge question
Replies: 4
Views: 982

Re: pinless bridge question

This one is a Breedlove and is pretty simple. You would want to draw it out at large scale and work out the angles. Do something like a countersink for the ball ends to slip out of sight. IMG_0071.jpeg It is actually more beefy than it needs to be. You can route out a channel across the middle to re...
by Mark McLean
Fri Jan 26, 2024 10:54 am
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: 12 string build advice
Replies: 12
Views: 1858

Re: 12 string build advice

Great photos Taffy. I am a fan of neck block reinforcement too. IMG_0128.jpeg IMG_0138.jpeg Regarding 2 strings in one pin. You are right, it makes it necessary to cut two slots from the pinhole to direct the strings in parallel paths to the saddle. They don’t need to be very big slots, but you need...
by Mark McLean
Fri Jan 26, 2024 9:41 am
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: 12 string build advice
Replies: 12
Views: 1858

Re: 12 string build advice

Wow - I just did some reading about string tension in a harp! A 12 string guitar hasn’t got much to worry about compared to that. But, nevertheless, the recommendations that Wayne gave sound good. I also like Martin’s comment about using a 6 pin bridge with 2 strings per pin. A traditional 12 pin br...
by Mark McLean
Thu Jan 25, 2024 8:03 am
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: pinless bridge question
Replies: 4
Views: 982

Re: pinless bridge question

I have done a pinless bridge on a falcate braced top (like ovation or Lowden or Breedlove, not the Doolin). It works fine, and actually avoids one fiddly bit of the falcate method which is arranging the primary braces to run between the bridge pins. A pinless bridge doesn’t need to be any more weigh...
by Mark McLean
Thu Jan 25, 2024 6:44 am
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: 12 string build advice
Replies: 12
Views: 1858

Re: 12 string build advice

Hi Ab (do you want to share your real name - most do around here), welcome to ANZLF. A build with your grandson sounds great! I did my first with my son when he was age 15-16 (he is 32 now). One caveat is that he was all into spending time in the workshop until his first serious romance began and th...
by Mark McLean
Tue Jan 23, 2024 10:26 pm
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: Martin Parlor design queries
Replies: 6
Views: 1161

Re: Martin Parlor design queries

Or you could X-brace it. But either way I would also go with an arched top in a radius dish
by Mark McLean
Sat Jan 13, 2024 10:34 pm
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: Archtop Spanish Heel
Replies: 2
Views: 9203

Re: Archtop Spanish Heel

I would think that if you want to play with an unconventional neck joint for an archtop it would be good to look at something adjustable like the Doolin design or Smallman, or what Trevor Gore has been doing, or even Ken Parker. This is because archtops, with their more extreme soundboard profile, a...
by Mark McLean
Mon Jan 08, 2024 12:59 pm
Forum: Anything Goes
Topic: Shop listening recommendations
Replies: 13
Views: 41249

Re: Shop listening recommendations

Joel's list is very eclectic! I like the range from Dame Joan to metal. For me, if I am doing concentrated work there can't be any spoken stuff like a podcast or the Goons. Even vocal music can be distracting so I tend to quieted ambient instrumental. Sometimes jazz - Miles Davis, Keith Jarret, Alic...
by Mark McLean
Fri Jan 05, 2024 9:39 am
Forum: Jigs & Fixtures
Topic: Dedicated Machines...
Replies: 2
Views: 5473

Re: Dedicated Machines...

Thanks for that comparison information Taffy. I use mostly Makita power tools and have had a bit of a snobbish attitude to Ryobi but without any real justification for my bias. It is interesting that the fittings are interchangable, and it makes a lot of sense to go with the cheaper option for a ded...
by Mark McLean
Tue Dec 26, 2023 9:46 am
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: OM size Nylon String Crossover
Replies: 32
Views: 96469

Re: OM size Nylon String Crossover

That photo, and your description, explains it well. The great thing about that neck joint design is the ability to easily adjust the angle with shims. I have a Taylor Big Baby which is exactly like that (except uglier because the joint is held together by two Phillips head screws straight through th...
by Mark McLean
Mon Dec 25, 2023 12:04 pm
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: OM size Nylon String Crossover
Replies: 32
Views: 96469

Re: OM size Nylon String Crossover

It is looking great David. I like the neck joint. It looks very elegant with the bolts all internal, and the absence of the heel plus the elevated fingerboard should make for good playability up the neck. Did you taper the body width at the neck end when you decided to elevate the fb?
by Mark McLean
Fri Dec 22, 2023 10:06 am
Forum: The Gallery
Topic: New Flamenco Blanca
Replies: 9
Views: 29681

Re: New Flamenco Blanca

Very interesting. Thanks.
by Mark McLean
Thu Dec 21, 2023 6:28 am
Forum: The Gallery
Topic: New Flamenco Blanca
Replies: 9
Views: 29681

Re: New Flamenco Blanca

A lovely guitar Steve. I really like the balance of colours and detail, but still remaining simple and elegant. 7mm height of the strings off the soundboard? That is surprisingly low (12-13 would be typical for a steel string). Is that a characteristic feature of the flamenco style (my ignorance), a...
by Mark McLean
Tue Dec 19, 2023 9:54 pm
Forum: Instrument Builders Forum
Topic: Vale Frank Ford - luthier and teacher
Replies: 5
Views: 16693

Vale Frank Ford - luthier and teacher

I just read the news that Frank has passed away. I am sure that many of you have used his website Frets.com over the years. Frank was a visionary teacher and communicator, a phenomenally knowledgeable luthier, and just a lovely guy. When you look at the quality and quantity of stuff on frets.com, an...
by Mark McLean
Sat Dec 02, 2023 9:44 am
Forum: The Gallery
Topic: Small guitar
Replies: 5
Views: 22206

Re: Small guitar

That is lovely Peter. The King Billy has a very interesting and distinctive look to it - very different to any kind of spruce. Good to know that it sounds good as well as looking so nice.