Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

We all have those days, one of my guys, whose really an apprentice musical instrument repairer, had a few of jobs to do today. The first, was cut a bone nut for an epiphone, 2 hrs later and he cut one string too low, back to basics, he watched me do it. Next was fit a replacement neck to a bass guit...

Its interesting isnt it, as I said without both sides I cannot really comment on there work, but I can comment I would never let something like that leave my shop, I would decline the job rather than have something like this go out and be a representation of me. Our work is our advertisement, imagin...

Yeh, just surprised me, as I said I wasnt going to give the luthiers name, becuase I only have the persons statement, to this end we all have bad days, but thats just down right bad. The customer only wants me to repair the damaged finish, not the whole lot, Im still discussing with them the validit...

Im deadly serious, this was given to me to repair today, this was the job someone else has done and returned to the paying customer, it apparently just had a crack in the back for fixing, you can still see the crack through the layers of ??, im guessing its a shellac finish. Go figure, its not even ...

Maybe I would say, you paid how much for that repair.. WT

I thought I would ask others what theyve seen, I got in today a cello for repair that has been "touched up" by someone else "paid job", the customer was not very happy with the finish. Ive taken photos Mmm what does one say

I use to use a long set of feeler gauges, little cuts along the blade edge and they were great for rough cutting nuts. Nowadays with the advent of the internet and online shopping and places like stewmac, its just as easy to buy a complete nut set (which I did)

i keep learning science is often different from the real world Nope, science is merely a way to explain the real world phenomenon when it happens, most times science only comes into play retrospective to something bad happening. There is a lot happening when working with magnetic fields and induced...

Mmm, where does one start. By removing 3 "slugs" from the bobbin, youve merely created a point for interference pickup, the area where the slugs are now missing are not being influenced by a magnetic field any more, that lack of influence area is the same as running 300meters of unshielded wire. The...

:wink: Mike (is it?) I do believe you are being modest, i ment to get back to you about the magnets, that is definately an artform IMHO :) And knowing how to chop out or add wire is something ill leave to you guys thats for sure.PM sent about Mags :) Its actually steve I dont know how to take you t...

Prep work, prep work and more prep work. The key to success. Side note we do lacquers most days, even our setup is not good enough, we have breathing hoods extraction fans, hvlp, lvhp guns, vinyl printers for design layouts etc, but its still, Mmmm average IMO. The moment you are happy with your wor...

^ Didn't mean to upset, just curious. Why i'm looking, to supply people with the best humanly possible on my end (believe me, they are far to busy to be insulted, and understand the need for individual tones). Please note, I was not insulted, but I could not address all the questions in your respon...

Hmm, can you tell me what seperates you from others, what makes you special? Absolutely nothing. Im not special Experience with alternate winds and gauges, metals used in poles, magnets used, wind patterns. I mean anyone can wind a pickup, but there is an art to it and i'm seeking the artists from ...

A bit of self promotion, We wind and manufacture pickups, we currently do most of the pickups for the music stores and guitar builders in perth, we can hot them up / rewind them / pot them / whatever your desires

I use shellac all the time in my violin repairs, whilst you can spray it, I recommend just simply rubbing it on gently, the spirit base mix will lift any earlier coats if you rub too hard, the key is soft cloth gentle wipes, unless your using it for a fp finish. As far as poly coats afterwards, if i...

I have packages coming in every week. Under 1000 aud with shipping included and shipped via the postal system there is no issues, however if you use a private freight company like dhl or fedex etc, then the limitation is less, I think it was 250 dollars including shipping and then duties have to be ...

Yes, 2024 is a high strength alloy as well, but due to its poor corrosion resistance it is clad in pure aluminium as a sacrifical coating when used for skin panels. The 2000 series major alloying component is copper. I mentioned 7075 becuase it is the next most common alloy in the aviation world aft...

Probably 7075, high strength aluminium used in aviation, the 2024 is nice but its actually an al-clad, that is an aluminium alloy which has a fine layer of pure aluminium on the surface of it

Post pics, ask questions

I have repaired many in my life time, we are not just a guitar repair shop.

The more I think about it Im in agreeance with everyone else, Example a nice lathe is a couple of k, its a large enough purchase to make you think before buying, but once youve bought it, its not a big deal, whether its being used or not, but its an excellent """tool"" to have.same for a thicknesser...

Morning perry. You still havent found someone to work with you yet, that is mind boggling. Too much money in the mines mate, thats where all the good people go... Reagrding the plek - That was my thoughts as well. As I said above we started negotiating a while back and now its coming to crunch time,...

Thanks kim, your views reflect my sentiments exactly. Modern technology is fantastic, and unfortuanltey its almost becoming a requirement of business to keep up with it or you need stuff like it to have the competitive edge. However the fact is we are working with wood. Some peoples hand skills are ...

Im curious as to others opinions on this. Weve entered into negotiations with plek regarding purchasing one, after I picked myself of the floor on the initial purchase price. Over 100k US, Im waying the pros and conns of such a purchase and giving serious thoughts as to its ability to recoup its pri...

Its called a tool and cutter grinder, basically used for professional sharpening of anything, be it drills / mill bits / router bits / chisels / saw blades etc, basically if its something that is already sharp it will recut. The grinding wheel is a diamond wheel I think its 240 grit, but the sharpen...

Puff wrote:You do wakizashi and tanto blades?

The machine that does the chisels etc is attached below, to do the blades your talking about I have another machine that can do it, but its simply a wet stone grinder and really your doing it more by hand than by precision