Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Hi everyone, Thank you all for responding, all of the replies have been great & I guess it shows there's no single way to achieve a nice shine to you're bridge/fretboard. I ended up taking Kim's advice, with the use of elbow grease and sandpaper (400 - 2000) and then a final buffing here is what I e...

Hi all, I need some advice on finishing the bridge/fretboard, be it ebony or rosewood. I have a Stewmac buffing set-up but am unable to achieve a high gloss finish from buffing. To start with I used a scrap piece of rosewood, sanded it smooth and spread some Gilly Stephenson's Beeswax furniture poli...

Congrats, nice looker.

John,

Good find , I have looked everwhere of late, was going to buy them from the ebay site you posted.
Will go back to local news agent store and look again.

Couldn't watch the whole video......

+1

I want more ! ! !
It's great watching other talented crafts people at work.

Well done, all the best with the course.

Very nice Allen, clean workshop as well.
BTW, most kiwis work like a charm, including me

Thanks for the response guys. . . Richard the finish is Durobond 851 Guitar Lacquer (Nitrocellulose), same stuff Gerard Gilet uses. Paul, I'm currently building 3 more, 1 dreadnaught & 2 cut-a-ways. One of the cut-a-ways is for me the other for the brother-in-law in Brisbane (a love job for him). Ev...

Hi, Completed my first build :D over the christmas break (2 years in the making). What a sweet sounding guitar, very bright & lots of sustain. Compared with a factory made guitar their is no comparison, I don't want to put it down. I took it to work & a work colleague who has played for 30 years was...

Hi Jeff, I am presently making 2 dreadnaught size cutaways & have done exactly what you've asked with the back strip. One build is IRW b/s, sitka spruce top, other build Qld maple b/s (thx xray, beautiful wood) engleman spruce top. All dimensions are thicknessed to 2.5 mm. All bracing including the ...

Martin that was extremely lucky, would have been a disaster to have your stash of tonewood go up in smoke. So easy to leave things switched on, that's why whenever I finish using something I always turn it off or put it away out of harms way. It may be a tedious way to work but it saves damaging the...

What a transformation, good looker.

Hi,
How about some pic's?

Hi Richard,
PM sent. . .

Hi everyone,

Has anyone used the compressor vacuum valve? as a vacuum unit.
Seems a cheaper alternative, if it does actually work.

Interested in any feedback.

Hi,
I used a straight bit, but more important, wear the correct PPE, lots & lots of dust.
Better yet, use a dust extractor, vac.

G'mornin all, 2 part question guys. . . 1. I have the same problem Dave encounted, but to a lesser degree. I sprayed the soundboard only to find 2 hairline cracks, about 1" past the bridge, an inch apart & about an inch long. Without finish on the soundboard, you can't see them, apply finish and you...

Hi all, Thats great Bob, welcome Alaska Specialty Woods. I recently bought some sitka soundboards from Brent, service was great & package took about 10 days to arrive on my doorstep. Got a good deal as the sitka tops had minor imperfection on top right side, so perfect for cutaways, I will use them ...

Hmmmm. . . it was working, try this-
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mahogany-Dec ... 27bda65f31

Check it outtttt. . . . .

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mahogany-Dec ... BLE-PRICES

came across this today, they operate out of Alexandria, Sydney & the bloke I spoke to said he's got plenty of quarter sawn for guitars.
going to check it out tommorrow, will get back with some pictures.

Stopped in at Gerard Gilet's workshop on the way home from work this evening and picked up my copy, he also autographed it while I was there.
I've met Gerard several times and he is so interesting to listen to, a wealth of knowledge and extremely willing to share it, all round great bloke.

Hi everyone,

Just an up date, today I scraped and sanded back 2nd pore fill session.
It's worked a treat, 100% pore fill & I'm happily impressed.
There seems to be a fine line in just removing enough epoxy before cutting through the barrier and into timber.

Thanks for the advice guys. . .

Martin & Allen,

Thank you both for your concise & informative explanations.
Back to the shed for a couple more pore fill sessions & then should be ready to lacquer.

OBTW the boss said he won't kick my butt this time but if it happens again. . .

Hi, Sorry for any confusion. I have prepared b&s going from 150 - 360 grit sandpaper for pore filling, pore filled then scraped and sanded going through the grits once again to be left at my present stage. Approx. 60% pore fill coverage, a scattering of open pores over b&s. I guess my main concern i...

Hi everyone, My problem is lack of pore fill (epoxy) on the EIR b/s once I have scraped and sanded. I progress through the grits 150, 180, 220, 320, 360 & got a fantastic finish but now notice I have maybe a 60% pore fill coverage. Who has experienced this or similar and what has been the remedy to ...