Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Now I've made a plywood bending jig (concert uke size), but it needs a blanket 80mm x 800mm (3" x 32") to go around it. Of course I can resort to 2-piece sides and make a light globe jig, but I won't give up on the one-piece idea just yet. Let us know how you go with that -- I've got a couple of uk...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtRWaoEw0uU

And here I was hoping that with the departure of Bush (and Jay Leno) in 2009, the word 'nuclear' might revert to its rightful pronunciation.

I installed Sta-Tites in my last slotted headstock and I didn't receive any bushings with them.

Can't imagine how they'd be installed in a slotted headstock... definitely seems odd.

Radiusing the top's not a bad idea but you can go either way. If you've got the dishes available and don't mind the small amount of extra work then there's no reason not to. Obviously the geometry is different in regards to "neck" angle but not hugely difficult to work out something that works; ther...

Needless to say nothing will be accomplished if I respond to John's post. After seeing that some fellow Aussie luthiers were looking at possibly ordering from Alaskatonewoods.com I felt it was my responsibility to add a cautionary note. If anyone wanted more information they could (and still can) co...

I also don't see a lot of value in buying billets considering shipping costs these days, given how much is lost to resawing and sanding, and how much of an unknown factor there is. Saving $20-odd per top by doing it this way doesn't seem that logical unless you're building hundreds of guitars a year...

You bet... in summer the tin roof gets to around 60ºC and higher, which makes it a nice 40-50º at head-level. I've insulated the walls and ceiling of the controlled area but I've decided to start saving now for a small air conditioner for 3-4 months time because I'm pretty sure it'll be painful in...

Thought I'd share the (nearly) end result of my recent work... http://www.anzlf.com/phpBB2/userpix/77_sml_IMG_8565_1.jpg Shelving has always been a problem for me, as there's only so much you can use the $20 steel shelves from Bunnings/Mitre 10 for, especially with oversized tonewood. One main prior...

A trip to Bunnies this morning saw me start work on building a small partition (about 2x3m) in one corner of my shop that will be properly humidity and temperature controlled for assembly and storage. No pics yet but I'll try and get some shortly. I'm really looking forward to the prospect of being ...

I have the Carbatec 16/32 as well. Personally, mine needed a fair bit of work to get everything true and square but after a day or so of adjusting things it's run very nicely with almost no adjustments since and gets almost a daily workout. I do plan on upgrading to a twin drum model in the future, ...

I swear by Z-Poxy for the pore fill. Like the WEST Systems product it depends on the wood you're using but normally 1-2 coats. I've never tried WEST but will probably give it a shot after my current stock of Z-Poxy is gone. For me Blackwood is generally one coat of z-poxy. I apply the epoxy with a c...

Yeah, the lack of a solid neck and truss rod really brings these things down in weight. I started off building to original specs and have gradually refined the bracing design. There's no question you can build a great sounding guitar with the original design but to me it was about improving the stru...

Out of interest I just weighed some of what I have in the workshop: -two completed all-Blackwood Weiss models came in at 1.5kg / 3.3lbs each -two all-Blackwood models without bridge/tuners/fretboard came in at 1.2kg / 2.64lbs (both finished) -top + sides + headstock glued together all-Blackwood came...

What a lucky guy. I was just reading a few days ago that Melbourne bluesman C.W. Stoneking left his guitar and banjo in a New York taxi recently and wasn't so lucky. The instruments would be lucky to be worth a few grand, let alone a few million. That said, I guess a Stradivarius would probably be a...

Looking good mate.

What are your plans with respect to shaping the braces? Will you scallop them or stick to the original design?

Not that it would do you any good Down Under, but I have been tempted to grab one or more of the ultra-cheap laminate trimmers sold at Harbor Freight under the "Chicago Electric" brand name. $29, often on sale for $19. A similar model is sold here by TradeTools Direct (http://www.tradetools.com.au/...

The bunya tops I've seen on some Cole Clark guitars did not look salable to me. They were just too weird and looked for all the world like Formica. Perhaps that's where the Australian and US markets differ. I don't have a lot of doubt that this may be the case in the US but my experience is that th...

I'd be very interested in 5 sets myself. I'm in Brisbane.

Looks like it went really well for you. I think that beacause Port Fairy is predominantly a music performance festival, there would have been very few attendees (if any) going with the intention to drop a few grand on a guitar. I'd have no doubts that in the near future those that liked what they sa...

Yeah the dust wasn't fun. Add to that the fact that I'm used to Brisbane humidity and we've had a very cool summer. Dry Adelaide 40º days with dust thrown into the mix and it can get a bit much. On the upside, thanks to the Coopers family, at least I was able to keep well hydrated.

Had an absolute blast as usual. There's something really special about this festival. Mojo Webb was great; I've seen him countless times up here given he's a local but it never ceases to amaze me. Happened to see him and band (the guitarist is JB Lewis BTW :)) on my flight back to Brisbane on Monday...

Beautiful guitars indeed. Wish I could go to Port Fairy to see them in person (along with the artist lineup that is great as always) but decided a few months back to do WOMADelaide which is the same weekend. Next year maybe...