Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Hey Frank, Joe Woodworker has a DIY plan and has everything needed to put it all together. Shipping is a killer of course so Ebay/Gumtree is the way to go for your pump, and you can get any brass fitting you need from Masters Hardware. You can do it all on the cheap if you take your time and look a...

Re vacuum option, when I look at the LMI Robbie O'Brien demo video , I am very tempted. But at US$400+ for the LMI product, I would have to explore a homebuilt option (Joe Woodworker??). I notice also that LMI warn against using their pump at 240V so an alternative would be needed there as well. Frank

Thank you gents.
Marcus, you just confirmed...." As usual, you can achieve a lot using quite simple techniques."
Allen - very nice & simple, will think about that.
Frank

Hi all, I'm not so active here these days due to life's other demands but I do manage to get into the workshop a couple of times a month to restore some sense of well being and I often check into this forum - always grateful for what if offers. I am trying to do more of the build process with hand p...

I use solid linings, often offcuts from the sides, so they'd be about 1.7mm thick. But 2mm thick binding seems too thick for a uke, it looks out of proportion. The max thickness I use is 1.5mm, but admittedly on sopranos. 2mm might look OK on a tenor, in which case I'd double up my solid linings. T...

thanks Allen - I can look up mando lining sizes. I'll run with that.

Sorry, don't know what I was thinking re height. Just wanted to go a bit less than 1/4" I use on guitars, so agreed on the 6mm height. So the question is more about lining dimensions to support this given that keeping everything light and erring towards 'underbuilt' seems to be more the go with ukes...

I've started 2 x Ukes - a tenor and a concert. I want to bind them and am wondering about lining dimensions. If I go for 20mm high and 2mm thick bindings, would you just use standard guitar linings or do you think they are going to be a bit heavier than needed??
thanks. Frank.

I got a split in a back on guitar 2 a few years back because I knew nothing about humidity considerations at that time. After assembling in a high humidity environment in my shed in a Melb winter, and after putting on lacquer, I thought it would be smart to leave the guitar hanging in a centrally he...

Can I ask -what is grain through binding?
Frank

Hi Zendo, happy for u to visit me in melb but I am only a little fish in the sea of luthiery. Frank

I have always used connector bolts side on through the tenon (Cumpiano method) and glued fingerboard extension to the top on previous steel string acoustics. On guitar just finished, I followed Trevor Gore's design involving the pocket routed in the guitar top and a metal rod inserted vertically in ...

Thanks all for your comments on this. I think I will try the large coarse & fine Dragon combo from Stewmac to get started, unless someone tells me the smaller versions are adequate for what we do.
thanks again. Frank

A tool I reckon I could get much more benefit from is a wood rasp, but I only have one and I suspect it's shabby quality. So I would like to get a couple and make an effort to use them. Had a look at Carbatec but the range is somewhat overwhelming. http://www.carbatec.com.au/rocket-rasps_c21294 Woul...

Thanks everyone for your info. I always like finding out about local suppliers, so thanks Steve for Labels Extreme link. Some amazing stuff there. He appears to make the inlays for Hancock up in Mt Tamborine. Steve, I am interested in asking your son to do it. I have passed on the DePaule link to th...

Hi Rod I had looked at their site but they don't offer 'standard' letters, so I would have to provide them with a format as you did. I recall you got him to cut a quantity of the same thing which made it more cost effective. In my case, it's a single job : L E O N I E I can get these 6 letters in a ...

I have been searching for places that sell precut MOP letters to be inlaid but have only been able to find one...
www.luthiersupply.com/letterstyle.html

Just wondered if anyone out there knows of other suppliers.
thanks. Frank.

I have done about 10 guitars with cooktown ironwood fretboards and experienced this problem early on. I use the Stewmac table saw blade to cut fret slots and also have their fretwire. I found the backbow was reduced by running a hand saw through the slots after the inital cut to make the fret slots ...

Hi Martin, like everyone else, love the finish even without considering its origin. I was surprised to read about the use of cedar for steel string neck shaft. I also have some old, very dry, q-sawn cedar but would not have considered using it in a neck. I would be interested to hear about its stabi...

Some of you have indicated you use epoxy in some adhesive applications eg. fingerboards to get around moisture issue. What do you use? I notice Botecote came up in another thread used as pore filler. A crowd was selling that at the Melb wood show the other day and also had an epoxy adhesive but it d...

I went on Sat. I haven't been for a couple of years. The main thing that struck me was that it seemed a smaller operation than I recalled previously. Back at Jeff's Shed.
There was a small business selling a water based shellac which I hadn't seen before.
Frank

Scuffle - where do you live? someone might be able to suggest local supplier. eg. I can do that for Melbourne. Frank

I use the riskier technique Allen refers to using a dremel mounted in the small dremel base, then finish off with stanley knife blade. I do the same in the head block area before gluing fingerboard extension down. Depth testing obviously crucial and dremel has a tendency to walk as the bit is barely...

Thanks everyone - will do two things - extra care to get fit super tight and Taffy's suggestion on doubling up on the tail and tacking it down somehow.

I have a pretty new 400mm Carbatec drum sander - same model I have seen a number of forum members have. Last weekend, I was sanding 17" joined tops/backs obviously requiring 2 passes for each thickness. I was pretty patient and not biting off too much - no more than quarter turn of adjuster. The sam...