Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Both look great Bob. I really love the look of the timber combination in the mandolin. The camphor B&S are lovely, but the headstock veneer is the real star. I also like a zero fret.

Yes please. I want to know about that!

Hi Frank I am way behind you, and about to build my first Benedetto-style arch top. I wish such an elegant end plug/jack was available which was designed to carry the tailpiece and the strap as well. I found this at StewMac - doesn’t it do the job? https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/online-reso...

The view that oil finishes dampen tone may have come from use of traditional oils (like linseed or tung oil) that soak into the timber, possibly affecting weight or resonant qualities. Even then you would wonder how people determine such things. Tru Oil is a different entity, it is not really absorb...

Hi Mark and welcome. I still have a day job and lots of other things competing for my time, so I often go for weeks without getting into the workshop. One of the good things about instrument building is that you can do it intermittently. Building a guitar is a task with a few hundred steps but none ...

I am also interested to know what you thought of the Taylor style V-bracing. I think this is the first build I have seen where someone tried it.

Nice work Bob. Your second guitar, but I see that you have wood stacked up there for quite a few more! You and Martin are the SA wood hoarders. That mini looks very sweet. What is the fingerboard timber?

You are concerned about the bridge peeling off with a cedar top. There are anecdotes about this - and perhaps cedar sheds bridges a bit more often than spruce does - but it is certainly not the norm. There are a lot of cedar-top guitars out there with bridges that have stayed stuck for decades. If y...

That timber combination looks great, and obviously sounds pretty good too! I don’t know anything about totara, but it looks nice under finish. Another great package.

Lots of great builders make fan fret designs with X-bracing. Bruce Sextauer, Michael Bashkin, Simon Fay to name a few. Bruce S discusses his building quite openly on various forums like UMGF and Acoustic guitar forum. I think all of them rotate the standard X-brace layout to fit the slanted bridge. ...

I like your design lot. It is difficult to design a bridge that can accommodate a steeply sloping saddle but not look too strangely asymmetrical, and not be too massive. For example, I dislike the size of the Lowden multiscale bridge (even though I generally love their guitars). lowden multiscale.jp...

Hi Edi. Thanks for showing that picture of the cutaway design from the back. It helps to understand what is going on. What sort of neck joint did you use? I am guessing it is a glued dovetail, with the back covering the end of the heel. Very interesting. I use bolt-on neck joints most of the time bu...

Yep, that is a really sweet package!

Hi Edi. Thanks for showing us your instruments and I am very impressed by your inventive and original designs. You obviously love designing and problem solving. I am interested in the harp guitars. And (like Dave said) I really like the curves in the cutaway design. Looks like some Australian timber...

Likewise - I couldn't wire up a lightbulb and I am very impressed by this caper. I am in the market for a small amp and I would love to acquire these building skills one day.

I am interested in trying this neck adjustment method, mainly to use on older and cheaper guitars. I have a friend who has recently been into buying older Japanese guitars on a Japanese website called Zenmarket. It is a great site for any MIJ products like cameras, watches etc. Prices on guitars are...

I would love to acquire that tool, or something similarly useful and with a nice history. I have sometimes been the recipient of a box full of old tools from a friend or work colleague who says: "I was cleaning out my recently departed Dad/Uncle/Neighbor's shed and found all this great old stuff. I ...

How many of you have seen this? UTVzGM1Znv8 I have seen this video posted and discussed on a number of forums, including the OLF and UMGF. Discussion usually consists of self-declared experts loudly proclaiming that this is obviously bullshit and luthiery quackery - but of course none of them have e...

OK, now you are a luthier.
Thanks for the update.

I am loving this - the pictures and the whole idea of it. Thanks for bringing us on the journey.

A lot of us used to get great wood from Tim Spittle - aka Australian Tonewoods - when he was in Perth. I notice that he is now back in business operating from Deloraine in Tasmania. Has anyone had any dealings with him since the move?

Hi Filippo, welcome to the forum. The CF top certainly looks spectacular, and the pinless bridge design is cool. Tell us a bit more about the CF material. Is it made in a solid sheet? How thick, and how do you brace it? I would love to see some pictures as you are building. We like seeing some new i...

Great Wayne. I haven't used it but would be keen to hear what you think of it once you have had a go.

LMI is on-selling it from another supplier. You can get it elsewhere.
This place in San Diego says they will ship "anywhere in this world".
http://www.shellacfinishes.com

Allen, it looks sensational matched with that dark ancient spruce! I have a really pretty set of that stuff that I have been hanging onto for a while, and I also wanted to ask how you found it to work with - especially bending? Glad to hear that you were happy with it. The results speak for themselv...