Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

guitars stuffed in cupboards,under beds, behind the couch, anywhere you can find space for one I was somewhat concerned to read this as I initially thought Nick must have been casing my home. However, I realised this couldn't be true otherwise he would have mentioned all the ukuleles that fit in al...

a mini in the rain, the water would go through the grill onto the dizzy, Common solution in Brisbane was to cut a couple of notches in a plastic ice-cream container and insert between the grille and the dizzy. Even worked during monsoon season. Sorry, but I think I steered this thread onto a bit of...

I'm building up a collection of wooden handled E A Berg and Jerbolaget bench chisels. Magnificent steel and quite easy to find in very good condition. Obviously the guys that originally invested in these sixty odd years ago looked after them well.
Miguel

Who the hell designs these things

When the designers of British cars were all made redundant, they had to go work somewhere. Obviously one or more ended up designing drum sanders.
Miguel

Yep. That top photo is definitely Auckland. Look at the footpaths. Rates due to go up another 10% this year.
Miguel

Get both. You can never have too many chisels..... although my wife suspects I might be approaching the upper limit.
Miguel

Another classy instrument. Another lucky owner. I like the way the broken line in the back mirrors the idea of the broken lines in the rosette.
Miguel

Getting tone woods in NZ can be a bit of a challenge. Not impossible but nearly always expensive. First of all, don't discount local woods. There are a number of excellent makers in NZ who build with NZ natives. Christian (on this forum) has made some stunning kauri/rimu instruments. Kahikatea makes...

I use a free program called FretCalc available from http://www.gedgreen.co.uk/?page_id=186.
It allows you to calibrate the printer and also prints a line you can measure to verify you've got the calibration right.
Great value for money
Miguel

Nice looking instrument. How many soundboards do you get out of a painter's plank?
Would love to hear a sound clip?
Miguel

The Books are excellent value for money even though I don't yet use a lot of the technical info.
Miguel

Great result and a most informative thread
Miguel

Ha! Kiwis just never forget do they.

With neighbours like ours we can't afford to forget.
Miguel

Brilliant. Laugh out loud humour.
Miguel

An inspiration to us all
Miguel

It can be difficult to get wood in NZ. The traditional woods need to be imported specially and the supply of suitable native timbers is limited. However, carving that puriri back would have been even harder than sourcing it, surely!
Miguel

Have you tried Trademe?
Your next best bet is to scour the 2nd hand shops though even some of these don't want to sell products associated with tobacco.
Miguel

Not LHG!!!!!!!!
In my experience it does not do the job as well as HHG or Titebond
Miguel

no problems then with the pencil showing up

.... or pore filling

I found a pdf version of the book somewhere on the Interweb a couple of years ago. From memory it is a good descriptive overview of the technologies employed in guitar making and has good photos but is not intended as a "how to" guide.
Miguel

does he hit the pins in with a hammer?

The crack does suggest the pins have been inserted too forcefully. If the bridge has cracked, is there further damage to the soundboard or the bridge patch?
Miguel

introducing steam into the sound hole Careful, I tried this method many years ago on a warped mandolin soundhole. Worked great but the steam also worked on the animal glue holding the braces. Some weeks later, in the middle of a concert, a loud bang was heard as a brace gave way and my mandolin imp...

Any advice on how to proceed re bolts

Try a furniture bolt and barrel nut - available at Bunnings etc. Looks a bit classier than a wood screw and probably easier to install.
Miguel

Hi Andrew Don't overthink your first instrument. That will do your head in. You have invested in plans and a manual which is sensible. Follow the plans carefully and try to avoid cockups. Most tenor ukes seem to have a variation in dimensions between head and tail which I have always believed to be ...

They have a test for wannabe Australians? I thought you just needed a criminal record.
Miguel