Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Alan...Would you think that a deep body on an instrument such as this would enhance the bass in a constructive way? I have been contemplating a build with soundboard offcuts which when joined make a larger uke around those dimensions, with my own body shape modelled a little on a scaled down LOO gui...

back inverted to concave

..a custom build for a bloke with a beer gut and a skinny wife?-R

Any random video...clearing the cookies worked...if it keeps happening I'll let you know, thanks for the replies gents. Cheers! Ross

Robbie, I do a lot of research on you tube re guitar playing and accessing some of my studies. Every time I click on a you tube link at present , you tube defaults to a page advertising your webinar. Is there a workaround as I am a bit over it and it is an unsolicited distraction? Cheers Ross

My experience with the sound absorbtion qualities of red gum is that I wouldn't use it for anything much,especially an instrument.-Ross

What worked for me most efficiently. A light wipe with gunwash to soften the nitro then a Caruthers scraper followed by a sanding. Cheers! Ross

Check your bridge rotation. 2degrees is ideal. Cap the X join if you haven't. I would be inclined to think about the X braces between the bridge and the soundhole, and if the top is too thin..... do you deflection test? The assembled, braced soundboard is the measurement to take. The calcs are out t...

I tried the frequency meter and it doesn't give a reading? Which is probably why I haven' got into using it...re my resonant figures from the board I sampled, the long side is 89.5 low frequency at its node for the long grain resonance and 248hz for the top resonance. The short side is 88.5/228hz. I...

I have another question. I have spruce boards which were cut from a 1.5 board. In order to achieve maximum yied of soundboard material, the shape 0of a cutaway was taken for each set of boards. In order to approximate a rectangular soundboard, I need some guidance re resonance testing, one half of t...

Thanks Trevor...I actually knew the bit about the tabs at the top, I,just forgotten and haven't been in the habot of using them. Yes I might be going a little thin with sanding etc. But still curious re the thicker slightly heavier built sound...player who have played my guitars are used to sustain ...

I have some questions for Trevor....firstly, what VA setting give that particular frequency display. ? Second question, I have experimented with and measured as well as played a few guitars which have rather thin soundboards. They tend to sound "banjoey" with low sustain, and ones where I have gone ...

I have been wondering if gunwash thinners would affect the respray down the line....a hand build that I don't want to compromise, but if you have experienced a stable end result let me know....a much cheaper option but still lots of fumes, so I'll go with a scraper first then the thinners then sandi...

The job has nearly been done on this repair...I found that using a scraper was faster then followed by the thinners to strip...that way less fumes and health issues along with saving a LOT of expensive thinners....nitro thinners are extremely volatile as well...cheers! Ross

It sounds from your last post re the quality of the timbers that you have available, that you need to investigate a decent re sawing set up with an accurate bandsaw fence and blade!-R

I have been veneering with vacuum bags and formers for a while now. I asked a fellow luthier who told me that the old way in factories was to use hot sand somehow with hide glue. Metal formers, male and female with HHG and a press would work, but it's all a matter of justifying the expense re turno...

Thanks Steve, so glad that you chimed in here. We all owe you a debt of gratitude for your 'how to' series, which was also a very professional effort and quite unconditional. Hats off to you for your achievements in running you business as well. Thank you. Kind regards Ross.

Steve, it certainly gets cold in the mountains here in winter, for Australia that is. Regular -3 to -5 degrees! With permafrost in the soil....it gets into ones bones! P robably the reason the finish crazed...pity the guy didn't want a retro "reliced" look! I would have been fine with that...can of ...

I have been veneering with vacuum bags and formers for a while now. I asked a fellow luthier who told me that the old way in factories was to use hot sand somehow with hide glue. Metal formers, male and female with HHG and a press would work, but it's all a matter of justifying the expense re turnov...

Thanks for the replies gents! I suspected that there would be a chemical solution to this problem, the article re the thinners was great. However, elbow grease seems to be the best option here. Does anybody have any theories as to why this occurred in the first place? The Claro Walnut was dried to 4...

6F50958E-D10E-40F9-8EBF-A8732F4F8FC8.jpeg I have a problem with respraying a guitar I sprayed a year ago. This build has dragged on and seems jinxed!!! There is a lot of crazing of the old finish, I sanded it back, perhaps not enough, applied a highly diluted flash coat then resprayed with my usual...

managed to find 30 IRW back and side sets I didnt know I had

LUXURY! In my day all we had were bits of bark!

Martin, how are to vents at the bottom of the walls connected to the inside of the building, ie, via dust extraction then dehhumidifier? cheers! Ross

What?No proscutto or salami?

ahh the advantages of a job well done and a real job for income support as a luthier, y'ol mad professor you! Cheers! Ross

I would refer to Trevor Gore and Gerard Gilet in the books...there is a distinct advantage in solid sides unless you are buiding Flamenco style where side leakage adds to percussiveness, Solid sides of any kind allow for the soundboard area to increase as available to modes t1,1 2,2 etc. no side los...