Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Hi Mac, I got the maple from “Jura tonewoods”. It was only a year from harvest and a little wet so I put it in the kiln at the Blackall Ranges Woodcrafters Guild for a few days and it has been equilibrating for a few months. It is fine now. After I bought it, I kept searching and found that tonewood...

Hi, I have started on my second guitar build. The first was a steel string OM guitar that I built with guidance from a very talented luthier, Noom, here in Brisbane. I posted a photo on this forum earlier this year and will post a few more photos on the completed guitars forum. Noom is not around fo...

Hi, Australian cedar can vary from reasonably hard to almost powdery soft. The older stuff in furniture tends to be pretty hard. If you can put a dent in it without too much pressure with your fingernail, I would be wary.

Thank you all for the kind words. I checked Stewmac and they appear to have no backs or soundboards. I think I will spend the kids inheritance and buy a European spruce soundboard from Tonewood Switzerland. It is the postage that is the killer.
Huon pine would be gorgeous.
Best regards,
Rob

Hello, I have just finished my first build (I posted a photo in an earlier post). The back and sides are figured Tasmanian blackwood which looks beautiful but has a lot of pores and I want to french polish it. I started off with a traditional method of rubbing pumice into a scratch coat of shellac w...

Hello, I have just joined the forum and built my first guitar with guidance and assistance from Noom, a very talented luthier and wonderful teacher here in Brisbane. It is an OM and has a sitka spruce top from Stewmac and figured Tasmanian blackwood back and sides from Australian guitar timbers. I a...