Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

In my understanding that plank you showed the end of is not quarter sawn , its very much the perpendicular, Crown Sawn. It will be lovely and stable for necks if you laminate it to make it look pretty. If you cut it to 3mm thickness it will bend like a snake and you'll have a hell of a hard time mak...

Thanks Alan! Some great ideas on that Pinterest link. I think I can really appreciate the benefit of a CNC for some of that more intricate inlay work. CNC machines can be fun but by hand is more rewarding. If you haven't discovered it yet, thin superglue is your friend for all kinds of intricate wo...

I've always followed the advice to make sure the grain direction of the spruce is vertical relative to soundboard. When I knock up a batch of braces I take a blank 8mm x 12mm x 50mm and subject it to deflection testing with a 1Kg weight on the end, its remarkable how much variation there can be betw...

That's a good design idea. I have also recently taken to using different designs for fret markers as Dots are a little too easy. I'm not that much in favour of highly decorated fretboards, I put that down to weak marquetry skills and impatience. A. search for fret markers will bring up some really i...

here are a couple of well known Luthiers using both methods of Laninated sides https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFfc1p9nm0&ab_channel=BeauHannamGuitars Obviously a very talented Luthier. I did baulk at the thought of using Indian Rosewood as a sandwich filling of a triple laminated side! Each to th...

The sides are an interesting idea, I wonder about laminating them though. It must use up an awful lot of glue, and ensuring that both pieces are adhered throughout the whole of their surfaces, around all those bends must be very tricky. I know if I was to try it, I would have a lot of gaps between t...

Thanks for that link Tom. How fascinating it’s it to watch different construction methods. I’m not too sure that the words Scientific Method can be applied to his approach. How could he ever determine exactly which change has which effect. Aesthetically he created something really interesting, but a...

I love your admission of making mistakes. I’m of the mind that whenever you see a feature in woodworking, it is probably a cock up that’s been made good or hidden.

I still make far too many ‘features’

This is my lining, super stiff when glued in place.

On behalf of the UK I apologise Peter.

That said, ParcelForce are one of the more highly regarded courier services in the UK. Mind you we have just sold off Royal Mail to a Bulgarian billionaire. Go figure.

Nice work Taffy Somogyi likens the acoustic guitar to a trampoline. Asking if you would rather build the frame out of steel or rubber. The correct answer is steel as it means all more of the energy landing on the trampoline will be used to deform the platform ans store the energy to spring you back ...

Thanks, Alan. Properly heat proof wood glues are hard to find... On a recent visit around the Jaguar F-Type factory I noticed that they glued their aluminium panels together to make a sold unibody. Although they used electric welds as bolt and braces the glue was the major component. I wonder wheth...

I thought I should upload pictures of the insides of Stripey. In many ways I think a guitar is prettier on the inside. I've taken to coating the insides with shellac, primarily I thought it might help them respond more slowly to humidity changes but also I couldn't think of a reason not too. Screens...

Trevor, the falcate bracing is a revelation! As I mentioned, the balance is fantastic, which I assume is partly due to the bracing. The volume is also remarkable compared to the 14th fret guitars I’ve built in the past, I'm thinking that this has more to do with the bridge placement in the centre of...

Thanks for the nice comments Wayne. Martin, I think you've cracked it for me. If I build a dome using your method, it should have enough holes for the light to come though. That way I can ensure a tight fit. I used purling on the build above, very messy!!!! The rosette wasn't my greatest idea but so...

I love the smell of Swahili in the morning!

Very maridadi indeed.

Yes it's the first Falcate build and I am super Impressed. I didn't even both recording the acoustic frequencies yet as there was no need to find a way to optimise the sound. I am expecting all other builds to be identical

I recently built this guitar, It's the first guitar I ever made that prioritised form over function. I knew I wanted a beautifully striped guitar and that was my main goal. Its sound was less important to me, hence I had no way of making the back live. Screenshot 2025-07-29 at 12.53.11.jpg The only ...

What a shock! Just received an email from Robbie O'Brien advertising this course. I clicked the promo video and got on with something else expecting to hear his Denver tones to start speaking to me, instead I got this massive Geordie accent and your face! Hee Hee 😂😆🤣 I'm not too sure it's an aesthet...

As I understand it humidity itself is not an issue for building a Uke. The big problem is a change in RH from the workshop to the place of the instruments final resting place. If you know where the Uke will eventually live, shouldn't that be your target RH level, storing parts at 25% humidity when t...

Finally finished my bench, I thought some might like to see the result. Coming in at 140Kg it will remain in my workshop for many years longer than I. I haven't had much to do with luthiery for the last couple of months but can see that every job will be made just a little easier by the existence of...

It would be interesting to hear of projects I agree. I wonder if you could build a jig including a reusable body and a neck, onto which you could place different sound boards. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to go to all the effort and months required to build something with low quality materials, just...

At this stage I don't know much. I would expect that an American customer would need to pay the tariff when the instrument arrives at US customs before they will release it. But isn't the big orange baby saying that the exporting countries will pay the tariffs???? I notice Australia has copped a 10...

That sounds like a great project. Lots of photos would be appreciated.

Good luck

I could stare at your photos all day Taff. My latest silliness is now to route out a channel which will hold a light strip, so I can joint back and sound boards more accurately. At present I hold them up to the window. I'm over thinking now! Screenshot 2025-03-06 at 13.07.38.png I notice you use car...

Hi Alan, that’s a very nice looking bench, sturdy too. But I think it would be too small for the way I work. I have too many benches some would say. That looks remarkably like my bench! Thank you very much gentlemen. I have taken two ideas from your photos and merged them into something that suits ...

Taffy First of all thanks for sharing, I have been super zooming in on your photos for ideas. Ten workbenches with an optional two islands, and double-ups of your tools!!!!! You know that if you were talking about booze or cocaine here they'd be a therapy group for your addiction, "Hi, my name is Ta...