The Hub

Hey there folks - putting together a couple of StewMac ukulele kits and my partner asked a great question about whether to apply finish to the inside surfaces like we do the outside. We will be staining and applying wipe on poly for protection. The logic seems reasonable - protect from moisture inside and out. Only concern I could think of was trapping moisture between the layers but that was it. Anybody have experience with applying a…

We hear a lot in LoothLand these days about 3D printing. I think it's an awesome use of that technology for what we all do. With my long history with AutoCad and 3D rendering in my previous life, I should pull the trigger on a 3D printer, but I'm just not ready yet AND I have no available space for one in my little shop or in my office right now. Yes, 3D printing is great, but sometimes, good ole regular printing can be a surprise frien…

If you're like me, you've acquired lots of small luthier tools over the years from StewMac and other vendors. Having a place to store them has always been a problem for me. I stopped drinking soft drinks years ago because they're bad and I recently found out I'm diabetic so they're definitely off the menu. I swapped out soft drinks for water and Crystal Light a long time ago. In our throw away culture, single use plastics are a huge pro…

This is pertaining to steel string builds, dreadnaught or OM style. Michael Bashkin mentioned in a recent zoom chat that his bridges weigh in at about 25 grams. I have also heard some builders shoot for an even lighter bridge. The pre-made bridges I have purchased in the past from LMI come in at about 39 grams. What are some other opinions on this? And how do I modify the LMI bridge to reduce weight? That seems like a lot of material to…

Are any you using an ultra sonic cleaner to clean metal hardware? If you are, what brand/model are you using and do you find it useful?

Hi everyone, in the loothalong I shared this spreadsheet I put together a few years ago, based on D'ADDARIO phosphor bronze strings data, and Elixirs' as well. There are a few different tables for standard 6 strings, fanfrets, harp guitars, baritone and 12 strings. You choose the relevant table, input the scale length, string gauges and tuning, the spreadsheet will give you individual string and total tension in lb and kg. For the fanfret…

This is a rehash of the amazing Loothprint that Mike (@member@member@member) shared to the group (Surface Inspection Light – The Looth Group). I don't have a 3D printer so had to take a low(er) tech approach. The pics should be self explanatory. I have linked to a DXF and CRV (Vectric VCarve) file in case it helps. I do most simple tooling in Aspire as I can move more quickly there than in Fusion. Components needed: .75" Baltic birch ply Flash…

Hey everyone, I just had a Tele clone built by a small builder in my Proper's Guitar Workstation for a new nut and a fret level. It was clamped down in the workstation for less than a day. I just noticed that the rear hold down clamp left its footprint in the finish. No, I don't know what type of finish the builder used, but I'm trying to find out. I'm thinking its not nitro or poly because I use my TVPGW everyday and this has never hap…

Hi all, I have my next bass guitar design on CAD and in drawings. My designs are pushing the size envelop. I would like to have a good thorough review of the design for strength at the neck/body union, playability as string spacing is 13mm and neck is very narrow (1.6"), string pitch at the headstock, strength at the headstock/neck union etc. I'm willing to compensate for your time. Let me know if you are interested. Thanks.

I just wanted to put in a plug for classicalguitartuners.com and Zebulon Turrentine. I was looking for some single classical tuners for a 7 string project and found his website. I was a little confused at first because he catalogs all the available tuners including ones that he doesn't sell but he supplies Der Jung (from Korea) and Gotoh tuners among others. I believe he can also get steel string tuners. The service and shipping…

I'm currently using regular StewMac narrow/medium fretwire on this oddball stick dulcimer I'm making. https://www.instagram.com/p/CthLFjSOeSc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== It's diatonically fretted and I'm curious about offering one that's chromatically fretted BUT with the non-diatonic frets clearly indicated. I've considered something on the fretboard, some kind of inlay (I'm thinking to emphasize the diatonic f…

As seen in the picture. I gotta get this build done in one week and realized I didn’t have black plastic side dots so I whipped some up out of ebony dowel stock. For some reason a yellow stain comes out after I spray with lacquer. I sanded back one time already and respirated but here we are once again. What’s going on here?

I had to pull some frets on a neck I built to straighten it out 😣 given that the neck is bound, cleaning up the slots with the little StewMac fret saw with the red handle was a serious chore I’d like to avoid doing ever again. I’ve heard the little Japanese fret saw Stew Mac sells is nice to have but also I’ve always been shy about putting a Dremel on the board to get the job done and I think I’d like to try that out. Curious about othe…

I have a few acoustic steel string backs to reglue. Looking for jig ideas to assist in lining up the rib structure for this operation.