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I am building an archtop mandocello (A style) and I'm trying to find out how to make the neck block. It would be more or less like an A style mandolin neck block, but obviously quite a lot bigger. More or less like the image attached. The blank should be aprox 10 x 8 x 12 cm. I'm trying to find a piece of hardwood big enough for this, would it be acceptable if I made some kind of laminated piece? And how should the grain direction be idea…

So it seems that a drum sander would be very handy for many parts of a "build from scratch". There are a few out there that cost under $3000.00 that can handle wood up to 4" thick and are wide enough to sand a back or top after the halves have been joined. Jet JWD-22-44 open stand, 22"width Jet JWDS-2550 open stand, 25" width SuperMax 19-38 opend stand, 19" width SuperMas 25-50 closed stand, 25" width Questions: Any recomendations on the sa…

Just posted a full build video for the last mandolin batch over on YouTube. Give it a watch folks, its 25 mins long. And there should be a few woodworking tips there for some of you, and some lovely tunes all played on my work.

I'm using hide glue on this 1st build. So far I've glued up the kerfing, back braces, and the top "X" brace. I'm using the 190 grade glue. Working time is short at best. I heated the top "X" brace surfaces (brace & top) with a blow dryer and that seemed to help, a little. How can I get enough working time to glue the top, and then later the back, without having to rush and creating a real mess in the process? Suggestions and reco…

So the first real "full build" I'm doing is a Stewmac 000 kit. I was wondering about the back brace shape. I'll was planning to taper the ends at the side joint to about 1.5mm. Should I do some scalloping of the braces? Suggestions and comments are welcomed and appreciated. Regards, Gerry Images

Good evening folks, lately I'm experiencing some sanding methods/mechanism frustration. Can't explain better than look like I'm regressing at doing it. The only thing changed in my building routine is that I'm currently using a CNC (I haven't used one for some years) for both bodies and necks. I have no problems with necks, but sanding bodies has become incredibly frustrating, specially around the edges. While I keep improving my c…

Greetings fellow Looths! I recently received a request from a customer to replicate Kurt Cobains 59 Martin, starting with a Sigma DM3. I have pasted the customers email to me below. While I have been a looth hobbyist for many years, I just recently opened my official business, Finger Lakes Guitar Works, and am just getting off the ground and a good flow of repair work is already coming in. While I feel 100% confident in my abilities to…

Greetings and thanks in advance for your help. I live in one of the most inhospitable places in the world for wood storage (Mojave Desert CA) and later this year will be moving to another more inhospitable place (Sonoran Desert, Buckeye AZ). The realative humidity is currently 16% and that will drop when summer comes. I'm attempting to collect and store wood for future builds and today I spent some time wrapping all of it in seran…

The Artisan Guitar Show this weekend gave me a kick in the behind to get back to more promoting of the builds I'm doing. Here's my first try doing multiply binding, and it turned out pretty well

So after a small battle with an illness, I started building again just today! The first (old) own design since 2020. It seem like I'm breathing again! Images

Hi Everyone, I believe this may be my first post here, so just a quick introduction — I’m Andrew in Milwaukee, WI. I’ve been building a few years. My luthier eyes were opened first by Charles Fox in Portland which led me to the Gallop School. I recently retired from a tech career and I am now based in Milwaukee, WI focusing on acoustic builds. I’m currently exploring wood-body resonator guitars, and I’d love to learn more from t…

Hi all. Brand new member. I’ve been building a classical guitar via kit from LMI for a couple of years now. I keep putting it off but recently became motivated to get back to it. Unfortunately LMI is out of business so I now have no one to go to to ask questions. I’m at the stage where I’m putting the sides together in the form. I followed the dimensions for the form based on the plans as I measured them, but the sides overlap pretty ba…

For those of you who regularly do semi-hemispherical frets -- how long do you make your frets? Specifically for a bound fretboard (although I suppose this would apply to either bound or unbound) do your frets come up a little short of the outside edge of the binding? And if so, how much gap do you leave? I did my first semi-hemis on a new build and made them end flush with the outside edge of the bindings, but it doesn't feel right.…

Just something I stumbled across on YouTube. He has also built an acoustic guitar from a 5 gallon bucket.

Hi all, I am building a mandocello, Gibson style but with f holes, currently working on the top. I got to a point where I carved it to about 5 mm in the center and about 3,3 around the edges. If has some flexibility but still feels quite stiff. I tap and listen but having experience only with flat top guitars I don't really know what I'm looking for in terms of tap tone and flexibility. I know there is no correct answer to this, but anyo…

Has anyone developed, or know of for sale, a fixture that can be installed in an acoustic body (dovetail neck) during finishing? I'm approaching the spraying stage of my build and would like to be able to have a "handle" on the body that I can use to hold & hang the body during that process. Regards,

I cut the fret slots for a baritone guitar build today, so I thought I'd share my method for cutting fret slots, as I think it is a bit unusual. I radius and profile my fretboard before I cut the slots. I print out a paper layout of the fretboard, double-stick tape it to the radiused and profiled fretboard, line up the saw by eye to using red hatch marks on the printout, and saw the fret slots with a 3" circular saw that rides on…

To the builders out there, how/where do you store wood for builds? Is it different for back+sides vs tops vs neck blanks? Any periodic maintenance required? Thanks in advance!