The Hub

We just ordered the StewMac buffer. Looking for ideas/photos for a hood(s) to remove all the particles flying off. We have a 4 inch 1250 cfm dust collection system. Thanks for any input. Tom K

I am a retired dentist. One saying we had was, “You can’t fix what you can’t see.” And another was, “The day you start working with magnification will be the best and worst day of your practice.” The worst because you will see what you have been missing, and the best because you will never miss it again. So even though I have my Dan E. Model visor loupes, and my retired dental loupes on throughout the day, sometimes, it’s not enough. I pi…

It’s Factory Friday! I’ll be in the shop today from 2–4 PM Eastern for the weekly open office hours. Drop in, hang out, ask questions, talk tools, guitar building, SMF, or whatever you’re working on in your shop. No agenda. No presentation. Just shop time. Join at www.stringsmicrofactory.com/factoryfriday See you this afternoon! ✌️

Here it is. I thought it turned out ok. Hopefully it's a help to someone. ☺️

Hello to the Council of Elders! My name is Joe Byron, and I am president of the Stringed Instrument Makers of Southern California (SIMSCal). We have been around for over 30 years and have a large number of members and followers. Our membership includes both professional and non-professional luthiers. SIMSCal meets 4-8 times per year (both live and virtually), and we share tips, processes, stories, and show off our work. We frequently inclu…

Hello all! My name is Jake and I run a repair shop out of my NYC apartment. I am looking for someone who's experienced in CAD to help me with a project. I am working on a 5 string headless bass build for a customer. The neck & body are to be CNCed by a local mill here in Brooklyn, NY. I have a 2D design (PDF and CRD), but I need help making some modifications, as well as translating it to 3D. Pay is negotiable. I will basically pay whate…

Friend brought his "old guitar in the basement" over for me to have a look at. Long story short, it's a 1945 D-18, it's all original and it's a beauty. He had no idea. I explained to him that it was worth somewhere between 15 and 25 thousand bucks, that it needed some fairly routine repairs and that he should get - among other things - an insurance rider and take a little more care of the guitar than he has been. Picture attached for fu…

Howdy folks, I'm a 2026 graduate of the two year guitar program at Red Wing (Minnesota State College Southeast). Between my two years at Red Wing I worked at Collings Guitars in Austin, TX for two years in the acoustic neck department, shaping and finish sanding ~2000 necks, radiusing and gluing ~750 fingerboards, and pressing ~100 sets of frets. I also spent a couple months in the finishing department level sanding and pore filling ~300…

Since most of us fix or make guitars, we have probably heard something about the cease and desist letters Fender has sent out concerning the Stratocaster. I thought I would offer some thoughts. As always, caveat emptor. There are three basic ways to protect intellectual property under Federal law. Patent, trademark, and copyright. Each protects different things, and has different underlying legal theories. Lets begin with pate…

Straight Frets in Austin has an excellent full-time position opening up soon. The job pays by the job, and equates to $70-85K a year for a tech that does: *neck resets *structural repairs *bridge making/reglues *refrets *headstock breaks with splines/airbrush We work on about 1,350 guitars a year (about 28-30 a week) and have had work shipped in from 22 different states at this point. We also teach setup classes on…

Hi all, To those of you that work out of your house, how are you insuring your home/business? We are moving house and just had a homeowners policy cancelled due to my home business. Given how easy it is for these companies to deny claims, I want to make sure I do everything on the up and up. I'm in New York, and have Heritage for instruments that come in and out of my shop.

Rask Guitars — Utah (relocation required) Rask Guitars is a Utah-based custom shop dedicated to building exceptional instruments — primarily high-end acoustics, alongside electric guitars and prototypes. We operate with a small, focused team where craftsmanship isn't just a standard, it's the entire point. We're growing, and we're looking for a skilled, experienced luthier who's ready to plug into a real production environment, contribute…

Hey all, Just wanting to get an idea of what peoples experience has been like buying bone blanks from S.F. International. I placed an order back in late February, close to $500 AUD, and 3 months on, they are still yet to ship to me in Australia. I was told over a month ago that the order was ready to ship and since then, I keep getting told "Dispatch tomorrow". Anyone else have this experience and still got their order?

Hello all- We have a job opening in the repair shop here at elderly. Looking for someone professionally trained, with 5+ years of experience preferred, but any and all are welcome to apply. Send resumes and inquiries to [email withheld] Tell him you saw the post on the looth group!

I have a "fender", which I believe is a knock off, in my shop. I didn't immediately catch that it was a fake, but as I worked on it it's become fairly undeniable, in my opinion. For the neck — the fretboard is made from two pieces of rosewood, the headstock decal doesn't look right, the truss rod is metric, the tuners don't look like a MIA Fender, and there's no walnut plug on the truss access. The model name being wrong is suspicio…