The Hub

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…

Is there a way to see recent zoom meeting recordings or an index of links to the unlisted YT? Thanks.

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…

The sub menu is back by both popular and reasonable demand.

Looking for the resource page that had all the links on it. Along with the Amazon suggestion lists from various luthiers

Please, if you see something, say something. If you want something, ask. Bugs, wishlists etc. Stack them up here.

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…