The Hub

I have been working through Robbie O'Brien's french polish course and he recommends using a plastic polish. The product he used wasn't available at my hardware store so I purchased this product https://www.meguiars.ca/3M/en_CA/p/d/v000190445/ and just want to make sure that this will not damage my finish. I'd appreciate some feedback for a rookie finisher.

Just wanted to say I bought a chisel through Hyperkitten Tool Company and it went great. It's very old school, ordering and shipping are not a fast process, but if Josh has a tool that piques your interest I highly recommend it. I picked up this long boi paring chisel from the mid to late 1800s and I'm quite happy. https://hyperkitten.com/

After installing purfling and bindings I noticed a black dot on one of the maple lines— and right at the florentine point! It’s not sanding out. Bummer. As I get close to finish prep does anyone have recommendations on acrylic touch up paint SKUs that work well with maple? These maple purflings happen to be from Gurian Instruments, for what that’s worth. Also, if anyone has an idea of what this dot is and how it got there I’d love to he…

Hi Folks. I have a new Gibson L-00 retro on the bench. It came in because the saddle had pulled forward and was extremely loose in the slot. the saddle was a narrow affair measuring out at 3/32. It had buzzing issues as well because saddle was low and neck angle is actually high (straight edge is 5/32 above bridge). Previous looth tried to correct by shimming saddle but recommended me for bridge work. I re-slotted the saddle slot wi…

Hey y’all, I’m looking for a looth in the Los Angeles area to take on a Martin neck reset. I took it in from a friend but I don’t have enough practice doing neck resets and would like to refer it to someone who knows Martins well. Who would you guys recommend? Thanks

Hi Gang, Has anyone switched out the plastic, 8 pin box output 18 volt active/battery switch output jack on a P Bass special for a standard TRS output jack or some other? I just got off the phone with Fender and they don't make this anymore and they recommend replacing with another plastic box from Molex and are sending a wiring diagram. The problem with all this is the plastic boxes have wimpy thin spring steel and wear out quickly.…

Dropped my old crappy digital hygrometer. What are the hive’s recommendations for a trustworthy one? I’m leaning towards an analogue one like the StewMac one but am open to suggestions.

Hey! So I've got a customer who has dropped off with me one of the nastier headstock breaks I've seen in recent memory. There is excess glue of some sort (rock hard, clear) all inside the break, along with the threaded tracks of the screws. I'd usually just recommend a replacement neck in this case, but the customer is desperate to keep this neck as it holds some sentimental value to him. He's aware the repair will not be invisible, how…

Hi everyone, I’m messed up, dinged a guitar and now I need some advice. I was relocating a screw hole in the top of a capri orange Mexican made telecaster when my drill bit broke and I punched an extra hole in the guitar top. 🤦 I called the owner and told him what happened and he’s going to let me try and fill it in. I don’t do much finish work so I’m not sure what the best method would be. I’m considering gluboost and their MasterTint pr…

61 year old Stella Harmony with brass frets. Fret board is poplar. It needs refretting and I want to try doing it myself given the cost of the guitar was $70 bucks, hiring a pro will cost way more. Any recommendations on Fret wire? I can't find Fret wire that is an exact match. Current frets are 1 mm wide, a hair over 1 mm high and the tang looks to be 2.5 mm deep. Has anyone regretted one of these guitars?

I've been slowly chipping away at a rebind on a Gretsch streamliner with full on rotted binding. The repair was started by a luthier in KC that passed away a couple years ago and I inherited the repair after it sat for a few years. I've glued some binding back in place on martins with the Pacer canopy glue, and that has worked out fine in the past. I did a test w/ some new ABS from stewmac that I was going to use for rebinding the gr…

Hi -- I'm building a Thinline Tele and accidentally over-planed the mahogany neck blank. It is now 18.7 mm thick on avg and my rosewood fingerboard is 5.95 mm -- for a total of 24.65 mm instead of the recommended 25.4 mm (1 inch). So the total thickness will be thinner by 0.75 mm or so. 1. Am I still within practical tolerance and therefore should just go ahead with the build as normal? 2. Should I try gluing a 0.55 mm maple veneer I hav…

Hi all, Not sure if this post should go here. I usually do a simple inlay on my guitars like the one in the picture, nothing complicated. I used to have access to a laser cutting machine, but I can't use it anymore, so I do it by hand and I always get some slots that I have to fill with glue and sawdust, so it could look better. Does anybody know any online courses on inlaying techniques? I would like to improve mine. I know Robbie O'Brien…

First timer setting up a website for Looth business... I am looking for recommendations for creating a website. Purchased the domain through godaddy but need to get a website up and running... Wix, godaddy, wordpress... others? Thank you for any suggestions!

Hi! I just made a headless electric ukulele by misusing Steinberger's headstock tuner drop-in replacement: https://www.instagram.com/p/DD0nVr_NWnV/ It's fun, and I'd like to make more, (maybe even actually sand and apply finish to one!) but it sure would be nice to get the tuners at a wholesale rate if there's a possibility of selling an instrument. I got these at 6/$100 from Stewmac (https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-hardware/tuning-m…

Hi all. Anyone have a suggestion for airbrush system setup? I've got Ian's recommendation of the PointZero airbrush. Wondering if anyone has recommendations for compressor and regulator/oil and water trap? Thanks in advance.

Similar question to the one I had about the mandolin. I have a request for a non-intrusive pickup for a classical guitar. Anyone have a recommendation?

Hi gents, Do any of you have a favorite dulcimer pickup? The Folkcraft NT11 sounds really nice from the demo, but they're not available. I'm having trouble recommending a pickup to my customer, I'm not sure to go with a transducer, mic, or piezo in this situation. I'd like to go less invasive if possible, but cutting holes is not out of the question.