The Hub

For my current mandolin build, I set out to answer 2 questions: 1. Whether to use physical deflection or frequency analysis to measure stiffness, and 2. How well can I measure wood quality in rough sawn form? (T. Gore says it needs to be planed smooth and rectangular for frequency analysis.) I have 4 different topwood species available for my current build: California Sitka, Englemann, Lutz, and Coastal Redwood. The billets range from 37…

I bought the O'brien vacuum clamp and a pump to clamp bridges on new builds, but also to use for repair work. I got tired of making custom top and bottom cauls for every odd-shaped bridge that comes in my shop. The vacuum clamp works great on a flat surface with no pick guard. I put it on a J45 with a pick guard, and it won't seal. The gasket is too hard to form over the pick guard. I've seen YouTube videos of other folks using vacu…

Hello All! My first post and I'm very happy to be here and share the highs and lows of this pony ride. After years of bending sides on a hot pipe or bending machines belonging to 'other people', I finally built myself a bending machine. Functionally it is great, but the result on some test material was far from great. See pictures attached. What you see here is a doug fir 'test side' that certainly came out guitar shaped, but oh my, what…

Hello, I am building a bass VI for a customer. As with a Fender Bass VI he wants a control plate with 4 slide switches. 1 on/off switch for each of the 3 pickups, but with the 4the switch he wants to control the phase of the middle pickup. Any suggestions as how I should wire that? thanks!

I've been building up my "2 car garage shop" for about 10 years preparing for retirement from health care. This spring I finally quit punching the time clock. Over the same time I've build 13 mandolins and 4 guitars. Now I pretty much have all my tools in place and enough wood stored to build for quite some time. My work benches are built with a heavy door for a top and base cabinets I scavenged from work. Lately I have toyed with the i…

I would really appreciate some advice on this repair that I need to do. I've built a number of (classical) guitars so far, but this is my first repair job. I have already set the expectations with the customer that I can probably fix it structurally but the repair will be visible. The guitar is modestly priced and of no historical significance so it seems like an ideal project to take on as a first one. The guitar suffered a blow on the…

Hello friends - I am a bass guitar builder who is considering building a neck-through Flying V-style guitar with a 25.5" scale length and a Floyd Rose tremolo bridge. I have not built any neck-through instruments and would appreciate any guidance on where to begin with respect to laying out the design, in particular, getting the neck angle right and the headstock angled properly. Any resources are welcomed and if someone has any interes…

I'd like to start doing a hard copy of notes on my guitars. Does anyone have a build record sheet that they could share? I have some ideas of what I want to put in it, but I'm open to suggestions. Ultimately I'd like to photocopy a bunch of them and get them bound into a book for my benchtop.

Hello. I just graduated from my third Luthier school. I’m looking for guitar building or repair jobs. Any suggestions for places that are currently hiring? I have built 3 guitars from scratch so far in school and I have experience working at Santa Cruz Guitar Company building acoustics. Attached is my resume. Thanks. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/iezmmah84aws61u5r5c1u/Music-Resume.pdf?rlkey=utsnkjbddncbufsznnm14iaet&st=2wwk2pct&dl=0

Hi everyone, We’re really excited to be joining The Looth Group as new sponsors, and we wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves. I’m Ben, and together with Paul McGill we run Go Acoustic Audio. Paul is in his 50th year of guitar making — a milestone that speaks to both his craftsmanship and his persistence in chasing better sound. He’s spent a lifetime building instruments for players at every level, listening closely to what works…

I will tag @member for this question. I hope you are ok with that. Is it of any use, to use the deflection measurement from for tonewood before building? To determine the basic deflection/stiffness for the selection of the tonewood.

I had a very unique instrument come into the shop yesterday. It's an American built Weissonborn/lap guitar (*spelling). The top has separated from the kerfing and sides on the lower left bout, and was raised significantly while under string tension when the customer dropped it off. I have a two fold problem as I see it. Applying horizonal pressure to a very light and fragile instrument, and getting enough glue into the separation where…

We’re Hiring: Experienced Luthier Mike Lull’s Guitar Works is looking for an experienced Luthier to join our team. We’re seeking someone with strong hands-on experience in instrument repair and restoration who’s ready to work in a collaborative, high-quality shop environment. Our demand for our acoustic repair and restoration services as well as our own line of guitars/basses is growing year over year and we’re looking to add to the tea…

I've been documenting progress of an acoustic kit build from Amazon over on Instagram, would love for some feedback from those that know more than I do. My goal is to build only with the materials provided in the kit, though I'm definitely using as many tools as I have at my disposal. I'm not expecting a quality instrument at the end of it, but I at least want it well built :) Looking forward to any feedback I can get. Thanks. https://ww…

Call for Luthiers and Small Makers Daymaker Music – Bainbridge Island, WA Daymaker Music is opening this November in downtown Winslow in Bainbridge Island, and we’re inviting makers and luthiers who value craft, sustainability, and community to help us shape what customers see and hear when they walk in. We’re looking for small makers, independent luthiers, and custom builders who want their instruments on a dedicated wall of our new retai…

Is it a common problem for the fretboard on an acoustic to develop a hump around Fret #12 and higher, where the neck meets the body? If so, what is the cause, and is there something that can be done, or avoided, during the initial build process? I have two quality Zager brand guitars that both have the problem, with the problem being worse on the cheaper model. I am a newbie to fret dressing and lowering, so I first tried adjusting the…

Hi everybody, Can anyone share their workshop layout? I have recently moved country and I need to transition from sharing a 300 sqm workshop to having my own, which will be significantly smaller. I would find it very helpful if someone - especially luthiers operating in a small workshop - could share their workshop layout, even just by describing it (what machines are essential in your space, what machines do you outsource, etc). I mainly b…

I have a client who is going to paint a ES-335 kit guitar (Maple top and Back, Mahogany sides and neck). She will be using an Acrylic (Jesso) matte primer and then painting the entire guitar with Liquitex Acrylic water based paints. Poly finish on top of that. What steps do I need to take to prep the neck and body for painting? Sealer then grain fill then seal again? What products would you use? I have never done this before and am looki…