Hey all, I've received a call from a woman who's husband ( and former student of Somogyi ) has recently passed, and she's looking to find anyone interested in purchasing his tonewood hoard. It appears he had intentions of building a fair amount more than he had time for here, and she's been calling around to folks hoping for some interest to no avail, so I told her I'd post here for her...She has had another local luthier compile a fair…
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…
P.S. - I used it this morning to assess how complete my epoxy pore filling was. There was no guessing - I could see the evidence. You could also use your iPhone to magnify - I think on mine the magnifi…
Sure - we love talking about the 'clams'. In fact, when I discovered that "Ian Hated Guitars," I knew I had found a kindred spirit. BUT - every once in awhile, you hit a homer. Allow me to share mine and you can do likewise: You've just done a touch up and it takes you several seconds to find it. WooHoo!
Hello Luthiers and Guitar Builders,We manufacture and supply high-quality natural bone Guitar Nuts and Saddles in custom sizes for acoustic, electric, classical, and bass guitars.What We Offer:• Custom-sized Bone Nuts & Saddles• OEM & Bulk Orders• Precision Cutting & Finishing• High-Density Natural Bone Material• Consistent Quality• Worldwide ShippingWhether you need a single custom specification or bulk production for your workshop or…
https://loothgroup.com/hub/?type=useful_links this is the resource page. you can find those on desktop on the righthand side where it says filters. We're going to make this slicker here in a bit. Here…
Whadda shock when I signed onto the website this morning! Looks great, Ian! And responsive, too. The downside of all these improvements? I’ll spend far too much time on the computer rather than working in the shop. Great work and congrats to all of you who make the LoothGroup a reality. (But Ian still hates guitars - me too..) Rick
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@member 16! Honestly, Ian, and not sucking up here, it is really a nice site. All of the little features add to it (beautiful map by the way). One of my other hats is being a mod on the Acoustic Gui…
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…
All - looking for recommendations on overall approach for repairing this nasty side crack right at the edge of the tail block. My initial thought is that either the top or the back needs to come off in order to properly glue and clamp the main split.
Thanks in advance.
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I use a file or a sanding block. I fit the new side by pulling sandpaper (like on a neck reset) to start and then finish with a little bit of chalk and futzing. You could pull the tailblock inlay and…
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…
An old friend of mine, Les Stansell, who has been building some pretty high-end guitars and ukuleles for over three decades has had to close his shop for health reasons and is looking to sell all his tools and equipment. I’m spreading the word to help him find a suitable buyer – hopefully a new luthier ready to set out on their own. If someone is interested they can contact me here and/or contact Les directly at [email withheld]…
Hi all,
I am a newer guitar tech and after dozens of repairs this particular Simon & Patrick Luthier Cedar top SP6 acoustic dreadnought from the 90-ies with a bolt-on maple neck has been an incredible challenge.
It came with a maxed out and stuck truss rod with a considerable up bow in the neck, extremely low saddle with barely any string break angle, so it needed a neck reset. Later on I figured out that it also has a pretty dras…
Hey all.
I apologize if this type of post isn't allowed here but wanted to share anyway.
I've been building a tool called Looth specifically for luthiers and repair techs, and I'm looking for a small group of interested looths to help shape it a bit more before it goes public.
I got tired of managing spreadsheets and decided that it could be simpler and more automated.
The core idea is simple: one place to track every build…
A good value for masking tape: DOAY Brand 4 Pack White Painters Tape. 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1" Sizes in one 4 pack. I have been using this for a few months and it performs as well as the orange SM product. The current price is $5.98 for all four rolls.The quantity per roll is smaller, but still a value. Comes in four colors. I like the white. Found on Amazon.
Hi everyone,
I'm Martino from Hub of Acoustics, a collaborative project created by luthiers for luthiers. Our goal is to explore and teach acoustic principles that are directly relevant to instrument making.
In 2026, we’ll be running four courses in different parts of the world, all focused on giving luthiers practical tools to better understand and control the acoustics of their instruments.
We’re excited to introduce our very…
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. I'm in the process of working with a landlord to customize a space for my growing repair and building business. The space is approximately 800 square feet and broken into a major space (around 400 square feet), and 2nd large space (around 300 square feet) that I'm thinking of as a machine/sawdust room, and 2 smaller areas that I'm considering as a spray booth and a wood/guitar storage closet. I'd love to hear about lessons learn…
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Here's some more tips. I recently remodeled my shop so this is all very fresh. I've been in this shop for almost 15 years and I have rented benches to other luthiers and apprentices in the shop so it…
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!
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When I first started I was not in a tightly humidity controlled environment, so I stickered all sides/backs/tops. A real PITA and used up lots of room. But when I moved to a controlled environment (…