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Private member DiscussionShop Organisation

How do you all keep track of your builds/repairs?

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…

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I've got some great feedback on this app so far. Anyone else using something similar or different? What is working for your shop?
Private member DiscussionGeneral Business

Determining Cost of Parts...

Hey everyone, Recently I've been struggling to determine how much to charge the customer in regards to parts for a repair. The best example of this I can give would be guitar strings. Occasionally I'll buy strings on sale, other times when they're not on sale, and since cost of strings often varies, I may buy strings at the start of the year, and at the end of the year the price will be different. So the question is, what variables do I…

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I would recommend getting an account with a few wholesalers. That’s trickier if you’re a sole proprietor and don’t have the FEIN and reseller permit but that’s all obtainable. I also recommend not bei…
Private member DiscussionDesign and Testing

Deflection vs. Frequency for measuring flexural modulus

I've been testing all my top and bracewood to find the best combination of stiffness and density, optimize plate thickness, etc. I started with Nicoletti's spreadsheet which calculates both stiffness and density, but since I was also testing deflection, I decided to compare the flexural modulus using that method (with the formula from T. Gore's book) on the same plates and bracewood. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble getting a satisfa…

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Hello Neil, as you rightly pointed out, they are all in reasonable range for the species, but do not perfectly correlate (at least, not all of them). In my experience, the deflection method is is not v…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Neck Shim spreadsheet

First time here on the forums, not sure how often I'll check in, but thought this the best place to post it. Was playing with an idea proposed by Buck Van Laarhoven on a parametric model for bolt-on neck shims, and found the formulas I wrote up translated easily to Taylor and conventional acoustic neck joints so decided to add boxes for those as well. I'm not well versed in Google Sheets, but couldn't see a way to upload the file direct…

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Hey Dave Recommend you make a copy of the file to load up. Then your original Google sheet won't be altered by another user in the shared file. You can do that by going to file and click 'make a copy…
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

Top Thickness calculator from the Gore / Gilet books

For folks familiar with the Gore / Gilet books and the top thickness calculations in section 4.5. I made a web based calculator to do the nasty spreadsheet math... So this is for once you've weighed and measured your top plates and then found the long, cross and transverse resonances it gives you the target thickness to hit a particular frequency for the long resonance of the plate. Just sharing so folks don't have to do the math for bu…

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Private member DiscussionDesign and Testing

String Tension calculator spreadsheet

Hi everyone, in the loothalong I shared this spreadsheet I put together a few years ago, based on D'ADDARIO phosphor bronze strings data, and Elixirs' as well. There are a few different tables for standard 6 strings, fanfrets, harp guitars, baritone and 12 strings. You choose the relevant table, input the scale length, string gauges and tuning, the spreadsheet will give you individual string and total tension in lb and kg. For the fanfret…

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Great Max, thank you! Giuliano
Beau Hannam - Beau Hannam Guitars DiscussionNeck Reset Database

Neck Reset Repair Forms and Spreed sheet Suite

Neck Reset suite repair forms and spreadsheet. (Please share 🌞) Three new (and pretty cool) totally free forms on my website (http://www.beauhannamguitars.com/Lutherie-Resources.html) 1- The first form is a detailed explanation of the procedure taking into account top deflection (print one out for yourself to look at) 2- The second is the Neck Reset repair form to print multiples of and give to the customer. 3- The third is an Excel spreed…

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Outstanding Excell SS, thanks, Your Mother
Private member DiscussionDesign and Testing

Vibrational Stiffness

@member @member I have a question for you. I'm starting to measure spruce for a couple of classical guitars I'm going to make. I used structured sides (I'm calling them cored) on one of my last guitars and it came out notably great. I accidentally thinned the top more than I might have and it seemed to work very well. My thought is that the sides are so stiff that it's allowing the top to survive structurally even…

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I’m running structured sides for all my builds. Though I’m debating doing a typical side build for other reasons soon regarding my neck joint at cutaway. The way I understand the structured sides is t…