August - 2015

Monday come lately...

Sometimes, when you think you've gotten through the week pretty well, Friday goes all "Monday" on you! When I glued the X brace in place, I didn't have a good enough centerline and didn't notice it was off untill it was firmly glued in place! So, an hour later, I had the pleasure of chiseling and sanding off my nice X brace and making new ones from scratch. Lucky me! Well, at least I started a new song this morning! See you Monday!

X marks the spot!

Cutting the X brace is tricky and it needs to be tight when done. But again, I don't need to think a lot, just pay attention. So, more music! Today's first listening choice; John Gorka's "So Dark You See". First, I lay the radiused X leg along the blueprints to get the angles right where they cross. One goes under and one over. After marking the lower brace, I take it to a vice to hold it while I cut halfway through. I have to mark and cut carefully because the joint needs to

Lyle Lovett: Good company for a luthier!

Back in the shop today to work on the three new guitars; an Engelmann topped Sapele OM, a Sitka topped Mahogany OM and an Engelmann/Maple A Style. All the braces, almost, for the top and back have a radius or curved profile, sanded on to the bottom to give the outside surfaces of the guitar a curved shape. This is to strenghthen them, for the most part, and is very common although different makers use different radiuses. Today's brace sanding music program!! Sanding is done w

Getting started with guitars!

Finally got the website operational! Started it several weeks ago but really didn't get on it until yesterday, when I sacrificed about 4-5 hours of shop time to get down to brass tacks (I should look that up!). I went away to an songwriting workshop called SummerSongs at the Ashokan Center in Olivebridge, NY, with some amazing teachers and students, if you can call them that (many of the "students" were highly skilled and experienced performers!), that was really motivating!