Official Luthiers Forum!

Sticks are too curvy and irregular to turn into a long dowel, but you probably could cut short pieces and do it. Then hold the end with a collet chuck while shaving the taper.

For sanding I just use a regular 5mm collet. It can't actually clamp the taper, but as long as you keep positive pressure on it while sanding it grips just fine, and is super quick to swap to the next pin. But for cutting the head as a separate operation, the taper collet is a good idea. Definitely make it out of wood. Aside from being easier on your reamer, the friction grip will be much better than metal.

I was thinking with sticks, once a segment was round enough to stick in the shaver and turned into a cone it could be lopped off and the next segment run into the sharpener.

So really the stick would only need to be reasonable straight for an inch or so and the sharpening would make the cone straight. You could whittle it round enough to start in the shaver pretty quickly.

Doesn't have to be a dowel per se. The dowel plate was more for folks wanting to cut lumber and form dowels to start with, but could be used with reasonable straight sticks to get close to shaver dia.

The "ice cream" knob on the top of the cone need not be round or regular as long as it is bigger then the finished ball end.

I like the stick idea. Every now and then you find bushes with very hard wood and interesting grain that would never get big enough to mill lumber. Lilac wood is one, there are lots of others, many fruit trees are hard and heavy too. I'm going to start collecting!

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Made the very first setup ever on a vintage Guild B-302 bass. Truss rod not so bad, bridge and nut slots were both stupid high. Saddles on A and G strings were reversed (probably from the factory). Now it plays nice and sounds unique - closer to Rickenbacker than a Fender.

https://i.imgur.com/43WT6XX.jpg

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Always cool to get your hands on vintage gear. I am surprised how poorly setup some of the basses are that I get in the shop. Owners are pretty amazed when they get them back.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

It’s amazing how often actual players are clueless about the functionality of their chosen instrument.

In all fairness, this belonged to a student and his instructor asked me to "make it work".

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Just about finished with the French polish on the BRW classical

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Beautiful John!

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

That’s a gorgeous finish, John!

I've been doing oil paintings this year, painting from a National Parks daily calendar. I've done about 2 dozen so far. Getting better. On the last one still of the panel I used some Sandarac varnish I got from an artist who makes varnish. I got it for violins! I did that entire painting in less than 3 hours, and it was dry to the touch. I didn't thin it with turps like he said, because my wife doesn't like the smell. I do. I don't like OMS. Ordorless? I don't think so. That varnish (the smell was very mild, and was gone by the morning with the painting in the garage overnight.) will be my go to.

I want to do some plein-air paintings. Not in the cold though. I made up a pochade box with a 12 X 16 glass palette; and an easel attachment. The box goes on the legs of my tripod, and the easel on the camera attachment.

I'm making a box to carry 8 canvases/paper on 4 panels. I call it a small camera. Something an artist back in the early 1800's could carry on a trip, and bring back memories. Maybe do them bigger. I'd like them to be good on their own. The 3 hour one is 7 X 11. The camera can hold 9 X 2 panels. That works out to 4 hours. I have to get faster than that.

I cut 4 of the 8 grooves to slide the 4 panels into yesterday. 1X 2 from Home Depot; from NEW ZEALAND? Marked it out deep with my marker, and then cut it with a Dremel on a purfling groove attachment. I don't have a fence for it. It worked great. Now I have to do the outside grooves, and get a 2 X 4 smooth sided hardboard panel. HD only hard ones that were corrugated on one side. That won't do.

So I did do some woodworking, on the pochade box, the easel and now the 9 X 12 -8 frame "camera."

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Why be normal?

Nice work Ken. Only painting I've ever done that looked any good were the ones with numbers

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"