Official Luthiers Forum!

Well, today I can say I reaped a huge benefit from the OLF. Through some of our postings on one of the forum, I got acquainted with John Osthoff. His shop is an hour drive north of me and today I took him up on his offer to stop in and spend some time in the shop. Being a newbie builder, I couldn't pass up this great opportunity to drive up through God's country into Beckett, MA and visit one of the truly great builders in this mad passion we call "guitar making"

John made me feel very welcome and he was ready for a full day of passing on knowledge to a mere rookie. We talked about all the aspects of building and also some of the finer points of the business end as well, and John very graciously answered the many many questions that I put forward without reservation. And we covered a LOT of ground...

John has a lot going on in the shop right now. How he manages the time between his teaching job and the guitars is pretty impressive. Here's a couple a guitars that will probably make their way to Montreal in June...



Here's John going over the finer points of Neck Construction, which was the overriding purpose of my visit...Notice the rack of top wood in the background - really nice stuff!



And I will be making this jig really soon for shaping the neck...



Here's John with the spokeshave, and a "scrap" neck he just happened to have on hand for "instructional purposes"



I also got to play one of his OM's that was destined for a customer. What a fantastic sounding instrument this was! Sorry I didn't get any pics, but if things persisted for four hours they way this guitar sounded, I would have been on the way to the Dr.!

John also spent a lot of time trying to get me to understand what he is doing with Chladni testing. We went over all the different node points with a piece of top wood that he is using for some testing. I think I actually got it! He's got a great setup for doing this kind of testing and he is working toward coming with with a way to make the process of selecting great wood for a top a little less "subjective".

And, of course, we spent a lot of time talking about what makes a guitar "good" and what makes a guitar "great".

I also got to meet Rosalie, John's wife, and that was a treat in and of itself. I hope she and my wife will have a good time shopping in Montreal - By the way, John, if you are reading this, tell Rosalie that Tracy knows where all the underground shops are in Montreal and she's excited about taking Rosalie shopping!

Overall, I learned a great deal today and I made a great friend that I am sure I will be seeing more often. John, thanks again for the patience and allowing me to futz up the schedule. I really appreciated the time spent and your willingness to share. I hope I can "give back".

Good times, good times...

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Mitch

What a great opportunity! Awesome.

Hey! I know that guy!

Thanks Mitch! Sounds like you had a great visit!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Very cool Mitch. I met John at the MD. ASIA symposium a couple years back. I've always enjoyed his work, and look forward to a visit to his shop one day. I've saved as many pix of his guitars as I could find. SOOOO...Pm me if you have any other pix you took, I'd love to see more.

John I'd love to see more of your work here. I know that usually the best builders are too busy to post. Just want you to know you're appreciated! Till next time...

Very cool day Mitch and I hope to meet John in person one day too.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

Hesh - if you're coming to Montreal, you will meet him. He's busy preparing for the show, probably as you read this.

Terry, I didn't get any more pics of finished guitars, but he has a couple sunbursts hanging in his finishing room that are going to be spectacular when he is done with them.

I did get some pics of a fantastic glue up he did. He has some Bass Fretboards - I think Mad Rosewood...



...and then he puts them up in a FOUR BOARD glue up for this stunning back...



Now that's just good work my friends!

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Mitch

John is a really nice guy. I've been able to meet him at a couple OLF meetings and he is always wiling to share. Thanks for sharing Mitch!

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Here's a couple of Johno's gtrs....

It has been a while since I posted here on the OLF, but when my name is in the topic I guess I should chime in a bit



Mitch it was my pleasure to have you here at the shop. Mitch caught me in the middle of my "experiment" guitars that I am preparing so he got to see some really fundamental things that I do with joining tops and bending sides etc. The "experiment" will start off with 3 or 4 OMs.





I don't know if I will bring both of those or not. I guess I will have to see what else I get done. It is a tough balance between the college and the shop. In a way though it is the best of both worlds as I like both jobs a lot. I do need to find a little more time to "play" though.



Yea, I try to keep a good supply of tops on hand. Most tops I use have been in the shop for about 5 years before they get put on a guitar.



In this picture you can see the fixtures that we are using to do our static testing of our wood samples for our experiment guitars. With these we are testing tops (and backs) for the Modulus of Elasticity both along the grain and across the grain. We are also doing this dynamically with Chladni modes. I have 2 engineering students that are working on these experiments. They have been doing some mathematical modelling and things, but have really been pushing me with their questions.





I saw something like this in one of my Martin books and borrowed the idea. It really sets the neck at the right height off the bench





Yea that is an "old" neck that I messed up on. I had a little too much work in it to throw it out, so it has been sitting around here for years. It finally came in handy. I do use the spokeshave and chisels and scrappers, but the belt sander is also a tool I use quite a bit. Some might think that is "cheating" but getting the right moves on that machine takes some practice too. You can scrap a neck quickly on the samder.



Here is that OM





Yea I still have a long way to go with this stuff. It is really cool and I continue to learn stuff every day. I hope it one day will help me make better guitars. It is certainly helping me in the decision process (hopefully for the better) along the build path



And I don't know if I will ever find that key ... but I am still looking.



Hey, she is supposed to be my assistant! (Like I could keep her away from shopping!)



Once again it was my pleasure to have you visit Mitch. I am glad you got something out of it



and ... it is not my fault that you admit it



Hey Terry ... it has been a few years. You (and of course other OLFrs) are welcome to come by the shop. I wouldn't know about the "best builders" being too busy to post, but I do get really busy and I have found that I needed to take a break from the forums (all of them) from time to time. I still try to check in but sometimes just don't have the time to post. Regardless, I am still here (for good or bad )

Hey John,
Thanks. My family is in upstate NY, so maybe when I'm up there visiting them next summer, I'll take a day to swing by your shop.

My wife would like ot go to Montreal (about 2.25 hr drive from NY family) I'll find you there if we go.

Johns guitars & workmanship are top of the line!!

For him to spend time & give advise to you makes him a real pro!

Mike

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Mike Collins

As Michael Payne would say...Hum?

Actually his work, dedication and experience makes him a pro -

the fact that he spent time with me makes him a dang fine person who wants to give something back to the up and comers, and not serve it up on a shingle full of preparation H...and it makes us all lucky to have him here on the forum.

No disrespect intended...

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Mitch