Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi guys. My husbands birthday is coming up and I would like to purchase a book and a few tools for him. He does a little guitar repair on electrics and has an ongoing project rebuilding an acoustic guitar. He is quite handy, meticulous work comes easy to him. He gets most of his information (good and bad) from the web. In my experience though, it is nice to have a physical book to look at and learn from. Also, as with any craft there are basics one must learn.
As for the tools, I would like to purchase one or two useful tools, something that you must have for building, rebuilding and repair. Ha has plenty of general tools but I would like to get him something intrinsic to guitar repair.

So, does anyone have any ideas for me? Thanks.

Budget?

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

kris: A couple of suggestions for some tools. A set of nut files, a 24" straight edge, a set of feeler gauges.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

If him all ready doing repairs and working on acoustics, him probably gotts all the basic tools, which would definitely include stuff like nut files, straight edges, and feeler gauges....

Me suggest a member ship in GAL http://www.luth.org/
or a subscription to Fretboard Journal http://www.fretboardjournal.com/

or a gift certificate to
S&M http://www.stewmac.com
or LMI http://www.lmii.com/
and let him buy what he wants.

Me, well me always liked the subscriptions best as her gift seemedto just keep on coming.


blessings

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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kris: Don't pay any attention to my suggestions....................Padma says I should know better........no doubt he's right. Sorry..........................I'll try better next time.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

All the ones Padma said are great ideas!

Those sound like great suggestions. Thanks for that. By 24" straight edge, do you mean a ruler? Nut files and feeler gauges sound like what I might be looking for. I will look around on line.

Well, actually, me saying he has an ongoing "acoustic project" means he received a vintage Harmony that the neck was broken off of. He stripped it, pulled the front off, pulled the neck off and put it back together (minus neck, still needs some repairs). We have no idea if it sounds good or not yet. Or if it ever did ! But it looks beautiful! He does do light repair on his electrics, as I said in my Original post. So tools and info might really get him going, he has a knack for this type of stuff and is really into it. He would never buy anything for himself, I can imagine this particular hobby can get quite expensive too!
I really like the idea of a magazine subscription, I have been looking for one at the bookstore to pull a subscription out of. So that might just be the thing for him. Thanks for your help. I really appreciate you taking the time.

Is he a member here ? $12.00 a year is a heck of a cheap cost for the huge amount of potential advice that he can get . Along with a fair amount of Bull......

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[quote= By 24" straight edge, do you mean a ruler? [/quote]

If he doesn't have a good straight edge, that would be at the very top of my list. A ruler isn't nearly straight enough for fret work. I'm not a fan of the straight edges offered by the luthier supply places either. McMaster Carr part # 2265A21 works well (+ .001" vs .005" for the "luthier" models)

After that, I'd think about a diamond fret file. Something like this is what I use, and it seems to be pretty popular:http://www.tubesandmore.com/products/S-T211-150

If he doesn't have a good straight edge, that would be at the very top of my list. A ruler isn't nearly straight enough for fret work. I'm not a fan of the straight edges offered by the luthier supply places either. McMaster Carr part # 2265A21 works well (+ .001" vs .005" for the "luthier" models)

After that, I'd think about a diamond fret file. Something like this is what I use, and it seems to be pretty popular:http://www.tubesandmore.com/products/S-T211-150[/quote]


Thanks for the reply. I knew it was gonna get pricey! Fret file sounds useful. I am trying to find a handful of very useful tools, mostly used for repairs. You guys are being really helpful.

Are their any books/magzines that you can reccommend?

If it were me, i would look for any heirloom quality tools, like lie neilson planes or chisels.

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

If he wanted to build a guitar from scratch, I'd suggest William Cumpiano's book, Guitar making, tradition and technology.

It's a great place to start!

Someone mentioned it before, but I'd definitely go for membership in the Guild of American Luthiers. Mostly cause it comes with a subscription to American Lutherie magazine. A tremendous resource, and he gets a gift every 3 months.

50 bucks a year? 60? You can check their site, but it's worth every penny.

Good luck

Steve

You keep coming back to books, so I assume you're a reader. Don't you know that people don't do that anymore? Maybe on a screen, but paper? I don't think they still make paper. If your husband lives with you in whatever alternate universe you inhabit, here are some book titles that I've been reading and rereading for a long time:

For hands-on practical guitar repair: Dan Erlewine's "Guitar Repair". Also vol. I & II of Don Teeter's books.

For a broad, practical understanding of how instruments make music (and lots of fun projects): Bart Hopkins' "Musical Instrument Design" (This one is worth ten times its price)

If he likes the theoretical: anything by Arthur Benade or Hermann Von Helmholtz. (My copy of Benade's "Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics" is falling apart. As I keep rereading it, at some point, I'll need a new copy.) (Trevor Gore, is worth mentioning also, but the price goes up a lot.) If you live near a university, you might be able to find back issues of "The Catgut Journal". I Xeroxed mine years ago, so I don't know if they are available online. Research in musical acoustics continues. The scientific journal stuff is pricey unless you can get it online at a university science library.

For step-by-step building advice, maybe Cumpiano-Natelson is still the best. This is a difficult topic, and I've never seen it covered thoroughly.

Ervin Somogyi's books are another (also pricey) approach to guitar building thinking and practice. Not the place to start if you're on a budget, but great information on the breadth of guitar building, and on the ideas of an extremely influential builder.

Romanillos' book on Torres is required reading for a classical builder.

It never ends.

I don't have time for that. I need to polish my rosewood router bit holder.

Seriously, we all waste time on our own rabbit holes. (This is one.) Sometimes I wish I spent more time on the job, but then I'll run across some idea here that saves me several hours. (I borrow ruthlessly from Filippo's tool organization ideas, even if I don't achieve his level of finish.)





)

Um. Yeah. We are a book house. I personally could build a den out of all my books. Especially "how to" books. (Jack of all, master of none. I am) I just keep reading them over and over.

The internet is great, but there is alot of bogus info out there, although, I am sure luthier specific websites like this one are great. I already looked at the books before I came here and there are so many, that's why I came here for suggestions. I know you are all busy building beautiful instruments, so again, I appreciate the time.

I am probably going to get a fret file for sure. Second, I may get the feeler gauges and nut files once I see what they actually are. Then I will try to procure a copy of Dan Erlewine's Guitar Repair because I think thats what I may be looking for.

I don't expect him to start building Mandolins in our apartment ( could happen!) but I would like him to have some info and tools available to him, at hand. I think its a really cool hobby and see potential in him. Plus, he keeps buying guitars......also, I think he is stuck on the Harmony and can't admit it. Maybe he'll finish it?

+1 Fretboard Journal is a great suggestion. I read it cover to cover.

I'll throw this suggestion out:
You could get a guitar kit from Guitar Fetish.
They run about $100.00.
My wife bough me a Tele kit.
I learned assembly, setup, and finishing, and it turned out to be a decent guitar.
The kit inspired me to start building from scratch.
Dan

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! I bought the guitar kit from guitarfetish. $111. with shipping. I think it will be quite an impressive (and safe) gift to get. Like an erector set or a model kit. I loved everyone else's suggestions too and will keep them in mind for christmas. I will need to pay more attention when he brings his tools out, because I do believe he already has feeler gauges. I do think the fret file will come in handy though.... Thanks again guys for all of your help. You might have a new board member soon!

Tell your husband to hang out here. Tons of free, accurate info and a cool group of people. Plus, he might need help with that kit!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Cash

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MK5acoustics.com

Tony is right. Once he gets a gift and there is no danger of spoiling the surprise, send him here immediately. There is a ton of great information here and plenty of opportunity for real time discussion. Fora like this one have so much information it can get confusing. Tell him to keep reading and look in the archives, eventually it will all start to come together and he will be able to follow the discussions more easily.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Kris, maybe you can contact our wives, and set them on to your way of thinking!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

It can be difficult to recommend because he may already have lots of tools

Not too exciting, but how about some clamps because 'you can never have too many clamps'