Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi, Everybody. I was referred over here from a friend at AGF. Dear Moderator: If this post belongs in another part of the forum, please forgive me for the misplacement and be so kind as to move it there for me. Thanks so much.

I've worked on my own cars for more than four decades (including building air-cooled VW engines from scratch using the famous John Muir Idiot book), and have recently become interested in basic luthiery and doing my own repairs such as setups, truss-rod adjustments, minor jobs, etc. I have a huge tool chest, a good natural mechanical aptitude, and the patience to walk away from a frustrating job if it’s not going well until cooler heads prevail. I have a few basic questions I’d love answers on:

1) Are there any inexpensive luthiery courses available online or locally here in Los Angeles at, say, a community college? (I’m not gonna pay the ridiculous tuition at any of the guitar tech schools)?

2) Is any Los Angeles retailer interested in a low-wage intern for the Holidays and perhaps beyond? If so, please PM me. I have a full-time job as a tenured English professor but I’m off school ALL of December and January. I’m reliable, prompt, responsible friendly -- Geez, this is starting to sound like an EHarmony profile -- and also a good acoustic player as well.

3) Luthiery tool question: Every luthier who’s ever worked on my guitars has this little wooden cradle they lay the neck into when they put the guitar on their bench. I don’t even know what it’s called, but I want to buy or make one. Is it called a neck cradle? Could someone tell me what this is called and where I could perhaps buy one at a reasonable price (Ebay? Amazon?) I went on Stew-Mac and didn’t see anything like it. Also, if anyone has made their own I would love to have a look.

THANKS!

Hey, Welcome here.
Regarding the neck rest...

http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Ty ... _Rest.html




Try eBay under guitar neck rest, guitar neck headstand, guitar neck cradle, or make your own.
cheers

"1 (I’m not gonna pay the ridiculous tuition at any of the guitar tech schools)"
"I have a full-time job as a tenured English professor "


The least expensive lutherie courses you will probably find are you tube videos. Robbie O'Brien's are some of the best.

Charmed:
As I said in a previous post..................................make your own tools. Molds, neck rests, forms etc.
Tom

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

I use a shooter's rest

http://protektormodel.com/index.php?mai ... b546d66e46

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

+1 for the Protektor brand shooting rest. Available from LMI or direct from the company http://protektormodel.com/ for a bit less $

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Kevin and Fred, I've been looking for one of those to replace the chunk of 4x4 with carpet I've been using for years. What model do you guys have?

Scott - welcome to the obsession. I will second the vote for Robbie O'Brian's videos. Robbie's videos are very good and are reasonably priced.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Can't go wrong with Robbie's online courses. Most bang for the buck I think.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Thanks, Steve. Really happy to be here. Thanks for such a warm welcome, everyone. They sent me over here from AGF (maybe just to get rid of me), and I'm looking forward to learning, slowly, how to work on my guitars, do basic repairs, setups, etc. This has already been really helpful.

I have a Yamaha guinea pig guitar, model FG-441S, that I want upgrade with bone all the way around -- nut, bridge and bridgepins. Is Bob Colosi still the best game in town for these materials? Are there other sources? I eventually want to take raw bone and try to make my own, but that's way down the road.

Thanks Again!
Scott

Hi, Fred, the gun rests look like the perfect way to go. Do you happen to know which model you use? I want one that gets the headstock above horizontal, of course.

Thanks Much,
CL

we also have a series of over 80 vids on you tube
blues creek kit
that section documents a total build . The info is free and you are welcome to check it out and use it

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

You can't go wrong starting out with the wealth of free info available in John Hall's and Robbie O'Brien's youtube videos.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Hi, John, thanks so much. I've heard a lot of great things about your videos here and also over at AGF.

Question: I just put some new strings on my Epiphone Masterbilt AJ-500M and am getting a LOT of fret buzz. I'm hoping -- and assuming -- this can be corrected through a gentle truss rod adjustment. I'm TERRIFIED to do this cuz I love this guitar so much, but I figure now is the time.

Do you have a video over on YT that covers this? I did a quick search and couldn't find one. Perhaps I'm not looking in the right place.

Again, I want to do this slowly, but I DO want to learn how to do it.

Thanks Much,
Scott

OK, just judging from what you have posted so far, it is clear that you are in the beginning stages of learning how to set up stringed instruments. That's not a criticism; just an assessment of what you know now, so that appropriate learning aids can be recommended.

It is useful to separate (to some degree) the jobs of building guitars versus setting up guitars versus repairing guitars. These are all related, but the learning materials are often segregated like this. For example, some books or videos that focus on building guitars don't go into great depth on how to set up or repair any types of instruments other than the ones being built, while other books or videos on proper setup techniques don't cover how to build things in the first place.

Since you have some existing instruments you want to work on, I think a great place to shop for instructional materials is the Stewart McDonald website. They offer lots of books and videos on setup and repair.

If you want to learn how to build guitars, the online resources already mentioned are great. I also feel that building a guitar on your own, using the Cumpiano/Natelson book (properly supplemented by Cumpiano's online updates regarding the neck-body joint), will teach you a whole lot. That's how I got started.

Good luck with this new endeavor.

like anything else , you have to start somewhere . If you learn from a mistake it is no longer a mistake but a learning experience.

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Don, yes, that's a wise assessment. I'm not looking to build an entire guitar at this point, merely to repair my growing quiver of instruments. I know of the stewmac site and will take a closer look when I have a moment.

I have a really clean (but cheap) Yamaha dread that I'm going to practice on by adding a bone nut and bridge and do the various adjustments. Won't break my heart if something goes wrong.

THANKS!

My sentiments exactly, John.

In John Hiatt's "Drive South" he sings:
"That's how you learn, you just get burned"

So I'll take it slow and steady, and learn as I go. Excited about this new venture.

Thanks, John

If you want to start with replacing the nut and saddle (don't use the term bridge; that means the actual piece of wood) on an existing guitar, then StewMac sells both the books/videos on how to do that well, along with the raw materials (bone nuts and saddles) and oodles of specialized tools for doing that type of work. You might want to also think about the other related setup aspects of that guitar while you are at it: getting the neck straight and dressing the frets. Again, StewMac sells the books/videos, the raw materials, and the tools for the job.

Not trying to push StewMac unnecessarily. Some of the tools they make and sell are things you can make yourself for less money. But really, they cover the ground you want to start with better than anybody else. Way better.

I recommend you start by buying a number of books and/or videos from StewMac before you buy any raw materials or tools. If you first read up on the best ways of doing what you want to do, you can later buy only what stuff you need and what will work best for your situation. If you buy raw materials and tools now, you are shooting in the dark somewhat. As far as which books, I recommend starting with the ones that StewMac publishes themselves (Fretwork Step by Step, Trade Secrets, etc.). They are always well thought out.

Great advice, Don, thanks so much. Christmas is coming up, and these would be great additions to Santa's list.

My immediate need is for the procedure to adjust the action on my Epi Masterbilt AJ500M. I just put some larger gauge strings on there and they're buzzin like crazy. I'll look at some of the links I've found plus YT vids. I assume this is a simple truss rod adjustment, but I'll take it slowly.

Saddle, yes, not bridge. Gotta work on my nomenclature. As an English prof who always scolds his students all the time for incorrect usage, I should know better.

I know of StewMac of course, but need to explore there more. I also know of Bob Colosi and his stuff.

Thanks!
Scott

Hi Scott,
If you need help with setting the action on your Epi a few photos would probably give everyone here a better idea of what has to be done. Yes, it sounds as though the guitar may need a neck rod adjustment and probably needs to be tightened, as you commented that you changed to a heavier gauge set of strings. The first thing to do is find out if the neck relief is concave or convex, you can do this using a long straight edge like a two foot metal ruler. Lay the edge of the ruler on the tops of the frets and have a look at how the neck bows. Concave means the rod will need to be tightened and convex means it will need to be loosened. This should be done with string tension on the neck.

Post a few photos and give an explanation as to the location of the buzzing, etc. this will help diagnose the problem or problems.

Cheers,
Cal

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Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!

I'll just throw this out, it's very possible that the years and needless mistakes an "expensive" lutherie course would shave off your learning curve would more than make up for the cost.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Hey Scott,
I consider myself a veteran rookie in that I have have built 3 guitar over a 7 year period. I like you, just wanted to fix and repair my existing herd of acoustics, and for sure, Robbie's and John Halls YT channels certainly helped, but I also want to highly recommend some of Dan Erlewine's DVDs that you can get from Stewart McDonald as well. Right now, the one on acoustic set ups and step by step nut making may be just what you are looking for. They really helped me because while I had some repair books to reference, the light really came on when I could see the actual process take place in a video. Also, I second that while you may not plan on actually building a guitar at this stage, by doing so it opens up a whole new level of understanding and familiarity with the guitar. Also, I took a class from an experienced luthier when I built my first one, and I think this was the way to go. You can certainly do it yourself using books and DVD, but there's nothing like having someone teaching and guiding you, and getting you on the right path if you make a wrong turn.

Good luck,
Kurt

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_____________________________

Kurt Thomas

"There's a first time for everything even if you do it by mistake."

That's awesome, Cal. I will try to post some pics in a day or two. I did look at it from the side and the string is almost flat against the frets all the way down to the 15th fret or so.

Interestingly, no sooner had I joined this board than the top herringbone binding on my 1991 HD-28 starting coming up this last weekend at a jam. I have to figure out what glue to use and how to hold it in place as the glue is setting.

Thanks again, will be in touch soon,
Scott

Since you are in Los Angeles, and therefore close to excellent repair shops, I think you should take the Martin binding job to someone with experience. You can practice repairs on less expensive guinea pigs.

Don, I hear you, and I've been leaning in that direction. I just had my Les Paul set up by a fantastic guy named David Neely. The action also needs to be set up too, plus I need to reactivate the old pu inside the box.

A very wise piece of advice, and I have the funds too.

Thanks Again,
Scott