David Whiteman, Guitar Maker

Adam's guitar - setting the neck

2012-01-13T15:59:00.002Z

We are well into 2012 and the first cold weather of the year is upon us. I am in a nice warm workshop and the cold winter sunshine looks lovely through my workshop window. The year has started with a flurry of minor repairs to run along side the guitars I am making.

The picture is from the end of last year and shows the neck being fitted to Adam's cedar topped guitar. On this particular model I used a dovetail join, rather than the more traditional integral neck. I do this because it gives me more control over fitting the top and also makes it easier (as the top is fitted after the back) to clean up the inside of the box.

Fitting a neck is a complex and at times frustrating process. The angle of the neck in relation to the body is crucial, as an incorrectly angled neck will throw the bridge off centre. The uplift of the neck must be correct too, as this determines the bridge and saddle height. Finally, the fit and appearance of the join must be good as well. In the picture I am using a simple and wonderfully simple tool that I designed and made myself. A straight and stable baton of Douglas fir fitted with 3 screws; one at the nut, one at the twelfth fret (both set to the anticipated fingerboard thickness) and one at the bridge. It makes aligning the neck pretty much foolproof and gives me great pleasure to use.

Workshop in the depths of winter...

2011-12-15T16:02:00.006Z

Today is the winter solstice and that marks the time when I start to wind down in the workshop, for a few days at least. I can never resist sneaking off into the workshop for long though. I am going to regrind many of my edge tools, put some new shelving under the work benches, make some bridges and get 2 guitars set up and strung. Oh, and polishing of course...

And so, I wish you seasons greetings, and thank you all for your interest and support over the past year, and leave you with this link to a Christmas song, sung by Kate Rusby. She plays a guitar made by the fine English guitar maker, Peter Barton, one of those rare makers who has gained respect as a builder of both classical and steel string guitars.

Louis Panormo copy, polished and strung

2011-12-15T15:51:00.013Z

I recently finished this Panormo copy, the full story of which can be found here. I'm delighted with this guitar, both in terms of its sound and playability. It is a fairly accurate copy, if copy is the most appropriate term. Perhaps replica or facsimile are better, or just 'guitar in the style of...'? There are some differences from the original, such as the choice of Indian rosewood for the back and ribs, and the back is solid rather than rosewood veneered onto pine, although some Panormos featured this style of construction.

Although not usually required by modern players, the turned bone or ivory strap buttons are an unusual and distinctive feature of Panormo guitars. The 2 small buttons mounted on the back were intended to have an old guitar string strung between them, which could then be rested on a belt buckle or something similar, thus supporting the guitar. The large end button would have held one end of a strap; the other end being tied to the headstock.

Many 19th century guitars feature pin bridges, where the string is held in place by small wooden pins, rather than being tied as they are on a contemporary guitar. It is these differences that make this type of guitar so much fun to make, as they represent a subtle change from the guitars I normally build. A Panormo bridge is really rather more complex than a modern bridge, and is very distinctive and unique.

The top model produced by the Panormo workshop featured mother of pearl embellishments in the rosette but I opted to go for the all wood version. The picture above shows the guitar strung, but the label is not yet installed.

The picture below shows the end button, which is much larger than anything you would see on a modern instrument. Many years ago I acquired some old and broken chess pieces, and I have fabricated this button out of one such piece. It really does look the part.

This instrument is currently for sale. Please contact me for more details.

(Sold December 2011)

In (and out) of the workshop...

2011-12-14T19:10:00.013Z

Earlier this week I burnished up Julio's guitar and today I will be fitting Alesi tuners, a nut and saddle and then stringing it for the first time. The shellac finish is looking highly polished and I couldn't resist taking this picture. My tools reflect rather nicely as does the lamp and the workshop clock!

I recently paid a visit to David Dyke over in East Sussex. David has been one of the leading musical instrument maker suppliers for many years now, and many makers who have visited his place in Horam will recognise the scene below.

On this visit I was accompanied by Mike Francis who made a guitar with me a few years ago. Mike has recently returned from a year learning guitar making at Newark College, and had all sorts of tales to tell of his guitar making adventures there...

This is David's packing bench. Note the high-tech scales and the rolls of different gauges of fret wire hanging from the ceiling. I was paying a fleeting visit and only needed a few small items, but the next time I visit I will take more pictures as there are always exciting things to see.

The picture above shows a bridge being glued on to a rosewood and spruce guitar that has a story to it. A few months ago I was commissioned to complete this unfinished instrument, the maker having died some time earlier. His friend, who had been left the guitar, wished to have it completed in memory of the maker. I had made an initial assessment of the guitar, but it was only when I was looking at it the following morning that I realised that there was a signature on the endblock and that the guitar maker was Richard Slack. Although I did not know him well, we had met on various occasions over the past 20 years at local guitar events. Richard turned his hand to making many different types of musical instruments (I remember admiring a fine hurdy gurdy he had made) but I think he was best known for his classical guitars. I had seen him last about 5 years ago when I visited his workshop in Worthing.

Completing this guitar has been a thought provoking process and I have taken as much care as I can with this guitar. That Richard will never hear this guitar is a sad thought indeed but I am sure many of us will leave things unfinished or unresolved. I strung it for the first time earlier this week and to my great delight it sounded lovely; no one could be more pleased than me.

Adam's guitar-headstock

2011-11-26T21:50:00.007Z

I am posting a number of pictures of this guitar, as Adam is unable to visit the workshop and see progress for himself.

I very much enjoy making necks. When all is said and done, a guitar neck is a fairly straightforward bit of carpentry so I can relax and just enjoy working the timber and using the tools. The headstock design is not my own. I first saw it on a guitar by the late Martin Fleeson, and the most famous exponent of the design is the great French maker Daniel Friederich. Last year I was chatting with the German guitar maker Andreas Kirschner and we noted that we both used this design. 'Why not?' laughed Andreas, 'it's the best there is!'
The head facing is some bookmatched cocobolo that I cut recently from some off cuts of large boards that I acquired, many years ago, from Bob Smith at Timberline in Kent. I have about 15 sets of back and ribs of this stuff and all of it is quarter sawn like this head facing. This picture also shows the cedar neck; the black strip in the centre is a carbon fibre rod that I use to add a little extra strength to the neck. The wood for the neck itself is stunning, perfect in fact. The flecks that you can see running across the neck are medullary ray figure and show just how well quartered this neck is.

Here are the string ramps being carved. I love the simple sculptural process of making these ramps. Although they are essentially practical (to provide clearance for the strings as they run down from the nut to the machine heads) they provide an elegance and grace to the finished head. I always enjoy carving through the head facing and revelling the lamination of veneers.

Adam's guitar-bindings

2011-11-26T21:42:00.008Z

Here are a few pictures of the guitar I am making for Adam when it was being bound. I have chosen flamed koa for the bindings; I love the rich colour against the dark Indian rosewood and the rippled figure in the wood is a delight. The humble clothes peg makes a wonderful clamp as the above picture shows. This is a rather laborious way of making up bindings but the finished effect is well worth it.

I know I have shown a similar picture to this before but I couldn't resist adding another one. I much prefer using cloth tape to hold the binding in place whilst gluing as I can apply a lot of all round pressure using this method. Visitors to the workshop who witness this process are most intrigued by the sight of a trussed up guitar. I remember one rather shocked visitor voicing concerns that she had stumbled on some bizarre ceremonial guitar making ritual. It took some time to convince her that it was an everyday guitar making practice.

And finally, the finished purfling and binding. The koa will come alive under the polish and provide an elegant but understated edge to the guitar. Koa is a beautiful timber from Hawaii and has been used for ukuleles and steel string guitars for many years. When I started making guitars it was very rare to see it in the UK, but the internet has made this special timber readily available to makers. I love it and feel privileged to use it in my guitars.

In the workshop-Adams guitar

2011-11-08T22:04:00.012Z

I have been meaning to post these pictures for some time now, but working out how to use the new camera and keeping up with tasks in the workshop has prevented me from doing so. These pictures are of Adam's guitar, which has a Western red cedar soundboard and Indian rosewood back and ribs. These pictures were taken some time ago; the guitar will be ready for polishing by the end of this week. The rosette is a simple but elegant one. It harks back to Torres, but its strong simplicity has a very contemporary feel to it. I make my rosettes in a jig and then inlay them whole into the soundboard. The cut you can see in the rosette allows for easier fitting and is completely hidden under the fingerboard once the instrument is complete.

Here is a picture of the finished soundboard and the back behind it. I still use a fairly traditional strutting pattern and many familiar elements can be seen in my strutting. One of my main interests at the moment is adjusting the positioning of the 3 lower bout cross bars in relation to the soundboard qualities. The positioning of the bar directly beneath the bridge is particularly crucial. I am conducting experiments on my test bed guitar to nail this down more precisely. I have been using this pattern for about 5 years and it gives me the beauty of sound that I love, with a power and dynamic range which many contemporary players require.

Here is a rare action shot! I do not use a full form to build the guitar, which I find cumbersome to use. I have a base board with a small number of locating dowels that hold the ribs in place whilst the end blocks are glued in. In this picture I am cutting the notches in the linings into which the back bars will fit. Those of you who know me well will gasp the at appearance of glasses. Years of close work have caught up with me so I now have this new bit of crucial workshop equipment.

This picture shows the linings and end block. It also shows the laminated rib construction that I use on most of my guitars. The end block is given a few coats of shellac for no other reason than I like the look of it through the soundhole. With the notches cut I am now ready to finally fit and glue the back, before moving on to the top linings and soundboard fitting.

Walnut guitars

2011-11-03T19:03:00.003Z

A couple of guitars have recently been finished in the workshop that have used walnut for the back and sides. Neither have been made by me; they are the work of Lawrence (above) and Frank. Lawrence has recently relocated to Australia and we finished his guitar with a week or two to spare before he left. The guitar worked out beautifully; spruce, black walnut and a maple neck, with an elegant African blackwood soundhole inlay. I do hope this has survived the journey out to Australia.

Frank's guitar has a rather more complicated story. Having already completed a fabulous Macassar ebony 6 string, Frank decided to build on that success by following up with a 12 string using maple and walnut for the back and ribs. I can't quite remember all the twists and turns of this project, but it started as a large bodied 12 string, and ended up as a very fine 6 string tenor guitar. Just the middle courses are doubled.

This picture shows Frank's fine workmanship and the elegant rosewood bridge. Below is the instrument about five minutes after being strung up for the very first time. This is always an exciting moment for any maker, marking the culmination of many hours of work. Frank had come straight from work, hence the smart shirt!

Louis Panormo copy

2011-10-13T14:07:00.011+01:00

Rebuilding this copy of a Panormo guitar is a project that I have been working on for the past year, when I have had an occasional bit of spare time in the workshop. It is something that I have been meaning to do for years but it has always got pushed to the bottom of the list.
I originally built this guitar in 1991 as a way of learning more about the guitars of Louis Panormo, and to extend my repertoire as a guitar maker. Having completed the guitar and proudly strung it up for the first time, I quickly lent it to a player for some concerts. Sadly, he almost immediately dropped it and it was returned to me with the soundboard irreparably damaged. Having put all that work into building the guitar only to see it smashed ensured that I didn't have the heart to repair it, and so I put it in a corner and forgot about it. There have been several occasions since then when I have been close to throwing it away, but have never quite managed to do so. I am pleased to say that it close to being strung up again.

Had this been an original Panormo I would have repaired the soundboard, but with this modern replica it was preferable to replace the soundboard. I hadn't been happy with the original soundhole embellishment so this gave me the chance to produce something a bit better. The picture above shows the new soundboard just before I glued it to the body of the instrument.

I'm pleased to say that this 'new' guitar is a considerable improvement on the original instrument I made and I am very much looking forward to stringing it up again. The polishing is complete and the bridge is glued on; I am just waiting for tuners.

I haven't found a new owner for this guitar yet but I hope that this time it will be looked after properly.

(This guitar has now been sold)

friday evening

2011-09-30T17:39:00.001+01:00

My main computer comes back tomorrow (the power on button failed - reassuringly low tech stuff) and I will be able to plug the new camera into it. I have been without a camera for a couple of months since I dropped my old one on a hard chalk and flint path on the South Downs.

This is the end of an auspicious week, where the blog achieved more monthly page views than ever before. I have very much enjoyed writing about my workshop and all that goes on in it, and have been thrilled with the interest that has been shown by people from all over the world. It seems to have provided inspiration for some, valuable information for others and an insight into another world for many. Thank you for taking the time to read it.

The picture at the top of this post is an old one and shows linings being glued in.

Birds-eye-maple guitar

2011-09-08T13:46:00.002+01:00

I have recently sent this guitar to Guitar Salon International in Santa Monica and I thought I should post some pictures of it as it is a striking guitar. GSI are one of the leading classical guitar dealers and have rightly established a fine reputation for their knowledge and professionalism. I have been dealing with GSI for many years now (I think since 1998) and it is always a pleasure to work with them. Tim Miklaucic established GSI in the mid 80's and has always had a sumptuous stock of magnificent guitars, both new and vintage. I think it is very telling that GSI's style and ethos has been emulated by others, and their website has set the standard for others to follow. All guitar enthusiasts should take a look at their site which has a huge amount of fabulous pictures, information and recordings.

This particular guitar is my traditional model, and whilst it is not a slavish copy of any particular instrument, it does draw on a couple of Torres guitars that I have worked on (I must write something about those), the 1941 Hauser which I have written about, and the guitars of Simplicio. GSI have been so kind as to describe this guitar as 'an exceptional guitar by all standards' which I am very flattered by.

Yew

2011-08-19T19:33:00.006+01:00

A few days ago I had a break from the workshop and spent some time walking through Kingley Vale, the largest ancient yew forest in southern Europe . Amongst the trees there is a grove of majestic, twisted yews that are believed to be around 2000 years old. English yew is a remarkable tree and has become immersed in English folklore.

The wood of the yew is most commonly used for the traditional longbow and I have promised myself that one day I will make one. It is not widely used in guitar making, although I regard it as an English 'exotic' timber that can rival some rosewoods in appearance. It is, of course, a softwood but with an even and smooth texture. Often it shows wild graining and it is difficult getting clear timber big enough for guitar backs and ribs. I use it for small details such as purfling and binding, or for headstock facings, such as the one above.

Making guitar parts

2011-07-31T21:22:00.012+01:00

Last week I spent some time producing a number of components for future guitars. Normally I make in batches of 2 instruments at a time, although at the moment I am making 1 guitar and finishing off various long term projects at the same time. The picture above shows sets of ribs for future orders; the nearest ones, that look a bit blotchy at the moment, are satinwood. Most of the time these days I bend ribs in my side bender rather than on the traditional bending iron. It is quicker, more reliable on highly figured woods and releases me to work on more important parts of the guitar. I can bend ribs quickly by hand (I should be able to - I've bent enough of them!) but the bending machine takes a few minutes of of my time, and then I work on something else until it has cooled down. In the winter it helps to heat the workshop as well!
The bending machine I use is found in many guitar makers workshops these days. Designed by American guitar maker Charles Fox, it uses light bulbs as its' heat source and really is a tremendous bit of equipment.

I have also been busy preparing a bundle of fingerboards for future use. I have featured my table saw on a recent post, but I enjoy using it so much I thought I would mention it again. I have just cut the fret slots in 6 fingerboards and each board took about 3 minutes. It really saves time doing it this way and is very accurate.

I have listened to heated debates amongst makers concerning the use of machines verses traditional hand tools. There is a school of thought that believes a guitar will be better if made entirely by hand, and that any use of machinery will impair the quality of the final instrument. This is not a belief I share. Much as I love and respect fine hand tools and their usage, I am very happy to make use of machines and new manufacturing innovation and technology.

Herman Hauser

2011-07-22T21:57:00.003+01:00

Hauser has a special place for me as the first great guitar I held, played and examined was a guitar that Hauser made in 1935. Once, as a young student in London, I was chatting to Colin Cooper, then the editor of Classical Guitar magazine. He mentioned that Victoria Kingsley had a Hauser, and a Bouchet. I duly wrote to her, asking if I could see the guitars, to which she kindly agreed. I visited her in Hampstead one dark winters evening and she very trustingly left me alone with her instruments for as long as I wished. She also provided me with a cup of delicious Earl Grey tea, served in a delicate china cup. Sadly the light was bad, and my photographic equipment primitive. The picture above is the only one I have. I took notes and measurement, expecting a great secret to be revealed: I am still waiting for that revelation.
Below is a picture of a page of the notebook into which I made notes and measurements, and the note from Victoria Kingsley. They are resting on the template I made of this guitar, and that I still have and use in the workshop.
I regret that the guitar was strung with the oldest strings imaginable, but what I regret more is not talking more to Miss Kingsley who had led the most remarkable life, which was eventually to run to 100 years. I will always be grateful to her for her generosity and trust in allowing me to learn from this beautiful guitar.

Hauser is one of those names that in guitar making circles has gained almost mythical status. Undoubtedly one of the most copied makers of the 20th century, his guitars have been used by hugely influential players, of which Andres Segovia and Julian Bream are the most notable. The prices that his guitars fetch are massive, and many are bought by collectors rather than players.

I have recently been going through my archive of papers and photographs and taking the opportunity of throwing quite a lot of material out. The pictures in particular have provoked quite a few trains of thought; none more so than these pictures of a Herman Hauser guitar that I worked on 4 or 5 years ago. Built in 1941, this guitar is pretty representative of Hauser's output and includes his characteristic rosette, headstock and inlay. Whilst it was in the workshop I took the opportunity to take detailed measurements and from these produced a full size working drawing. There were no surprises with this guitar, and anyone who is familiar with drawings of Hauser guitars by Richard Brune and Jeff Elliot will immediately recognise the details on my drawing.

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The 1941 guitar was a pleasure to have in the workshop. The back and ribs were Indian rosewood, a timber that I have seen on a number of Hauser's instruments. The neck was mahogany with a tight, precise V-join. The top was of good quality but had a number of previously repaired cracks. It was thicknessed to 2.5 mm, thinning to 2.2 around the periphery. It should be noted that the instrument had been refinished, although I felt that the top had not been substantially altered. And how did it sound? Well-balanced, refined, not loud (nor quiet), a deep bass register that had not become flabby...to be honest I suspect it was past its best, but it is still a fine guitar. A hugely important piece of classical guitar history but no longer a concert guitar in my opinion.

2 years ago I was walking through Central Park in New York, wondering whether I had time to fit in a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art that was close by. They hold a fabulous collection of guitars, including Segovia's '37 Hauser, which he described as 'the greatest guitar of our epoch'.

The more I thought about it, the more cross I became with that statement and began to see it as rather destructive. I suspect Segovia was saying more about his own involvement with this guitar than anything else but it set the seeds of a grand distortion.

I, like many others, have been brought under the indefinable spell of Hauser, and have certainly played and heard some beautiful guitars that he made. He understood the materials he was working with, and he understood the nature of the instrument he was making. However, Hauser's qualities remain elusive and one wonders sometimes how his, or any maker's status for that matter, should really be evaluated.

2011-07-17T18:54:00.009+01:00

Sunday evening and I am planning out the week ahead in the workshop. The main task tomorrow will be to grain fill Julio's guitar. These are some of the last pictures I will post of it until it is polished and strung up. It is one of those guitars that I am really looking forward to polishing as the woods I selected for it are subtly striking. The picture above shows the guitar being fretted: I use a metal headed hammer and and a soft-faced hammer. The metal hammer for the first tap in and the soft hammer for the final seating blow. Fretting always makes me thing of my old teacher Herbert Schwarz, who, when showing students how to install frets, would almost invariably end up with a flourish of hammer blows -'da dadalada da, bang, bang'! He would them glance around the workshop with a wry smile to see if anyone had noticed. I still do it now and again, even when I am alone in the workshop. I like to think that Herbert notices and smiles, wherever he is.

The metal pincers, used for nipping off the fret ends, were bought when I was a fresh faced student in 1984. Made in China, the were bought from a little hardware shop on Lower Marsh, just behind Waterloo Station in London. They're cheap rubbish really, but they work and are never far from my workbench.

Here is a picture of the fret slots being cut in the ebony fingerboard. The motor is taken from a very cheap table saw (the table and the blade being virtually useless) and a bespoke MDF table build around it. The sliding carriage is the simplest possible but is spot-on accurate. The time saved by using this saw, rather than doing it by hand, is so considerable that I wouldn't want to return to doing it with my specially set Roberts and Lee hand saw, however much I love that particular tool.

And finally, here is the heel cap being glued on Julio's guitar. The Cocobolo bindings look rather fine here; cocobolo is one of my favourite woods for bindings although I am getting a bit low on stock. In the background you can see a fingerboard being glued to another guitar. I use a polyurethane glue for fingerboards and you can see all the squeeze-out foaming around the neck and fingerboard.

Test guitar

2011-07-13T09:25:00.004+01:00

I have had this guitar kicking around for about a year now, but I only got around to stringing it for the first time last week. The idea of building a test bed guitar has appealed for a long time and I really am looking forward to working with this. The top can be changed in about 15 minutes and the list of things I want to test is growing and growing. For a month or so however I am just going to play around and get a few strange ideas out of my system! Ultimately , a disciplined approach is required to get the most from this. I'll post more on this later...

It has already been a full week. On Monday John Beckett from Northern Ireland visited the workshop with one of his guitars. John and I have been talking on the phone and via email for about ten years now but this was the first time we had actually met. It is always nice to talk about guitars and to see other makers work. The guitar John had with him was spruce and Indian rosewood, and conventional in design and build. It had a fine,balanced sound with plenty of volume and sustain.

For the rest of this week I shall be preparing two guitars for polishing. It always astonishes me how long it takes to clean up guitars and the grain filling process is one that really can be quite laborious. I strap on my dust mask, put some music on the CD player and just get on with it. (This week the workshop playlist will alternate between Julian Bream and the Foo Fighters!)

trussed and bound

2011-07-07T06:54:00.000+01:00

At the beginning of this week I completed the binding on the two guitars that I am building at the moment, including this guitar for Julio. Both these guitars have cocobolo bindings, which is one of my favorite woods for this job. I know I've posted pictures of this operation before but it always makes for a good photograph.
Going back even further are these shots of the back inlay going in. Although I used to make the channel with a scraping chisel, I now prefer to use a router to make this cut. I don't have any problems with using routers (or bandsaws, piller drills etc) to build my instruments. There is a school of thought that says that a hand made guitar should be made using traditional hand tools only, but this is a not a view to which I subscribe.There are guitar making tasks that are made genuinely more efficient by using machinery, and the time saved can be more usefully spent on operations where the precise touch of the makers hand is needed.
This is a picture of the back strip fitted but not glued as yet. You can also see the rather stunning rosewood, which has some lovely colours and a nice tight grain. It is very well quartered too. as can be seen by the medullary ray figure.

Old School Guitars launch

2011-06-25T07:12:00.018+01:00

Recently I attended the launch of Old School Guitars in Eastbourne. This is the new venture of David Crozier, a man who has established a great reputation in the UK and beyond for his knowledge of fine guitars. He has now started this new venture and very good it looks too. David has a passion for all things guitar; he has a fine guitar collection of his own and plays in several local bands. Over the past few years he has added guitar making and repair to this, and has just started building his third instrument in my workshop. David also has a passion for treating his customers with great care and respect - surely the way business should be done.

Tucked away in the old part of Eastbourne, the inside of this mews building, the home of Old School Guitars, is full of examples of the very best steel string and electric guitars. My eye was caught by an Eggle Saluda 'Book of Kells'. Someone else was attracted to it as well as it was sold before I arrived home! The picture above sums it up; David (in the white shirt) enthusing over a Patrick James Eggle guitar, and lots of happy guitar players!

The picture below shows part of David's in-shop work bench. I must have a word with him about this as it really is far too neatly laid out, unlike my own chaotic workbench. Old School Guitars is a delight to see and I wish it every success.

www.oldschoolguitars.co.uk

4

Martin 0-15 - Neck reset

2011-06-20T16:58:00.000+01:00

Last night I glued backs on the 2 guitars I am currently building, and today I have been preparing them for binding. The workshop sound system has been pumping out Bob Dylan (and the Carter Family) I don't always listen to classical guitar music you know. It seems appropriate therefore to feature this Martin O-15 which I recently worked on, although I'm not sure that the big Zim ever played one.
This guitar was made in the 50's and was one of the plainest, simplest guitars that Martin ever made. Top, back and ribs of mahogany, no bindings and the simplest of inlays meant that this was an affordable but quality instrument. Like a fair number of old Martins, this was in need of a neck reset, plus a few other small repairs.
The first part of the neck reset process is to loosen the fingerboard where it is attached to the body. I heat the fingerboard( having removed the frets) and then get in under the fingerboard with a hot palette knife. Once the fingerboard has started to separate, I carefully drive a couple of soft spruce wedges underneath and apply a little water and more heat. This can sometimes be the most taxing part of a neck reset, although this one separated without any great bother.
Just for the record, here is a picture of the inside of the guitar which shows the tidy workmanship inside the guitar.
Here is the neck being removed. A 2mm hole is drilled through the 15th fret into the back of the dovetail joint. This allows steam to be driven into the join and so soften the glue. The steam is generated by a domestic coffee maker; the jig and the rubber hose and nozzle are from StewMac. Once the steam has softened the glue, the jig, which puts pressure on the underside of the heel, pushes the neck out of the end block and the neck is removed.
The joint is now cleaned and the shoulders of the heel adjusted to achieve the correct angle on the neck. Because of this adjustment, the joint invariably needs packing with slips of veneer although i have seen a fair few Martins that were factory fitted with shims of card and paper.
1 plastic dot was missing from the 5th fret position so I made another one to fit. It is amazing how long it takes to make a small detail like this, but the end result is worth it. I also patched in some very bad fretboard wear. Some repairers simply fill the hole with epoxy, but I like to let in a perfectly matched piece of rosewood. The picture below is somewhat blurred, but you get the idea.
And here is a shot of the guitar in its finished state, restrung and ready for the next 50 years of music making.

John's guitar - not the end, but the beginning

2011-06-11T22:40:00.001+01:00

I have been featuring a guitar on this blog that I was making for John Mills, the Australian composer. It is now time for the end of my part of the story as the guitar is finally finished, and a few weeks ago John picked the guitar up from the workshop in person. I have really enjoyed building this guitar and the internet has provide a fantastic way of involving John with that building process.
Commissioning a guitar is an act of faith, but then so is building it. As a maker you do your best to build the finest instrument you can and the best you have ever made; there is no point in doing anything else. What you can't always anticipate is the players expectations; the sound they have in their head. Detailed email exchanges with John helped to pin down the sort of instrument that he was after, and there were practical things to be considered such as fingerboard width and neck profiles. John already had his much loved David Rubio guitar, a maker I very much admire, so that provided a good reference point for us both.
Stringing up a new guitar is a moment that still excites me as much as it did when I strung my first guitar many years ago. With this guitar I was immediately pleased and I enjoyed playing it in the weeks before Johns visit. However the first opportunity I had to stand back and hear it was when John played it for the first time. The picture above captures those moments.
John is an accomplished musician and the first thing that struck me when he began to play was the quality of tone he produced; something I always like. To my relief John quickly pronounced that the instrument was to his liking, and we were both relived! Just before John and Pam were due at the workshop, I realised I didn't have any pictures of the finished guitar and although the light was poor, I took a few quick shots for my own records.
A few days ago John called to say that they were all back in Australia and that he was really enjoying the guitar. I hope that continues for many years; thats the beginning of another story.

Linings and tentelones

2011-06-09T21:16:00.008+01:00

I have just returned from a few days away in the West Country with Caroline and the children, and so I am feeling refreshed and pleased to be back in the workshop. I have just joined up a set of satinwood and another set of Malaysian blackwood for a couple of future orders. I mustn't get too distracted by them yet however as I have other guitars to finish first and Julio's guitar is one of them. The picture above shows the inside of the guitar just after the tentelones have been fitted. This is the traditional Spanish method of holding the soundboard onto the ribs. You can see from this picture that I do not use a form for assembling the guitar. I find that a form gets in the way so I would rather not use one. The small blocks around the outside of the top are enough to locate the sides, and using this method obliges the maker to be very accurate with his rib bending and assembly.

Once the tentelones are installed I move onto the linings that join the back onto the ribs. As this is my traditional model I am using a single mahogany strip, but I will very often double this to add stiffness to the bent rib. I have to be absolutely honest here and say that preparing back linings is perhaps my least favorite job on the guitar; I really have to grit my teeth and get on with it. The picture above shows the lining fresh out of the bending machine. The dark residue visible on some of them is rosewood oil from the steel slats of the side bender. The mahogany that I use for linings came from a parcel of boards I picked up from a craftsman who had been using the material for some restoration work that he had undertaken in the historic Brighton Royal Pavilion. I enjoy using timber that has a story attached to it, and I have along personal association with Brighton having grown up there.
So, finally the back linings are in and clamped in place. I love using these little G clamps. The work beautifully and are lovely to hold and work with. With all the internal details complete I can now turn my attention to the back...

2011-05-27T20:27:00.007+01:00

Friday evening and I'm shattered. This week has been something of a watershed; various restorations finished, all the timber picked out of the stacks for Adams guitar, paperwork done, dusted and forgotten about and guitars placed in the hands of their new owners.
Finally word came through that Ryan's guitar has arrived safely in South Korea; that's a picture of it above. Ryan had been pipped at the post to a second hand guitar of mine but I was able to provide him with this one from 1987. It was one of the first guitars I made professionally and I used it for exhibitions and demonstrations..... I then lent it to a professional player for concert work, at the end of which it was in a used condition, so I kept it for myself. Intending to have it as my own playing guitar was a fine sentiment but within months I had used the tuners on another guitar and so it has remained unstrung for over 20 years. I'm pleased that it will now be played and enjoyed.
This week I actually heard some live guitar music. Genaro gave me a ticket to hear his friend Edoardo Catemario play in the Brighton festival at St Nicholas Church, the oldest church in Brighton. Edoardo has a fine collection of guitars and on a previous occasion I heard him play on a Simplicio. On this occasion he was playing on a new guitar imported by Paul Gregory. I loved hearing the Suite Espanola by Gaspar Sanz and it was nice to be reacquainted with the Castelnuovo Tedesco Capriccio diabolico which I hadn't heard for years.
Walking through the darkening streets of Brighton after the concert I marvelled at the exotic place that Brighton has become. I have known it all my life, but sometimes it seems like a foreign country, which I think is a good thing.

buisness as usual

2011-05-14T17:35:00.009+01:00

Having been without a usable computer for about a month I can honestly say that it has been a great pleasure not to have one, and I am slightly saddened by the fact that it is now fully serviceable again. Still, it is good to be able to post the odd blog again ( I have had many concerned enquiries about my health) and I have been dealing with a backlog of emails from all four corners.
The workshop has seen a lot of activity however and progress is being made an all fronts. The picture above is of Julio's guitar - the little blocks around the periphery are locating aids for fitting the ribs. I'll be honest and point out that this guitar is rather further on now, but I will save those pictures for a few days time. John's guitar is finished and strung and John is due to pick it up in the next few days; now that is exciting- I hope he is as pleased with the guitar as I am. Repairs have always been there in the background; an endless collection of neck resets and a really satisfying job on Rays hand built guitar. He has just started playing again (its never too late) and it was a pleasure to bring his guitar back to a usable condition.

Work in progress...

2011-04-01T18:59:00.003+01:00

It's been a busy and productive week in the workshop and right at the close of play on Friday afternoon I completed the work on the headstock of Julio's guitar. I also received the tuners from Nicolo Alessi and dry fitted them for the picture. A good way to end the week. I have just checked my do do list that I made at the beginning of the week and found that I have done nothing on the list; now how can that be?
Here is the top of the same guitar in the go bar press. This is the typical Hauser/Torres 7 fan strut layout. Working on the soundboard totally absorbs me and requires full concentration. The struts that are being glued on here are all selected and split from some very old, dry blocks of European spruce. I normally spend a couple of days a year just making up sets of struts for future guitars. I like to do this as one gets really tuned into the differences in weight and stiffness of each block. I then select the set I want when I select and thickness the soundboard.

V joint

2011-03-07T17:00:00.008Z

Here are the first pictures of Julio's guitar which is a Hauser type instrument in spruce and rosewood. With the top and back joined up, I thought I would complete the neck and for this I have chosen some rather striking figured mahogany. It was cut from some extra thick stock which I needed for the v-joint that had been requested.
As a sixteen year old, I was fascinated by the book 'Guitars-From the Renaissance to Rock' by Tom and Mary Evans. It included a photo essay on a youthful Jose Romanillos in his workshop. There were detailed pictures of Jose making a v-joint but it was some time before I attempted this technique for myself.
Once I was at the London Collage of Furniture I had no excuse for not making one of these head joints. My first v-joint took forever and probably wasn't the best in the world, but I was proud of it. At the time I was making it we had a visit to the workshop by the esteemed Spanish guitar maker Paulino Bernabe, who was brought along by that great figure of the English guitar scene, Ivor Mairants. Bernabe was communicating through a translator (Jeff Giddings, the workshop technician. Jeff was a keen fiddle player, instrument maker, Morris dancer and many other things.) Bernabe stopped at my bench and I could here him and Jeff deep in conversation about my work. Not speaking Spanish myself, I imagined the great Luthier to be commenting on my great skill, particularly for one so young. Perhaps he would even offer me a job in his workshop...
After the visitors had gone, I rushed up to Jeff and eagerly asked what Paulino Bernabe had been saying about my v-joint. Jeff laughed as he told me; 'he wondered why you were bothering!'
Bernabe had a point as the commoner scarf joint is so much quicker to accomplish and that's the head joint that I do as standard. Every so often it is nice to do the v-joint as it shows your technical skill as a chisel master, but in a restrained and subtle way. I like that - a quiet and gentle flourish. Today I am expecting to take delivery of a set of tuners from Nicolo in Italy and these are to be fitted to this head. This will be a striking guitar in many ways.

Ries (and Ries copy)

2011-03-07T16:53:00.006Z

My copy of the Ries terz is coming on quite nicely. Making this guitar is an indulgence on my part and I only work on it late at night or when something in the workshop is gluing. I am enjoying doing something a little bit different; it makes you re-evaluate the main body of your work and you always learn something. The thing that has absorbed me so far with this guitar has been the considerable arching on the back. Even by 19th century standards this is quite considerable and makes fitting the back more problematic. The back on the original guitar is solid maple and not spruce veneered with a decorative timber, as was often the case. I need to push on with this as Jim is cracking on with the restoration of the original and it might not be in the workshop much longer. This picture really shows the difference in colour between the aged spruce and maple, and the new wood.
I have very much enjoyed doing the neck on this instrument. The figure of 8 peghead always pleases me and the v-join is always a challenge. The original neck is maple, but then ebonised with black French polish, which was used to mimic ebony veneer. In places the polish has worn through to a reveal a sumptuous golden maple underneath. I am itching to polish my reproduction neck black.
It's the weekend so I am out of the workshop. Disturbed and troubled by the scenes of devastation from Japan, I have gravitated towards a gentle and quite day with family; a 12 mile bike ride along the coast followed by cake baking with the children on my return. The spring-like weather is fabulous, but is not always conducive to getting things done in the workshop.

New Arrivals

2011-03-07T16:46:00.006Z

I like getting parcels delivered and this week I received loads of nuts and saddles through the post. The bone is really nice quality; not porous or chalky like some I have seen. A month or so ago I took delivery of some sets of neck adjustment screws for Staufer type guitars as I intend to make one some time this year for my own amusement. These mechanisms are made by Rubner in Germany, who also make tuners, amongst other things. It was a pleasure doing business with Rubner; efficient, knowledgeable and friendly.
Here is an example of a Staufer neck that I saw recently. The neck adjustment mechanism is virtually identical to the ones that I have just purchased. Really it is quite a crude mechanism and I have seen rather more sophisticated ( and stable ) adjustment systems on Lacote guitars. The neck is loose in the neck pocket and is held in place by the screw and the wooden locating tongue that you can see in the picture. If you loosen the nut in the heel, using the clock key provided, string tension pulls the neck forward, and the action is raised. Tightening the screw therefore lowers the action.

Satinwood guitar sets

2011-02-25T21:32:00.004Z

Last week I took advantage of some early spring sunshine and drove out to Dykes luthiers Supplies in East Sussex. Dave Dyke is one of the most established tonewoods and musical instrument parts supplier in the UK, having been in operation since the early 1970's. I always enjoy going out there as he lives in a beautiful part of rural Sussex and on this occasion the landscape looked neat and full of activity. My main reason for the visit was to pick up a few bits and pieces for repair work that I had in hand; tuners, nuts and saddles and fretwire. However on a previous trip last year, I had spotted a couple of sets of really nice satinwood and had vowed to return for them. Satinwood is a lovely timber and has been used for fine furniture and decorative objects for years. Lacote used it for the backs and ribs of some of his guitars and in the early 20th century, Fransisco Simplicio used it for some of his stunningly ornate guitars and just recently some makers, including myself, have begun to favour it again.
The set pictured ( and as always it is hard to do it justice) has a lovely beeswing figure as well as the warm golden colour. I am very much looking forward to using these sets. One is already spoken for and I wouldn't be surprised if the second set goes fairly quickly as well.

French Polishing underway

2011-02-19T12:10:00.003Z

I have joked before about how I always seem to have polishing to do and this just illustrates the point. Here is John's guitar with 5 days of polish on it, so a little way to go yet before it is completed. The Amazon rosewood is beginning to look really rather fine and I am looking forward to getting it finished. In the little glass jar in the foreground is the cloth or 'rubber' that is used to apply the french polish, and on the other side of the neck is the polish itself. Polishing is one of the first things that I do when I get into the workshop each morning. I find it relaxing and allows me time to think about what else I have to do that day.

Nikolaus Georg Ries Terz guitar

2011-02-09T10:48:00.010Z

This little terz guitar was made by Ries in the mid 19th century. Nikolaus Georg Ries had been part of the Staufer workshop and the Austrian style is very apparent. The guitar behind the Ries is an anonymous Austrian guitar from (as auction catalogs would put it) the collection of gentleman. This is a sweet and simple guitar with great charm, although as the pictures show, it is in need of a little attention. This one is being restored under my supervision and I am making a copy for my own amusement. (What does a guitar maker do in his spare time? He makes a guitar.) The back and ribs are of flamed maple and have ripened to a wonderful colour which I'm afraid I have not captured in these pictures. The bridge is not original and has already been removed.

New tools, old tools part 2

2011-02-09T10:45:00.009Z

I have just had a clear out of tools (mainly carving gouges) as I needed the room. I have accumulated so many tools over the years, and have also given a good few away. I am getting to the point where I have what I need and no more. This is a good place to be.

The center piece of this picture is my Record No. 5. When I started learning guitar making at the London College of Furniture in 1984, Herbert Schwarz my tutor, sent me off to acquire a plane. That part of the east end of London had once been the centre of woodworking trades and there were still a handful of reminders from those days. Crispins Veneers in Curtain Road for example,was a wonderful example of old fashioned supplier. Contained in a ramshackle 19th century warehouse, it was full of wonderful exotic veneers, and when you had selected what you wanted, it was carefully rolled in cardboard and tied with string. Invoices were hand written, standing at a lectern and if they had been scratched out using a quill, the picture would have been complete.
One grey October day I walked up Old Street to Tyzacks tool shop and bought this plane. It wasn't a shop that you wandered round; you went up to the counter and asked for what you wanted, and waited while a man in a brown coat disappeared into the back of the shop to find the tool you had requested. I have had this plane since that day and it is the tool that my workshop centers around. Although it is just a standard mass produced plane, it is a tool that I implicitly trust; I know exactly what I can do with it; it works perfectly.
The engineers square is commonplace, but always in use and rarely in its space on the tool rack. For me this is the perfect size for most of my work, although I have a bigger one, and indeed, a smaller one.
The brass purfling cutter was made at the LCF, and if my memory serves me correctly, it was from the skilled hands of fellow student Nick Swann. Different makers swear by different designs. I like the simple functionality of this one and I am now very used to it.
And finally, at the bottom of the picture, a 1 inch Sorby paring chisel. It was Michael Gee who turned me on to paring chisels and now I wont use anything else. The length of the blade allows you to keep some distance between you and the work and gives even finer control over the cutting edge. Other makers use shorter chisels and do fine work, but this is something that works for me. The smooth boxwood handle feels cool and comfortable in the hand. Looking at the picture leaves me shocked at how much shorter the blade is than when I first bought it; many years of honing have taken their toll. Fortunately I have stockpiled a few of these and so I am confident I have a lifetime supply.

2011-02-06T00:33:00.003Z

WARNING

It has come to my attention that a guitar is being offered for sale on various auction sites listed as a David Whiteman guitar. It is almost certainly not one of mine. If you have any doubts or questions about a guitar you have purchased, or are thinking of purchasing, please contact me. I will up date this as soon as I have more information.

Ready for polishing...

2011-01-29T08:54:00.005Z

This week has been busy and I am glad that it's Saturday and I can relax a bit. Earlier this week I got John's guitar ready for finishing and the picture above shows it hanging up and waiting for a coat of shellac sealer. This stage is known as having the instrument 'in the white'; an expression that makes more sense when applied to violins, where the pale maple and spruce looks very white compared the richly varnished instrument.

The picture below shows the neck and heel after shaping was completed. These are the main tools I use to do that task. I still favour a wooden spokeshave for the main shaping. An age old design, this boxwood example is a joy to use and can remove wood quickly and accurately. The rosewood handled knife I made myself when I was a student in London and it is fantastic for carving the elegant sweep of the heel.
So now this guitar is ready for polishing (in fact I have already put the first coat on) and the Amazon rosewood is already beginning to look rather lovely. About a week a go fellow guitar maker Michael Gee phoned and one of the things we talked about was French polish. Michael is a fabulous maker who I was lucky enough to be taught by many years ago. I refer to polishing as a black art, and it really is one of those aspects of guitar making that can have you pulling your hair out on occasions. I recently heard someone say that you never properly finish French polishing a guitar;there just comes a point where you give up!

Almost complete...

2011-01-23T18:01:00.007Z

Johns guitar is now ready for filling and polishing and these few pictures show the guitar as it was on the bench at the end of last week. I always enjoy fretting and since I have acquired this soft faced hammer I am even happier. The picture above shows the last few frets being installed. The metal block in the picture is held under the fingerboard whilst the upper frets are being tapped in and helps to prevent the soundboard splitting. Regular followers of this site will know that Johns guitar has featured more than any other guitar I am making at the moment. This is due to the fact that John is on the other side of the globe and so must share in the making of his guitar by digital means!

Here is an earlier picture of the fingerboard being glued and clamped, and below is the fingerboard prior to clamping. The masking tape on the soundboard keeps the excess glue in check. The next post will show the completed guitar awaiting polish...

Happy New Year!

2011-01-15T07:46:00.002Z

I think the fact that I have only just been able to post a Happy New Year message is pretty much indicative as to how busy the past few weeks have been, and at the moment it very much looks as though 2011 is going to proceed in a similar fashion.
Johns guitar is nearly finished and ready for polishing; pictures to follow in the coming week. Various small repairs have been taken in, completed and dispatched. Simon brought his Ramirez round on Saturday and we spent a happy half hour discussing guitars and kite surfing! I have also drawn a N. G. Ries terz guitar from the mid 19th century, and I intend to knock out a copy later this year. I am also gearing up to make a Stauffer copy with an adjustable neck, although as that is just for fun it will have to slot in between commissions. I will post more on these guitars soon.
Polishing continues: I am polishing a walnut and spruce guitar made by Max in my workshop. It's a lovely looking guitar and we are all keen to hear what it sounds like. Max takes the wonderful pictures on my main website including the one at the top of this post. This guitar has long gone from the workshop but its hard to resit showing it again! So a busy year in front of me-keep watching!

David Rubio, Luthier

2010-12-30T11:56:00.013Z

Recently, thanks to my friend James Westbrook, I had the opportunity of examining the log book from the archive material of extraordinary English luthier, David Rubio. The rather grand front of this book is shown above, complete with an unused Rubio rossette. Log book is perhaps not the right title for this document; it is part diary, part note book, part order book. Initially, when I opened this, I was hoping for workbench notes on instruments made or examined, but there was little of this. However, this proved to be a document that inspired, educated and moved me.

David Rubio started building guitars in New York in the early 1960s. A career in medicine had been the intention but colour blindness prevented this. Rubio's skill as a flamenco guitarist brought him into contact with guitars and guitarists, and it was almost inevitable that his interest in making musical instruments grew.

Looking at the beginning of this log book you can see the origins of Rubio's business. Most of his clients at this time were local to New York, perhaps familiar faces to Rubio from his days as a professional guitaris? He also took in repairs; Domingo Esteso is mentioned, and he must have learned much from these instruments. It is quite apparent that David Rubio's reputation and workload gathered pace rapidly. The pages of this book fill as the 1960s progress and some familiar names start to appear.

One of the most important names to appear in these pages is that of Julian Bream. The support of Bream must have been important to Rubio, but Bream was also very lucky to find a maker of Rubio's caliber, and to have guitars and lutes made for him. It is easy to imagine Rubio and Bream at the Greenwich Village workshop, discussing instruments and pinning down the details of Bream's next commission. The image is added to by a small technical sketch on one of the pages. It is a detail of a lute by Thomas Goff, and it seems likely that this was Bream's lute that Goff made for him.

Tucked into the log book are some random documents such as a business card, pictured above, with the Duns Tew address. There are some receipts for wood from Andreas Gleissner (my first batch of 50 spruce tops came from Gleissner) and a fabulous letter from an American client arranging to pick up a guitar from Rubio after his relocation to England. The happy recipient of the guitar insists that he will take David and his wife for a celebratory meal at a restaurant of their choice.

There is much to be enjoyed in this notebook, and it really has fired me up in all sorts of ways. Last year I heard Paul Fischer at the Cordefactum guitar festival in Belgium, lecturing on Rubio and this notebook adds to my knowledge of a guitar maker I have long admired. One thing that is clear is that Rubio was an incredibly hard worker and I have heard that often meals would be taken into the workshop and eaten at the bench while he worked. His passionate curiosity turned him towards early instruments, violins and keyboard instruments. He really had extraordinary talents.

Above all else, this log tells part of the story of a man's passion, of his career and his contribution to musical instrument making. I had the good fortune to meet David Rubio, albeit briefly. I was a student at the London Collage of Furniture and on one occasion David and his wife visited the musical instrument making department and had a look around the workshop. I seem to remember that he recommended we should buy a rather expensive German vice, although that was beyond our reach at that time. Since then I have worked on a number of Rubio guitars and my opinion of him grows - a man of real substance and a fine luthier.

Purfling and binding

2010-12-20T22:45:00.004Z

With the main body of John's guitar together, it has been time to move onto the purfling and binding. The picture above shows all the strips laid out on the bench. The cocobolo bindings are all cut from the same board and are in sequence, so the grain follows from one to another. It is a small detail that is missed by many, but gives me a quiet satisfaction.
The channel for the purfling is cut first and the veneer strips are glued in and held in place with pins. Then the second channel for the binding is cut and the binding is bent and fitted. I like to use cloth tape to hold the binding in place whilst gluing; it is one of those tasks that gives me great pleasure to complete.
The picture below shows the binding glued in place. The next job here is to scrape it flush with the top and rib. In this picture you can see the finely marked Amazon rosewood. and the detail in the cocobolo.

Of mandolins and other things....

2010-12-15T11:20:00.006Z

Dating from the early part of the 20th century, this flat backed mandolin is not the most distinguished instrument I have had in recently, but has given me considerable pleasure to put back into playing condition. The picture above shows how much dirt accumulates over time. The original finish on the soundboard appeared to be a coat of sealer and wax, and then added to that were years of grime, more wax and DNA. Cleaning the soundboard is a very simple but enjoyable task; half an hour gently 'washing' the front revealed the aged spruce colour. In the picture I have just completed the first quarter and the contrast is clear.
The top 2 strings were tripled rather than doubled, which for me is a great bonus as it really does give a shimmering tone.

This picture really does not do this piece of flamed mahogany justice. A while ago Frank acquired this lovely piece of mahogany from Bob Smith of Timberline. This week we cut into it and I was the lucky recipient of 3 nicely flamed necks. I just had to run a plane over one of them and revel in the beauty of it. Mahogany is a timber that I am coming to value more and more. I am so looking forward to using this material - it should be just deep enough to cut for V joints. Imagine this mahogany with a burnished French polish....!

Gluing on a back

2010-11-30T11:38:00.005Z

Here is the back to Johns guitar being glued, a job that always uses all of my wooden cam clamps. The pressure is spread by a shaped rim that sits around the edge of the guitar. I like using this method; every so often I think I ought to come up with a more elegant solution, but this is simple and it works. The only drawback is that the clamped guitar takes up a lot of room on the workbench, so I tend to glue up at the end of the day and allow the glue to cure overnight, ready for unclamping the following morning. I know some guitar makers like a jig,mold or tool for every job but I choose to work simply and not to have my workshop cluttered with equipment I only use occasionally.
Here is the back fully glued on and trimmed flush with the ribs. ( When did I start calling them ribs rather than sides...?) This is always a great stage in the build, as this is a fine opportunity to tap and flex the soundboard. Now I am thinking of the purfling and binding; I am going to use 4 matched cocobolo bindings that I know will complement the Amazon rosewood beautifully.
How much work will be done to day is unclear. Yesterday 20 cm of snow fell and brought chaos to a country not used to such weather. To my children's delight, their school shut because of the snow and it is shut again today, so playing outside (for me too) is the order of the day.

Vicente Arias

2010-11-18T18:36:00.017Z

The Vicente Arias guitar that I worked on earlier on in the year has been attracting alot of attention, so I thought I would post a few more images of it. Apparently this guitar was selected by Julian Bream for a cousin who wished to play guitar, although Bream has not been personally associated with Arias guitars to my knowledge. This is a plainly decorated guitar but the picture of the rosette illustrates the precise and delicate nature of the workmanship.

The bridge had lifted badly and so needed to be removed and re-glued. The picture above shows part of the process, and an original locating mark on the soundboard. The bridge is very dark, plain rosewood and completely unadorned.

This picture of the heel shows some delicate and graceful carving.
The label is incredibly faded and is not the later, and more familiar, 'medallion' type.
The picture below is of the headstock with a fine piece of Brazilian rosewood as the facing.
These final pictures show some internal details. The picture above shows the foot, or slipper (and some old repair cleats) and the picture below is a detail of the back bar, bent lining and side support.

The wrong sort of strings...

2010-11-18T18:34:00.006Z

The wrong kind of strings and too many of them as well. In over 23 years of running a guitar making workshop, this is the first time ever that I have had a pair of 12 strings on the bench, so worth a mention I feel. I enjoy seeing steel strings and have even been made 1 or 2. These 3 are in for some adjustment.At the front is a John Kinnaird baritone 12, based on the Stella that Leadbelly played, and it has a really impressive sound. Paul's Yamaha needs the action bringing down a bit as did the Collings at the back. I like Collings although they represent a different guitar world from the one I know. Although there are some profound differences between steel string guitar technology and classical guitar, there is always something I can learn and enjoy from studying a good steel strung guitar.

Guitar assembly

2010-11-18T18:27:00.006Z

Here are are a few pictures of Johns guitar coming together. With all the parts completed, the transformation from kit to guitar is very rapid, but it is a process that takes the uttermost care. It is at this point that precise final fitting takes place, and checks are made to ensure that the geometry and tensioning is as required. This is my more traditional instrument and the strutted soundboard would be familiar to Torres and Hauser. Behind the ribs in this picture are the tentellones ( the small blocks that hold the ribs onto the soundboard), the endblock and the neck wedges. On this guitar all these internal details have been made from salvaged mahogany. Old Victorian drawer fronts have been the donor in this case; when I cut into them there was a wonderful and indescribable smell of dry, aged wood, quite unlike sawing fresh timber.
On this model of guitar I use the Spanish method of building, with the integral neck. The ribs are held into the neck by wooden wedges which, when correctly fitted, push the sides firmly against the heel. I polish the inside of the block, for no other reason that it looks fine and finished.
Finally, all the parts are assembled, the last job is to individually glue in the tentellones with hide glue. This is the the last opportunity to study the inside of the guitar as soon the back will be fitted and glued, and the instrument will be a step nearer completion. Many makers have lamented the fact that all this detailed and precise work is lost from view!

5 course guitar

2010-11-10T20:04:00.012Z

I don't see many of these at all so when Jim brought this in to show me a few weeks ago I was delighted. It is a 5 course guitar from approximately 1650 although like many of the guitars from this time it has been 'restored', repaired and altered.
The decoration is perhaps a little florid for modern tastes but you can still appreciate its flamboyant exuberance. The white inlay material is ivory and the black is a mastic, or filler.

This guitar would originally had five courses (or pairs of strings) but at some point (almost certainly in the 19th century) has been converted to six single strings and this is evident in the cut down headstock and the replacement bridge. The neck shows considerable signs of alteration. The ivory inlay is surrounded by a cracked black mastic,but a small piece of snakewood is evident, indicating that the neck veneer was originally this wood, so matching the back and ribs.
This view of the inside shows the sides lined with linen, and the delicate shaping of the bars on the soundboard.
Having used some snakewood recently, I was intrigued to see the back and ribs of this guitar which are made up of snakewood strips separated by ivory.

The label visible through the soundhole is in fact an American repair label from 1930. The original maker is not known.

Headstock work

2010-11-10T19:58:00.011Z

The first winter storms are here with strong winds and lashing rain. Before getting into the workshop today I ventured down to the beach and was exhilarated by the waves. A dry, warm workshop is the place to be today.
Here are some pictures of a headstock I completed a few weeks ago for John's guitar. The back and ribs of this guitar are made from perfectly quarter sawn Amazon rosewood which is simple but elegant to look at. As such I felt it needed a few exotic details such as the use of snakewood for the headstock facing. This really is a special timber and the mottled figuring really is unique. A snakewood tree yields very little precious timber; usable trunks are rarely more than 20 cm in diameter. It has been used for turned decorative items such as walking sticks and lace bobbins and for the ribs of lutes and early guitars. It is very hard but polishes beautifully. I have carved round string ramps on this head. It gives me the opportunity of using a small mallet that was made for me many years ago by fellow guitar making student Nick Swann. The head is made of Lignum Vitae, an incredibly hard and resilient timber.
This a view of the side of the headstock just after the holes for the tuner barrels have been drilled. I use a stepped drill for this. This ensures the end of the barrel is held accurately and securely, but the barrel at the plate end does not bind. I like the fine lines of veneer between the cedar of the neck and the snakewood head plate.
The machine heads on John's guitar are Rodgers, held by many as the finest tuners in the world. They are indeed magnificent. David Rodgers has been making these tuners for years now and the wealth of experience he has is phenomenal. His great work is being continued by his son Robert. They are of course beautifully made and classically elegant to look at, but most importantly they work supremely well.

1916 Manuel Ramirez/Santos Hernandez

2010-10-31T19:05:00.020Z

This guitar came into the workshop a few weeks back and really fired me up. It is a Manuel Ramirez, built in 1916. The Ramirez workshop produced many instruments, some built by Manuel Ramirez himself; the others built wholly or partly by craftsmen employed by Ramirez. Some of the notable Ramirez craftsmen were Modesto Borregero, Domingo Esteso, and Santos Hernandez. It is this last name that creates real excitement as Santos went on to become one of the greatest guitar builders of the first half of the 20th century, and his instruments are still revered by makers and players alike. Manuel Ramirez died at the age of 52 in 1916 and the label shows that this guitar was completed after his death. If you study the picture above, you will notice that the initials S.H. are stamped on the label, showing that this was a guitar from the bench of Santos Hernandez.
The picture above shows the signature of Santos Hernandez on the underside of the soundboard.
Shot through the soundhole, this picture shows some internal workmanship.
This picture of the inside of the guitar shows some rather heavy handed repair work. Glue soaked material has been used to support some of the splits in the soundboard.
Andres Segovias first great guitar was a Manuel Ramirez guitar from 1912, that was built by Santos Hernandez. It was a source of great frustration to Santos that Segovia refused to acknowledge that this fine guitar was built by him.
The back and ribs of this guitar are made of Spanish cypress, a wood almost exclusively used for flamenco guitars, although I for one would be very happy to use it for classical guitars. This guitar is definitely a flamenco and has what Stefano Grondona has described as an 'explosive vitality'.
Although showing signs of age and considerable professional use, this guitar is in good, and largely original condition. When you look closely at the workmanship you can see that it is fine indeed. The simple but effective rosette illustrates the crisp and accurate work.

I was delighted to see this headstock as by chance I had used this design for the first time a few weeks before. I was copying a Hauser 1 headstock for a guitar I am building. Herman Hauser saw Segovia's Ramirez/Hernandez and occasionally adopted this design, although he is usually associated with the 3 lobed design of Torres.
The hole in the center of the headstock is for a cord or ribbon that can be used to hang the guitar on the wall.
This repair label shows that the guitar was repaired in the Jose Ramirez workshop in 1929. The picture below shows the label on the original case.

2010-10-16T21:53:00.006+01:00

This is how my workshop has been for most of this week and I have a suspicion that it is going to be like this for a few days more. The picture above is part of my stock of Rio back and sides. Once this is used up then that's it; I'm not buying any more. Most of my material has CITES certification although a few sets do not. (That was some timber that I bought years ago from a retired cabinet maker up in Essex.) I had all my Rio rosewood out to select a couple of sets for 2 guitars that I am going to built in 2011 and at the same time to photograph each set.
One of the reasons for sorting through all the Brazilian was to select some wood for a guitar that Julio ordered last week. It was good to meet up at last. I'm very much looking forward to making his guitar and hearing him play it.

I have just finished a couple of rosettes and I have another one to finish tomorrow. I like making these although it would be far cheaper and efficient to buy them as some makers do. This inlay is such a personal touch that I cannot imagine using a shop bought one. Although my rosettes have similar elements, each one is nevertheless subtly different and this year I am going to introduce a couple of new designs. This week I shall be dropping these rosettes into the soundboards I have selected and also continuing to work on the current guitars on the bench. Oh, and I will spent a bit of time each day polishing, naturally!

2010-10-03T12:51:00.013+01:00

The memory of the hot summer is receding now and the workshop is returning to being a snug refuge from the cool seasonal weather outside. Looking out to sea the other day I saw a flock of brent geese fly westwards to their winter feeding ground, at Pagham harbour perhaps. They have spent the summer high in the arctic.
As the picture above shows, I have been busy making necks; there are a number of different headstock shapes here including Torres, Hauser, Friederich and Whiteman. Included here is the neck for Johns instrument, and a short scale guitar that one day I will finish for my children. I have also finished some bridges including this rather colourful rosewood one.
There have been many visitors to the workshop over the past couple of weeks. Most unexpected was Kai Heumann and his partner travelling back to Germany from Scotland. Kai, a fine professional guitarist also runs a guitar shop and a fabulous looking cafe. This looks like somewhere I would like to visit, drink coffee and listen to music...

2010-09-21T09:47:00.006+01:00

It is a pleasure to be able to see one of my guitars again and last week Vic dropped by with his 2008 Whiteman guitar as the tuners needed some adjustments. I took the opportunity of taking a few pictures as this guitar was really striking. The back and ribs are beautifully patterned although for once that isn't the main focus of attention. The top is what really catches the eye as it is covered in the most spectacular bear claw figure, which gives the most sumptuous texture to the top. This guitar is bound in curly koa which adds a really rich detail. This guitar is maturing nicely which is something I don't always get to experience. I hear the guitars when they are new, so I get to hear the potential in them. Playing this guitar I could feel the roundness in the notes; the filling out; the quickening of the response. I would like to see this one again.

2010-09-09T22:13:00.006+01:00

The pear tree outside the workshop is heavily laden with fruit and I am planning a campaign of harvesting, storing and baking. After a hot summer the transition to a cooler autumn is welcome. I always find the change of season inspiring and my energy levels lift dramatically. So, it's been a busy week in the workshop with quite a few projects coming together, and lots of detailed list making taking place planning out the work ahead.
The 2 new guitars for John and Richard are progressing well. I have nearly finished the neck for Johns Hauser guitar- I must post some pictures of that soon. Running alongside that is some polishing (there is always some polishing to be done in my workshop) and the ongoing restoration work on the Davis and the Lacote.
I recently acquired some more salvaged mahogany in the form of old Victorian drawer fronts. Not big enough for backs and ribs sadly but I have converted some of it into back bars. Wonderfully dry and stable stuff and a pleasure to reuse. I have also purchased some blocks of Adirondack spruce from RC Tonewoods in the States. This spruce was used on many old Martins and is a strong, light timber. I am going to use this very selectively in my top strutting.
Finally I have been rosette making and the picture above shows a selection of inlays to be used. I am frequently using a small quantity of shell these days and it can provide a sparkle to a traditional design.

2010-07-29T17:23:00.007+01:00

New tools, old tools...
The acquisition of fine woodworking tools has always been a passion of mine and there are some tools that I simply would not be without. In the centre of the picture is one of my two trusted cabinet scrapers. There is not one part of the guitar that isn't touched by this tool at some point or other. When I was first making guitars I used to get terrible blisters from using the scraper but my thumbs soon got used to it.
To the right of the scraper is my small thumb plane, whose main function is to shape the top and back braces, although it gets called into use for other tasks as well. This particular plane is no longer made I believe. I got it originally from Sidney Evans Violin making supplies in Birmingham.
At the top of the photograph is the newest tool in the workshop, a Lie-Nielsen block plane all the way from the USA. This really is a wonderfully made tool and is a pleasure to use. (Thanks Frank)
And finally the awl at at the bottom of the picture. This is a tool I use all the time and is one of those things I would be quick to save if a fire or flood threatened. When I was at college there was a great hunt to find Brazilian rosewood which was getting very scarce at the time (1985ish).
One of my tutors, Michael Gee, had just uncovered a huge pile of sumptuous material in Millers Dale, Derbyshire and I was determined to spend the summer vacation trying to track down some more. I was tool hunting in Brighton's Gardener Street market one Saturday when I found this awl, for 10p as I remember. The Gardener Street market was like a scene out of Brighton Rock, crawling with dubious antique dealers and fly-by-night chancers. You kept your hand firmly on your wallet as the place was the haunt of snatch purses. The handle of this little awl is exquisite rosewood and stamped with the name of its previous owner, F Monk.
I took the discovery of this tool as a good omen and looked forward to finding a lot more Brazilian rosewood but as it turned out this was the last I found that summer....

2010-07-29T17:19:00.006+01:00

Richard Chapman has just sent me a copy of his new recording, Lost Places and I am thrilled to see this at last. This is a truly remarkable recording and one that I have heard much about from Richard and others over the past year. I have been working with him for several years now and the result of that relationship, the drop-shouldered cutaway guitar can be heard on this album.
Complex, yet utterly accessible, this is truly new music. It is hard to pin down but I find myself constantly drawn back to it. It has an elusive quality but is also shot through with a strong sense of the English landscape, particularly in On Downland. Go to Richards site to find out more.

2010-05-30T21:16:00.004+01:00

Cyndy Burton, Jeff Elliot, Stephen Sedgwick and John Doan

The phone rang. It was Jim. 'Look, could you get that Panormo finished by Saturday? John wants to play some newly discovered Sor pieces on it! As you're coming anyway you could bring the guitar with you...' As it turned out the 1832 Panormo (French style; ladder braced) sounded grand especially with John playing it (The Sor pieces turned out to be freshly written rather than newly discovered). When I walked in John was playing a harp guitar made by Stephen Sedgwick. I hadn't seen Stephen for over ten years but he's aged better than me. His harp guitar sounded wonderful too. He and John were deep in conversation with Jeff Elliot and Cyndy Burton about harp guitars and guitar making generally. Jeff is one of the worlds finest guitar makers and builds with a simple elegance and a respect for the tradition of the guitar. I first heard one of Jeff's guitars many years ago at the Wigmore Hall played by Julian Bream, and it was lovely to meet him and Cyndy, albeit briefly.
Jim got a bottle of Madeira out from somewhere and we all marvelled at the fact that it was made ten years before the Panormo.
John Doan is not only a fine player but a great guy as well and talks about the guitar with huge enthusiasm. We spoke at length about the relationship between player and maker. Some players just don't get it (believe me, I know) but it was clear that John had a great respect for the makers he has worked with. If you get the chance to hear John play; grab it.

2010-05-19T11:47:00.015+01:00

The Cordefactum Guitar Makers Fair in Belgium has been one of the most enjoyable guitar events I have attended and credit should be given to the team from CMB who organised it. CMB is a prominent instrument making school in Belgium and the standard of work on display was fine indeed.
After tunnelling our way under the English channel, and cruising up the N16 through France and Belgium, the calm 18th century elegance of the Casteel d'Ursel was something of relief. It was filled with guitar makers from all over Europe. For me this was a grand opportunity to meet some new makers and players and to renew old acquaintances. Marc Peirelinck (I was at the London College of Furniture with Marc in 1985) was there as he is one of the tutors at CMB. We discussed guitars, old times and more guitars...

Good also to catch up with James Lister, who is currently one of the tutors at Newark. James had some handsome guitars with him including one with eye-catching kingwood back and sides.
A new face to me was Pete Beer who had some fine guitars on view. Pete pointed out a pike in with the carp in the still waters of the moat...
One of the highlights of the festival was the quality of the lectures and performances. I missed Fabian Zenon but heard many good comments the following morning.
The classical guitar makers lecturing throughout the 3 days were Andreas Tacchi from Italy, Gernot Wagner from Germany and Paul Fischer from the UK. Gernot and Andreas both gave an insight into their personal methods of working; Gernot Wagner has been one of the guitar makers to pioneer the use of laminated or 'double' tops. Paul took a different approach and spoke of the development of 20th century English guitar making. Starting with Dolmetsch at the end of the 19th century, Paul then spoke of his time with the late David Rubio, before concluding with the contribution made by some of the UK instrument making schools such as the London College of furniture and Newark. Andreas spoke of the importance of top selection and the way in which he selects logs up in the mountains and then evaluates the timber. He also spoke of measuring the speed of sound in spruce, a topic that interested many present.

Leaving Belgium late on a mellow Sunday afternoon we had a somewhat unplanned foray into Gent and then coasted back down the almost empty motorway. The soft evening sky looked huge above the flat land of northern France; the channel tunnel felt like a spaceship and Kent was dark and wet. We arrived back home past midnight and I found myself drawn into the workshop, fired up and full of ideas...

2010-04-18T18:27:00.005+01:00

The guitars for CordeFactum Guitar Festival in Belgium are pretty much finished and so the frenetic activity in the workshop has abated slightly. This gives me time to start preparing for the next batch of guitars . Both guitars are being built for guitarist/composers but are very different instruments. The guitar for Richard is a 7 string guitar in spruce and rosewood. This is the third guitar that Richard has commissioned and is a development of the previous ones. The other guitar is a Hauser model for John; spruce with Amazon rosewood. Richard, living 30 minutes away has visited the workshop and played a part in the selection of timber for his guitar. John, from the other hemisphere must trust me to select the wood for his guitar.
The picture above shows the selection of the spruce top for Johns guitar. I spent hours going through my stack of soundboards, and the pleasure of handling this material is something I never tire of. You use your eyes first, checking for straightness of grain,absence of defects such as resin pockets or knots, and you also note the number of growth rings and the variation of them across the board. At this point I am also evaluating the weight of the wood. Wood from different trees,different growing altitudes or different regions will vary considerably in their characteristics so soundboards really can vary. Testing for stiffness, by gently flexing the wood gives you more information, as does tapping the timber and listening to the wood resonating. I also split one corner of the soundboard to assess 'runout' or length of grain. In the end I selected a top that is from my August 1999 pile. Amongst its other qualities it has a crisp quick tap tone which was the deciding factor for me.
So, now on to select neck wood...

2010-03-31T17:58:00.009+01:00

Time is a valuable commodity at the moment with much going on. The exhibition guitar is now complete and ready for its first coat of polish. The picture above shows the fingerboard being prepared for gluing. Now I take a deep breath and start to polish...
Guitars coming and going at the moment. Louise from Norway dropped by with her 1981 Sakurai for some repair work. On Sunday Iain took delivery of his new cedar/Indian rosewood guitar. I first met Iain 19 years ago when I was working out of my first workshop in Ditchling Road. I did some polishing and fret work on his Spanish made guitar and then out of the blue in 2009 Iain phoned again requesting a few more adjustments and the desire for a new guitar. An inherently musical player, he gets a fabulous sound from the instrument which delights me. He was delighted in turn by the responsiveness and power of this particular instrument.

(Malcolm Maxwell, Florian Vorreiter, Jim Westbrook and David Whiteman)

Another visitor to the workshop this week was Canadian based luthier Florian Vorreiter. Florian had come over to draw FE 18. He didn't have one of his own guitars with him but he showed me some fine looking photographs of his work. It is always interesting to talk to fellow guitar makers and exchange ideas.

2010-03-23T19:16:00.002Z

Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa)

A stunning set of cocobolo found its way into my workshop recently thanks to fellow guitar builder, Frank Cousins. Frank started building guitars in my workshop a few years ago and has completed a fine spruce/Maccasar ebony instrument and is well under way with several others. Frank has also been laying down stocks of fine timber for future guitars and recently acquired 2 sets of this spectacular cocobolo, and graciously offered me this one. This is fresh timber and is now slowly drying in my workshop but one day will make a stunning guitar.

2010-03-18T16:24:00.001Z

The anatomy of a guitar

This was the view of my workbench a few days ago, just before I closed the box on the blackwood/spruce guitar. This is one of 2 strutting systems that I use and it could be seen as half lattice, half fan. I have made good progress with this guitar since the picture was taken; the back is glued on and the guitar is now completely bound. After the weekend I shall fit the neck and complete the fingerboard.
Also nearing completion is the cedar and rosewood guitar which will shortly be burnished up and strung. The Weissgerber restoration is complete save for stringing, but that will happen next week. Earlier on in the week I had a visit from Martin with a couple of guitars of his that needed some adjustment. The weather has been so dry this year and I have heard of a number of humidity related problems recently. Fortunately Martin's instruments only needed some minor action adjustments, but it was good to catch up with someone I hadn't seen for years.

2010-03-10T21:31:00.005Z

The clamps have been out in force this week, with much progress made on the exhibition guitar. The exhibition in question is the CordeFactum Guitar Festival in Puurs, Belgium in May. I shall post some more details in the very near future. I am very much looking forward to this event as there will be lots of guitar makers there, and there will be much to learn and to be inspired by. I am looking forward to seeing Marc Peirelinke after 20 odd years; Marc and I were students at the London College of Furniture and both of us continue to make guitars professionally.
The workshop is hectic this week. I seem to have used all the tools I possess and progress has been rapid. Today a top largely strutted and a heel carved. Tomorrow the bracing on the top will be completed. For me this is the part of guitar making I love the most, as the delicacy of the struts and the potential of the whole soundboard wholly absorb me.

2010-02-24T22:22:00.004Z

Polishing is nearly complete on the rosewood/cedar guitar. Cutting back, which is the process of fine flattening of the surface, is a job that rarely thrills me. Today, however, the water used on the abrasive paper lit up the warm grain underneath and spurred me on to finish the guitar.

2010-02-24T21:42:00.006Z

Vincente Arias

This guitar came in with little warning but rarely am I so enamoured with a guitar as with this one. Vincente Arias was working in Spain in the last part of the the 19th century and into the first decade of the 20th. They are rare finds indeed and this one is in fantastic original condition, even down to the brass frets. The rosewood is prime Brazilian and I love the polish on the soundboard - so fine and clear. Built so lightly it seems to tremble as you pick it up and work on it.
I have not had to do much to this instrument. The bridge had lifted over time and so was carefully removed, cleaned and then re-glued with hot hide glue. At some point the guitar had been dropped and this had put a large split in the bass rib. This has now been cleaned and glued. You can see some damage to the tentelones and glue from some previous repairs.

Simple, but very beautiful to the eye and that, as it transpires, is how it sounds too. Last night I returned it to Jim and had the pleasure of hearing accomplished guitarist, Adrian Rius, play this guitar. Adrian was returning FE 18 after the Tarrega exhibition in Spain, so Jim and Ging provided a fabulous evening of food and music. Nice to see Pablo Requena there too. Not only is Pablo a fine guitar maker but he can sing as well! Great stuff. And so the evening ended with Adrian playing 2 Torres guitars and the Arias. The guitars sounded better than ever and the playing was delicate and haunting. I left clutching the remains of a bottle of 1970 Fonseca's port (thank you Jim) and with Tarrega and Torres (and Arias) ringing in my ears.

2010-02-08T22:46:00.009Z

A fine collection of old guitars that are in the workshop at the moment. At the back of the workbench in the Davis, then the maple Weissgerber. An anonymous Austrian(?) guitar is next then an unlabelled French guitar. Finally at the front (and so it should be) is a Rene Lacote.
Polishing is under way on this cedar and rosewood guitar. I love French polish as a finish and it seems wholly appropriate for a top classical guitar. I have nothing against a well applied synthetic finish, and many fine guitars are lacquered with cellulose for example; it's just the feel and appearance of shellac feels right for my guitars. This guitar is about halfway through the polishing process. I have built up a 'body' of polish and I will spend the next couple of weeks putting on thinner and thinner coats before working the surface to a high gloss.

2010-02-08T21:53:00.007Z

There is a lot to do this week so into the workshop early. I am now under way with this exhibition guitar in spruce and Malaysian blackwood - this is the back reinforcement strip being glued on in the go-bar press. Using this always reminds me of my tutor Herbert Schwarz. Herbert used to tell me how, when he worked in a piano factory, they used a much larger go-bar press to glue the bars onto piano soundboards.

2010-02-05T19:30:00.005Z

Top bindings in snakewood.

Saturday, and time to do things other than guitar making. Playing with the children, baking blueberry muffins and feeding the chickens. I wake to find one of our children has slipped into our bed, and as I open my eyes I see this perfect creature washed up by the soft nocturnal tide. He pings awake and is off to find adventure and breakfast. The workshop isn't completely off limits so some more polishing takes place. Frank calls in on his way West and sets up his first guitar - sounding as good as ever. I take the opportunity to sort out Gordon's guitar which I will get back to him after the weekend. Finally, a picture of the Weissgerber having its bridge glued on.

2010-02-03T20:37:00.002Z

The subject of wood has been troubling me for some time. It really is such a wonderful material and I feel privileged to use it. I recently had the opportunity to buy some nice Madagascan rosewood which many makers have been inclined to see as a substitute for Rio rosewood. It was being offered fairly cheaply and seemed of good quality but I just couldn't buy it. Look at the situation in Madagascar (the internet is a wonderful thing) and you will see why. It is ironic that the devouring of Madagascan rosewood is directly linked to the ban on Brazilian rosewood. At the moment I am keen to salvage timber of high quality. The latest acquisition was a late Victorian headboard which yielded 3 sets of stunning Cuban mahogany. I'm not sure what I will use that for yet....

In the workshop restoration on the Davis continues and the Weisgerber is nearly complete. A rosewood Lacote has just come in to add the my collection of restoration projects: no rush with that one though and it needs a lot of careful thought.

The 2 latest guitars are going to be ready for polishing within the next week, with just fretting and bridgemaking in the way. I already have one cedar/rosewood guitar being polished, so soon the workshop will be filled with the fragrance of shellac and alcohol.

2010-01-22T22:50:00.001Z

Restoration of guitar by C & W Davis.
This was found under the bridge when the back was removed - a collection of roughly shaped blocks intended to 'repair' the bridge area. All these have now been removed.

2010-01-22T22:47:00.002Z

Guitar by C & W Davis before restoration.

2010-01-22T20:56:00.003Z

( Above - Whiteman Spruce/Satinwood guitar. Picture by Malcolm Maxwell/Crisp Litho.)
A day spent restoring with little time for my own guitars. I am working on 2 guitars at the moment - a Weissgerber, circa 1920, and a R & W Davis from the mid 19th century. The Weissgerber requires minor work on the whole, although the bridge needs rebuilding. The Davis, on the other hand, has had to be opened as all the internal strutting was loose.
When the back came off the extent of previous repair work was evident. Lots of crudely glued blocks and lashings of PVA. So much time in restoring is spent taking things apart in order to reassemble them correctly. Both these guitars are owned by an accomplished player, so these instruments will be returned to full concert condition.
I had a lovely 1954 Martin D28 in the workshop today. It needed rather a lot doing to it, including finishing issues that aren't my area of expertise, so I was happy to pass that one on. Nice to see however, and the Brazilian rosewood was sumptuous. My day ended with gluing up some snakewood bindings for one of the two guitars I have on the bench at the moment. More of them later......