Humidity and guitars

The UK has been gripped by the first cold weather of the year, with snow covering much of the country and it is bitterly cold . The cold weather looks set to continue for a while yet. In global terms Britain's weather is not extreme but it is the rarity of freezing conditions that can take guitarists and guitar makers unaware.
Yesterday I got a call from a local guitarist who had discovered a top split on one of his guitars, and this is almost certainly as a result of the very low humidity that the UK is experiencing at the moment. Fortunately it was not one of my guitars that had split, but it can happen to any instrument that isn't properly cared for.
The air around us contains moisture and the amount of moisture varies according to natural influences such as the weather, but can also be affected by heating systems in buildings and so on. Wood is a material that will take in or give up moisture and will respond to the environment it is in. A guitar therefore will expand and contract with changes in humidity, and it is this movement in the materials and structure of the guitar that can lead to problems. The main danger is from excessive dryness and rapid fluctuations in humidity, and the commonest problem encountered is the guitar drying out, shrinking and then splitting.
When I make a guitar I firstly ensure that the timber I use is dimensionally stable - dry and seasoned in other words. Secondly I build in a controlled environment, with a dehumidifier keeping the relative humidity in the workshop at around 45%. Once the instrument leaves the workshop however it is down to the player to look after it but with care it should be possible to avoid too many problems. I would recommend that all players invest in a digital hygrometer (this is a device that will measure relative humidity) Costing about the same as a set of strings, the hygrometer will give you a pretty good indication of the humidity of your surroundings. When you detect the humidity getting low, say 50% or below, then you can take steps to humidify the guitars environment. This can be as simple as putting a wet cloth over a hot radiator, or by using an electrical humidifier. One of my clients stores his guitars in a specially built cabinet with its own climate control system. This is not a practical solution for everyone, but keeping the guitar in its case along with a commercially available humidification system and a hygrometer to monitor humidity levels is a sensible measure.
It is worth contacting the maker of your instrument and asking their advice as to how they would recommend you to look after the guitar they have made for you. I am always very happy to help as much as I can with this as I hate seeing instruments I have made needlessly damaged.

(Photographs of David Whiteman 2010 Cedar/rosewood guitar taken by Malcolm Maxwell at Crisplitho Ltd)

An evening with Antonio Torres

It was busy in the workshop last Thursday evening. Fellow guitar maker Pete Beer was down in Sussex and took the opportunity of calling in to talk about guitar making (and bread making) and to see a guitar made by Antonio Torres. This particular Torres (FE 18) is a very small, 5 fan strutted model with many of the distinctive decorative features for which Torres is known. I have seen and heard this guitar many times over the years and it is one of the nicest Torres guitar I have played. I have some good pictures of the guitar and I will post them here in the next few days, but the picture below is a tantalising taster of the delights this guitar has to offer.
The picture above shows Pete playing the Torres, whilst Jim Westbrook continues with some restoration work. Max, on the right is busy on his latest guitar ( his third) which demonstrates just how addictive guitar making can be.

Adam's guitar - setting the neck

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...

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

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...

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

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.