Guitarmaker Issue 91

You must be signed in to view the PDF

Front Cover

Tom Morrisey

Tom Morrissey’s “Eat Your Heart Out Jerry Garcia.”

guitar, electric

From the Director

Alton Acker

In this issue, Acker advocates what he calls “eclectic woodworking” by which he means learning and using both hand and power tools for efficiency and enjoyment of the craft. He also gives a tip for patience before inviting everyone to this year’s symposium.

1927 Martin 000-18 Restoration

Steven Kovacik

Kovacik tackles a major restoration that requires putting new sides on a vintage guitar with a good soundboard and back. Actually the soundboard needed some un-warping, but the challenge here was to fit fresh sides to existing plates. Read how he pulled it off. With 19 photos.

repair; guitar, steel-string

What is STEM

Tom Morrissey and James Wilson Chang

STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and math. Guitar building requires all four disciplines and now there are community college STEM programs that incorporate guitar building into the curricula. Morrissey was recently trained in the curriculum and has taught his first batch of students. With 43 photos.

guitar, electric; school

Bracing Workshop from the 2013 Symposium

Dave Nichols, Bill Tippin

Nichols starts this workshop by answering a leftover question about how he installs frets in an inlaid fretboard—see issue 87 for the rest of that workshop. Nichols predominantly builds bluegrass style guitars, so the rest of this workshop is dedicated to the way he braces a soundboard like a vintage Martin. You get plenty of history and other good information along the way. No photos, though.

bracing; inlay

LMI’s Fret Tang Filer

Nate Clark

Clark calls this tool “a modern tool for modern materials.” He thoroughly reviews this tool that removes the tang from the end (rather than from the bottom as tang nippers do) by filing. He finds it especially useful on hard stainless steel fretwire, but says he rarely uses his old tang nippers any more. With 11 photos

tools, hand; review

Easy and Accurate Bridge Location

Scott Miller

Have you ever had trouble finding the perfect location for an ABR or Nashville style bridge on a new electric guitar? Miller’s system includes completely stringing up a guitar without the bridge then using shims and wedges to temporarily set the bridge location and height for testing. Once the bridge is located, you can drill the mounting holes in the body. You don’t even have to remove the strings! With 4 photos.

guitar, electric; bridge

Epoxy for Difficult Gluing

Alton Acker

Acker recommends Smith & Co.’s Oak & Teak Epoxy Glue for gluing resinous woods like cedar and oak (he did not have any teak for testing). You can also fix your toaster oven with this glue, but you don’t have to take Acker’s word for it. The review includes testimonials from two other luthiers who use it regularly. The article includes Smith & Co.’s two-page instruction sheet. With 1 photo.

glue; review