Guitarmaker Issue 44
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Three OME banjos by Chuck Ogsbury
Chuck Ogsbury
Cover photo: Three OME banjos by Chuck Ogsbury.
banjo
Letters
Larry Robinson, Neil Harrel, Mike Dotson
Larry Robinson weighs in on the dangers of shell dust. Neil Harrel comments on the cost of recent ASIA symposia and the regularity of Guitarmaker. Mike Dotson mentions the Arizona League of Lutherie.
safety; shell dust; Guitarmaker; symposium; event; club
Guitarmaker's Workbench
Rick Davis
ASIA requests more member participation in article contributions, ideas about projects and direction, and all aspects of ASIA. Instrument sales drop a whopping 35% after September 11, but independent builders not hit yet. ASIA CD project has been shelved.
sales; ASIA; Guitarmaker
The Banjo Family
Chuck Ogsbury
A history of the banjo in its many forms, from the fretless African banjar, to open-back five-strings, 4-string jazz banjos, resonator banjos, and bluegrass banjos. Mentions many renowned players and their banjos. With 13 photos and 3 illustrations.
banjo, 5-string; banjo, minstrel; banjo, bluegrass; banjo, jazz; banjo history
Setting Up an Old-Time Banjo
James deCava
Discusses general principles in banjo setup, such as neck stiffness, heel fit, skin materials, and head materials.
banjo setup
Pot Life: Banjos & Me
Geoff Stelling
Mr. Stelling talks about how he became interested in banjos and formed his own company. Considerable discussion of construciton methods and materials used in banjos. With 1 photo and 1 drawing.
banjo setup; banjo construction; banjo history; biography
Learning Lutherie: L'ecole de Lutherie
Marc Lupien
Focuses on the only remaining school of lutherie in Quebec, Canada. Run by Andre Brunet, training includes guitar building theory as well as building experience.The article shows a wide variety of work by seven students, including the author. With 18 photos.
school
The Bouzouki — A Closer View
Ernst Pozar
Ernst Pozar spends a week in the Greek shop of the Tsonidis brothers. He discusses their approach to building traditional Greek instruments. With 12 photos.
bozouki
Greek Traditional Instruments: Measurements and Specifications
Ernst Pozar
Table giving dimensions, tunings, and nodes for 9 Greek instruments.
bozouki; baglama; tamboura; laouto; outi
Banjo Gallery
Jim Bollman, Ed Britt
Collection/collage of about 3 dozen captioned photos and drawings--of banjos.
banjo
Shop-built Wide Belt Sander
Richard Heeres
A brief article on design and construction of Richrd Heeres' thickness sander. With 4 photos and 1 drawing.
tools, power; tools, shop-built
Band-aid Crack Repair
Rich Mermer
How to fix a soundbox crack you can't reach. With 2 photos.
repair
Swinging Bridges
Judy Threet
Template and jig for drilling bridge pin holes in an arc. With 4 photos.
tools, jig; bridge
Strobe Tuners — History
John Norris
History of the strobe tuner from Conn's mechanical Stroboconn to the Peterson's VS-1.
tuner
Strobe Tuners — Peterson VS-1
John Norris
Discusses the features of the Peterson VS-1 virtual strobe tuner (an electronic version of the mechanical strobe tuner). With 1 photo.
tuner
Strobe Tuners — VS-1 Review
Rick Davis
Rick Davis takes the Peterson VS-1 virtual strobe tuner for a spin. He discovers a highly accurate portable tuner, but taking advantage of all of its features requires some learning. With 1 photo.
tuner
Body Radius Sander
Shiraz Balolia
Even the owner of Grizzly Industrial has to make his own tools for his guitar making hobby. Here is his body radius sander build to use dished workboards from Luthiers Mercantile International and Stewart MacDonald. With 5 photos and 2 drawings.
tools, power; tools, shop-built
Wiping Varnish
R.M. Motolla, Jack Read
The authors pool their experience and explain how they finish musical instruments with wiping varnish. With 3 photos.
finish