MIMF

Kevin at Curly Maple Wood often has nice cherry but you'll have to resaw it.

Sound Guitar Workshop is holding two intensive guitar making classes this year. We will concentrate on best woodworking techniques, soundboard voicing, and developing a professional approach to lutherie while working in a small, relaxed and fun class. Our instructors are Cat Fox (Sound Guitar Repair...

Anyone who'll be in the area Tuesday night is welcome to join the Running Dog/Sound Guitar Repair pre-Convention party! It's become a tradition! We're in Seattle, 118 N. 35th Street (Fremont neighborhood), in the back ground floor. Starting around 5, going until the last one gives up. There will be ...

I wouldn't get super glue anywhere near redwood! It will wick through the end grain and discolor the wood badly. Do you know the heat gun trick? If you bind with Titebond or similar, you can warm up the area around the gap to the point that the glue softens and close the gap. When the glue cools, it...

I have both the Stew-Mac and Woodcraft vises (also vices, but that's another story). The Stew-Mac version is worth the slight extra cost. They seem to be the same casting but there are a few differences in fittings. The Woodcraft jaws need padding before working on finished instruments, the handle i...

Like Bob, I use 1/8"-in-3" and a 1/8" saddle on my 28" scale baritones, with a 0.15" setback, then intonate the saddle as usual. No problems using up a .075" low A.

Frank's sandpaper technique may be OK for a refret, where you're removing small amounts of metal and leaving the fret crowns basically round, but it's not going to work if you have to remove much material. For a grind-and-polish, you'll need a better way to re-crown the frets and that's where the sp...

Another Gurian fan with similar caveats. We've played with the fret erasers and find them useful for some stuff but not much. They'll definitely flatten the tops of carefully rounded frets if you're aggressive with them. The finer grits are very good at removing gunge from nasty, stained, tarnished,...

Hijacking the thread -- I've avoided angling the saddle back since the intonation would change with every saddle height adjustment. Maybe it's not enough to worry about? Or the benefits outweigh the hassles?

Um, don't want to seem argumentative but I respectfully disagree with the notion that relief is optional. It's not, it's essential. The neck must have a consistent slight curve from the nut to the body in order to function well and allow the best action. A neck with too little relief will have to ha...

I had a 16/32 Performax (pre-Jet) for eight years and loved it. There were some really minor fixes -- proper washers under a couple of bolts, guides for the conveyor belt, etc. -- but it did the job. As my work increased, I went to the 25" model. I like the extra width (no more turning soundboa...