from Back When, when building instruments was part of instrument building

[Bob Hammond]

Here's an example of the art of engineering that was applied to making art -- a soundboard thickness gauge:

http://books.google.com/books?id=DuMDAA ... e&q&f=true

[Nicholas Blanton]

Nice. I think the Swiss make ( or made) an aluminum version of this for violin makers, that's quite pricey

[Jim Ashby]

During my apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce we had to make, as part of the training, our own measuring/marking tools. IIRC (it was a long time ago!) thickness calipers were one of the 'set pieces' we were tested on. Must see if I can find them - they're in a toolbox with the rest, dividers, inside/outside calipers, set square etc. The toolbox was also one of the projects.
Nostalgia eh? It's not what it used to be.

[Alan Carruth]

I made a number of lutherie tools back when I had more time than money, and StewMac was just getting going. I remember that making a square with hand tools was pretty challenging. I still use many of them.

[David King]

Part of my training involved making a perfect 1" steel cube with what my shop teacher affectionately called a "Russian milling machine" which turned out to be a mill file.

[Jim Ashby]

Hey Alan, Dave. Are we old? I remember a fitting instructor telling a (pretty naive) apprentice 'Take this drawing and lump of metal, file away everything that doesn't appear on the drawing, then stop'.
Sage advice

[Alan Carruth]

Old? Well, I signed up for Medicare last fall, but I'm still 19 inside!

Back in 7th grade shop class, they gave each of us a (dull) plane and a block of white pine, and told us to square it up to certain dimensions. While most of us hacked away on our blocks, one of the guys took his pane apart, tuned it up, sharpened it, and generally got it in fettle for the first several classes. Then he did the assignment in about twenty minutes. The rest of us were still hacking; some on their third block. If you messed up the first, clear one beyond recall, the teacher gave you another with a knot in it...

[Bob Hammond]

There's something to be said about making and refurbishing your own tools, whether hand or powered. One gets an appreciation of what they can and can not do, and how they can be used. To me, one of the interesting things about this article, is that the text doesn't have a single word about musical instrument building. But the picture really stimulates the imagination about how the tool is useful and gives the reader an appreciation of another interesting craft.