Luthiery/Guitar-making

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Joel S

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Dec 6, 2015, 2:51:40 PM12/6/15
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Would anyone be interested in a luthiery (guitar/fretted instrument-making)/fretting/pickup winding/guitar wiring/guitar setup night? I have the tools and know-how, but many of the luthiery tools are expensive, some are easy to break if you're not familiar with them, and others are easy to lose/swipe. Therefore I would be willing to make the stuff available under supervision, including files, fretting gear, radiusing blocks, pickup winders, and so on.

(Though I'm not in a position to donate my tools right now, some of the equipment I believe the AR community has the equipment and expertise to fabricate, like this or this or this fantastically overpriced turns-counter billed as a pickup winder.)

And so you know I'm not a crank, here's a video of an electric charango I built from scratch.

I'll be out of town for much of this month, so it wouldn't happen until January, earliest.

Let me know.
Joel

Minerva Lopez

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Dec 6, 2015, 8:26:01 PM12/6/15
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I am interested and would be willing to buy some tools in order to avoid usage/breakage of yours.

When where you thinking of starting to teach this?

ML

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Joel S

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Dec 6, 2015, 8:46:29 PM12/6/15
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I could start in January, whenever; I live nearby AR. That said, don't have the equipment to steam/shape acoustic instrument sides, so if you want to build an totally acoustic instrument completely from scratch, we'd have to scrounge that gear. Otherwise, I have just about everything for electric building and neck/fret work.

j

Andrew Beals

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Dec 7, 2015, 11:13:03 AM12/7/15
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One can build a steam box out of PVC:


I believe that my instructor had something similar when we did the steam-bending class.


tl;dr: steam from teapot flows through loosely-closed large-diameter PVC pipe.

WARNING: Steam makes things hot.  Use proper protection (e.g. pitmaster gloves) when handling steamed wood.




Minerva Lopez

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Dec 9, 2015, 2:17:00 PM12/9/15
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Understood.  Let's try it.  If we decide to build an acoustic we can look into it then.

Touch base early January?

George Fetters

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Dec 9, 2015, 7:11:05 PM12/9/15
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I have steamed wood with a wallpaper steamer it works reasonably well.

Joel S

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Dec 10, 2015, 9:03:03 AM12/10/15
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Interesting idea. Yeah, January works.

Minerva - Was there specifically any skill you were looking to learn or practice? I'll be travelling fairly frequently for my job, so scheduling a start-to-finish instrument class might be hard to arrange, while one-offs like "set-up night" or "fretwork night" would be much easier.

j

Minerva Lopez

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Dec 11, 2015, 6:52:39 PM12/11/15
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I'm looking at adquiring skills to maintain my guitars.  I would understand your traveling, I'm also quite busy so I wouldn't mind a bi-monthly, or monthly meeting.

M



Drew Freiberger

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Jan 6, 2016, 12:41:43 PM1/6/16
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I'd be interested in this topic. I've always wanted to learn how to dress frets, and eventually would like to find a project bass to make fretless. I also have an acoustic guitar that's in pretty rough shape that could be used as a guinea pig
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