So I find I have more time on my hands than I’ve had in decades… as I have joined the millions idled due to COVID and I no longer have a day gig for now. But I spend my mornings looking for paid work and I can spend my afternoons in the shop.  Building guitars…

The Minnesota Nurse’s Association put out a call for unopened N95 masks and gloves… those poor people are trying to deal with the pandemic without protective gear. I found some unopened in my supply cupboard. It’s nothing… but it’s something. Stay safe out there people.

I have been remiss about posting, not that anybody reads this or anything, but anyways here’s another I built. It’s an acoustic guitar with one passive humbucker pickup, and a bolt on Stratocaster-style neck. You can see the big honking neck block that the neck bolts into: The internal bracing is ladder-style, much like that…

I picked up an EKO Rancher XII today… and by ‘picked up’ I mean when I bought it I almost got a hernia. The thing weighs 7+ pounds. It ws made in the 1960’s or early 70’s.   I have been looking around for an inexpensive 12 string for awhile and playing a bunch. I…

I put the bridge on the guitar today. Because accurate bridge placement is crucial to making sure the guitar plays in tune all the way up and down the neck, it’s something you need to get right the first time.  I have a trick.  I don’t think anybody else does it this way. When I…

Last April when I had my kidney removed I knew I was going to have to reduce my exposures to chemicals and solvents to near zero.   I was very concerned about the luthiery because of course, I used lacquer to finish the wood… very fumey and bad for me. Today for the first time…

It’s been awhile since I posted (in fact I took time off from building) because of some personal stuff coming up but anyways I’m getting back into the swing of things. I mounted the neck on my newest Dreadnought today. Curly Maple back and sides, Sitka Spruce top, mahogany neck. In terms of size and…

Here’s where she sits… standing up under string tension The initial setup is done, and the action is good. But this was a random collection of stuff a few days ago and now it’s a guitar, so it will take time for the timbers to take a set. I’ll let it hang out for a…

I laid down the shellac (I mix my own) today and after a long enough time for a hard set, laid on the first coat of lacquer. I usually do 3. I sand a little bit in between each coat. If I can lay down coats 2 & 3 tomorrow, I may be able to…

  Just running 2 small screws down in the string holes works just fine, I find. A lot easier than messing around with a bunch of clamps that have to bridge over bracing and mar stuff and cause the bridge to slide around to the wrong spot under clamping pressure. When it’s dry you remove…