General Lutherie

  • Frets.com. – A collection of miscellania about instruments, and lutherie. Some of the more relevant sections;
    • Of Interest to Players (Restringing, Removing Tight Bridge Pins)
    • Strings (Make Your Own Loop End Strings)
    • General Maintenance (Instrument Finishes, Cleaning Your Instrument, Packing for Travel or Shipment, Looking at Cracks, Loose Parts Can Rattle and Buzz, Tapered (Friction) Tuning Pegs, Tune Up Your Gears, Glue in a Label for Security
    • Instrument Setup (Looking at Frets, Buzz Diagnosis, Truss Rod Adjustment, Checking Action at the Nut, A Closer Look at Nuts, Reducing String Breakage at the Saddle, Quick Tricks for Better Setup, Everything About Strap Buttons).
    • Acoustic Guitar (Steel String Guitar Restringing, Restringing Slotted Headstocks, Bridges, Saddles, Guitar Top Bracing, Neck Angle, Archtop Guitar Setup, Guitar Tone Woods, Acoustic Guitar Pickup Types, Scalloped Braces
    • Jazz Guitars (About the Selmer Macafferri)
    • Mandolin (Restringing, Mandolin Diversity, A SuperLight Mandolin Bridge for More Volume, Getting the End of the Fingerboard Out of the Way)
    • Repair/Restoration blogs (1867 Martin 1-26, 1940 Martin D-28, 1937 Martin D-28)
    • Book Reviews
    • Technical Q & A;
      • Clear Pore Filler
      • Glue for Broken Headstocks
      • Glue for Wenge and Bubinga
      • Flaming Maple
      • Hardening Fret Wire
      • Intonation and Saddles for 1920s Martin Guitars
      • Lacquer Tinting Colors
      • Lacquering and Sealing Spruce
      • Lining Material
      • Nickel Plating – How to Make it Look Old
      • Nut Position for Best Intonation
      • Protecting a Celebrity Signature
      • Refinishing a 1932 Martin 0-18
      • Restoring a 1908 Martin 0-17; Ethics, Style and More
      • Scale Lengths – Adding extra frets
      • Tolerances: What tolerances are allowable in guitar making?
      • Tuning Forks: anything besides A-440?
      • Vinyl Sealer, Shellac and Finish Adhesion
      • Waterbase Finish Crosslinker Proportions
    • Product Reviews (Tools, Materials)
    • Data (Materials, Hardware)
    • Shop Tips
    • Repair Technique (Setup, Tuners, Inlay, Frets, Tool and Fixture Making, Tools Use, Rare Earth Magnets, Light Speed Repairs, Finishes, Truss Rods, Structural, Glue, Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Ukelele, Case)
  • Wilkie Stringed Instruments – Arch-top Guitars and Mandolins. There are some excellent photos of had-carving backs and tops, and well as details of structural work (linings and necks) in the In-Progress section. He will be exhibiting at the MGS in 2012.