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262421 "yorkshireman@y..." <yorkshireman@y...> 2017‑06‑06 One for the luthiers.
Driving back from the station, I tuned in to this evenings broadcast of BBC
Radio 3 ‘In Tune’  just in time to hear a chap named Richard Durrant describing
his guitar.  Made with bog oak - 5,000 years old.

Naturally, with our guitar builders in mind, I tracked down the broadcast on the
‘net, and some photos

http://richarddurrant.
com/discover/stringhenge/ <http://richarddurrant.com/discover/strin
ghenge/">http://richarddurrant.com/discover/stringhenge/>

He also said something about their being carbon fibre in it, and it having a
floating neck.   I have no idea what all that would do, But I thought I may know
someone who does.

The programme is here..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programm
es/b08slwdj <http://www.b
bc.co.uk/programmes/b08slwdj>


The rest of us can just go back to making sawdust, nothing to see here..   


Richard Wilson
Galoot in Northumbria
262422 Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> 2017‑06‑07 Re: One for the luthiers.
On Jun 6, 2017, at 4:22 PM, yorkshireman@y... wrote:

>  Made with bog oak - 5,000 years old. 
> 
> He also said something about their being carbon fibre in it, and it having a
floating neck.   I have no idea what all that would do, But I thought I may know
someone who does.


Richard:

Thanks - but I could not open the programme.   Carbon fiber is the latest thing
- there are several guitars with molded carbin fiber bodies (there are even 3-D
printed ukulele’s).  I have used carbon fiber rods glued into a neck to
stabilize it.  In the 70’s - 80’s there were molded fiberglass bodies that even
Greg Allman played at the time - turns out they are hard to repair!  I suspect
the carbin fiber guitars will be the same.

“Contemporary” guitars don’t have a huge market, with most buyer’s choosing
traditional designs.  There are a couple of guys making the floating neck. Thing
to remember is that no one has done a double blind test on any of this stuff,
and famously, a paper mache guitar was mistaken for wood 50 years ago.  They all
sound basically like a guitar.

However, the one trend that is here to stay in lutherie is the CNC machine.
Cutting an intricate inlay is fairly easy, but cutting the socket that fits
exactly is a skill that few have mastered - not any more!  And once you
programme in the software to make a neck - then you can make a zillion of them -
and they look just like handmade necks.

It’s a different world

Ed Minch
262423 Eric Smith <w.g.joinery@g...> 2017‑06‑07 Re: One for the luthiers.
On Wed, 7 Jun 2017 at 10:17, Ed Minch  wrote:

>
> On Jun 6, 2017, at 4:22 PM, yorkshireman@y... wrote:
>
> >  Made with bog oak - 5,000 years old.
> >
> > He also said something about their being carbon fibre in it, and it
> having a floating neck.   I have no idea what all that would do, But I
> thought I may know someone who does.
>
>
> Richard:
>
> Thanks - but I could not open the programme.   Carbon fiber is the latest
> thing - there are several guitars with molded carbin fiber bodies (there
> are even 3-D printed ukulele’s).  I have used carbon fiber rods glued into
> a neck to stabilize it.  In the 70’s - 80’s there were molded fiberglass
> bodies that even Greg Allman played at the time - turns out they are hard
> to repair!  I suspect the carbin fiber guitars will be the same.
>
> “Contemporary” guitars don’t have a huge market, with most buyer’s
> choosing traditional designs.  There are a couple of guys making the
> floating neck. Thing to remember is that no one has done a double blind
> test on any of this stuff, and famously, a paper mache guitar was mistaken
> for wood 50 years ago.  They all sound basically like a guitar.
>
> However, the one trend that is here to stay in lutherie is the CNC
> machine.  Cutting an intricate inlay is fairly easy, but cutting the socket
> that fits exactly is a skill that few have mastered - not any more!  And
> once you programme in the software to make a neck - then you can make a
> zillion of them - and they look just like handmade necks.
>
> It’s a different world
>
> Ed Minch
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> OldTools is a mailing list catering to the interests of hand tool
> aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history, usage,
> value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of
> traditional handtools, especially woodworking tools.
>
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-- 
Eric J. Smith
Trading as W.G. Joinery
ABN# 24 079 587 520
03 5784 9258
0411 264 272

PO BOX 353
Broadford Victoria
3658 Australia
263286 "Joseph Sullivan" <joe@j...> 2017‑09‑10 Re: One for the luthiers.
Ed, the concert luthiers find that even with genuine master craftsmen using
well-set patterns for everything including bracing, that the minute
differences between one piece of wood on one guitar and its
not-quite-identical mate on the next guitar mean that they have to tune the
resonant frequency of the body (Helmholtz Frequency) very minutely and
carefully by hand.  That requires a good, trained ear and a deft, light
hand.  I'd assume the same to be true with automated manufacturing?

J

Joseph Sullivan

 
-----Original Message-----
From: OldTools [mailto:oldtools-bounces@s...] On Behalf Of Ed
Minch
Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2017 7:17 PM
To: yorkshireman@y...
Cc: oldtools List 
Subject: Re: [OldTools] One for the luthiers.


On Jun 6, 2017, at 4:22 PM, yorkshireman@y... wrote:

>  Made with bog oak - 5,000 years old. 
> 
> He also said something about their being carbon fibre in it, and it having
a floating neck.   I have no idea what all that would do, But I thought I
may know someone who does. 


Richard:

Thanks - but I could not open the programme.   Carbon fiber is the latest
thing - there are several guitars with molded carbin fiber bodies (there are
even 3-D printed ukulele's).  I have used carbon fiber rods glued into a
neck to stabilize it.  In the 70's - 80's there were molded fiberglass
bodies that even Greg Allman played at the time - turns out they are hard to
repair!  I suspect the carbin fiber guitars will be the same.

"Contemporary" guitars don't have a huge market, with most buyer's choosing
traditional designs.  There are a couple of guys making the floating neck.
Thing to remember is that no one has done a double blind test on any of this
stuff, and famously, a paper mache guitar was mistaken for wood 50 years
ago.  They all sound basically like a guitar.

However, the one trend that is here to stay in lutherie is the CNC machine.
Cutting an intricate inlay is fairly easy, but cutting the socket that fits
exactly is a skill that few have mastered - not any more!  And once you
programme in the software to make a neck - then you can make a zillion of
them - and they look just like handmade necks.

It's a different world

Ed Minch
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OldTools is a mailing list catering to the interests of hand tool
aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history, usage,
value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of
traditional handtools, especially woodworking tools.

To change your subscription options:
https://oldtools.swingleydev.com/mailman/listinfo/oldtools

To read the FAQ:
https://swingleydev.com/archive/faq.html

OldTools archive: https://swingleydev.com/ot/

OldTools@s...

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