My Life in Lutherie.

poweredbyavocado:

Ukulele! Made with a $0.50 cigar box from a flea market, maple neck, bamboo frets, old nylon guitar strings, and some tuners I had laying around. I made all parts of this myself out of wood I already had (except the tuners and strings, of course). I left the box fully intact this time, so it can open up in the back (the way the bridge is designed, it’s the only way to change the strings anyway).

(Source: likearoadthroughmountains)

tviolins:

A little polishing, making it smooth and ready for the oil varnishing.

poweredbyavocado:

So, today’s work involved finishing up the linings, and finally removing the mold! It came apart pretty easily thank goodness. If the ribs came apart while tring to take out the mold, I probably would’ve cried, haha. But now it’s time to trim the linings and blocks, make sure the ribs are level, and then start on carving the back!

(Source: likearoadthroughmountains)

kellycdb:

This bowlback mandolin was missing a section of purfling. Not just any standard purfling. No, this was a herringbone with one red side. We didn’t have any like that around the shop, so I deconstructed a regular black and white herringbone (carefully removing three b&w layers) and added a red layer. Fitted the piece, glued & trimmed it, and Marc says it’s a beautiful job. I’m pleased with it too. It just needs varnish now, matching the color of the aged varnish on the rest of it.