samoht

i didn't even know what hide glue was before i started making my first violin a while back

now i wouldn't use anything but hide glue for acoustic instruments etc.. it's just great. you can easily take the top or neck away with a hot knife if neccessary.

try the same with epoxy

the regular hide glue is easy to use.. just heat some water and put it in a bowl.. then put some glue flakes and a drop of water into a small glass and put it in the bowl. let it be a while and there you go!

no need to buy the liquid stuff..

it's also very cheap.

i've been following these hyunsu's threads for a while and all i can say is WOW!!

huynsu.. you don't need practicing anymore. you ARE a luthier already!

i wish i could build guitars that fast

yes.. jukka tolonen is finnish and a great guitar player. he's not that famous here in finland though i think most musicians know him.

thanks for all the replies.. all i see is one post about the subject! yes.. i had some problems when i tried to post it, but it only seemed to work once.. (i kept getting an error message for some reason).. i hope this works now.

does anyone know where i could get some mandolin/mandola plans? i really need those for the simplest flat back/top mandolin model (not those fancy gibson style mandolins).. i could probably build one without plans too, but i need some info about the bracings..

all i've ever needed in guitar building..

60, 100, 240, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000.

maiden69.. i saw what you did to your epi les paul and i must say i'm very impressed!! couldn't really look any better...

there's an all mahogany epi sg at the local music store and it's IMO one of the best quality guitars i've ever seen. i'm talking about the acoustic tone alone here.. i don't know about the pickups and stuff, but the tuners seem to be reliable in that particular instrument. also the pots and switch seem to be high quality parts.

i agree that it totally sucks when some manufacturers use plywood for their bodies!! i've seen some epi les pauls with alder bodies and they sound great. alder is very good body material for electric guitar, though it may not bring the desired les paul tone, it still can produce pretty good sound. same thing with maple necks.

it is true that expensive pickups won't make a bad guitar sound great, but if the guitar is decent quality instrument, good electronics can make it a very good choice for those who are on a budget.

i've used old 60's wallpaper with pretty good results.. did a sunburst on the edges.

i know my wood. mahogany is mahogany. there's a epiphone SG that's all mahogany and the quality of that instrument is SUPERIOR to any gibson i've ever seen in my life. the finish is perfect quality everywhere, it sounds great both acoustic and amplified.. of course i haven't seen the more expensive gibson guitars, but the ones i've seen (cost 2 or 3 times more than the epiphone) have all been really badly finished guitars.

and it really doesn't matter if the guitar is made in japan, korea or usa if it's a good guitar.

and no.. the guy at the local music store doesn't let me cut his guitars up.. so i can't really be 100% sure about all les pauls

well i haven't seen every epiphone model, but all i've seen here are mahogany.. i don't know if the pickups on the new models are good, but the old ones used to squeal when i turned up the volume.

i don't know about the neck profile, but the body seems to be spot on. the neck headstock is a little different though. i've also noticed that epiphones have way better price/quality ratio than gibsons, as you can get a perfectly finished epiphone for something like 400€. most new gibsons i've seen here look like they skipped the sanding part and just buffed the lacquer after spraying it. also epiphone has started using mahogany in their bodies like gibsons (i think epiphone used to use alder or something in the past).

i know this thread is old, but i've made a few violins. here's some sites that might help. they don't have blueprints for one though.

http://home.att.net/~PeteSchug/

http://www.violins.demon.co.uk/making/index.htm

http://www.primoviolins.com/ViolinTour.htm

this one was my first and it was made without any kind of plans. just by looking at some violins in the local music store.

cheers.

thomas

got it! seems that there's no way i can get one of those here where i live, so i need some alternative methods.

vernier?? what's that? i only have a normal 1m long steel ruler with mm and inch marks. i don't know how to divide the millimeters from that.

which kind? i have one, but it's not accurate enough.

hi. i need a software that can print a template. i can't measure the correct distances of the frets even if i know where they should be, because i haven't got any equipment for it.

anyone?

i meant wfret. not winfret

i need a software that can calculate the 24" scale lenght and print a template of it.

i tried winfret, but i really can't be sure if it's correct. i used it to print the template, but when compared to measurements of many other fret calculators it seems that winfret template is a little longer.

any help is appreciated!

and sorry if my english is bad