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 Dear Luthiers,
Editorial...
We take our responsibility to you seriously. It is our goal to provide you with superior parts, competitive prices, rich supporting documentation, excellent customer service, and a commitment to continue to bring you useful expertly-crafted tools and parts that will expand your luthierie skills and results.
This month we are excited to announce a line of neck profiling templates that will help you shape and finish necks accurately. As with our body and peghead templates, the measurements and contours of our neck profiling templates were taken from original instruments.
The neck profiling templates feature two measuring sets; one for initial shaping of the side of the neck, and the other that fits-like-a-glove to ensure the accuracy of the final width of the neck, from the bottom of the neck to the surface of the fretboard. Each of the cutouts is marked with its fret position so you know exactly where the specific curvature occurs.
One thing to bear in mind is that the Master Model mandolins were made by hand, and each one is slightly different from the next. To this end, the neck contours in our ProSeries Drawing set for the F5 mandolin (#DF5) now indicates the range of shapes we have encountered in many different Loar-signed F5 mandolins. (The curvatures in our F5 neck profiling template were taken from Loar's personal F5 mandolin.)
Hope you get them to your workbench and find them useful.
Thanks for building with us...
Roger
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Loar wasn't a luthier...
I communicate with a lot of folks every day, and one topic that often takes center stage is the work of Lloyd Loar. These discussions often include comments about "Lloyd Loar being a great luthier."
Lloyd Loar was clearly prolific, and he made a huge contribution to the world of music. Unfortunately, much of his work was so far ahead of its time that it just didn't get the marketing and sales traction it was due. And, one must also consider that many of his efforts took place during the time of the Great Depression (1929-1932) - a time when there was neither money for musicians to purchase new instruments nor funds for entrepreneurs to invest in new ideas.
Even through this dark period, Loar was quite productive. He and Lewis Williams (one of the original investors who bought Orville Gibson's one patent and later left Gibson to work with Lloyd) produced a wide array of ViviTone amplified string instruments under the Acousti-Lectric Company name. Loar applied for, and was awarded 14 U.S. Patents. He wrote 14 musical instruction books (published by fellow musician and publisher Joe Nicomede). He was a musical consultant to Webster's Dictionary, and he was a professor at Northwestern University from 1930 until his death in 1943. His design efforts included electric violas, 10-string mandolas, electric clavichords and keyboard actions, electric guitars, and even an air-raid warden whistle, the patent rights of which he donated to the U.S. Government in support of the war effort. He also arranged music for violin and mandolin, and he composed a huge array of musical pieces for violin, mandolin, viola, and various instrument ensembles.
Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Loar's contributions while at Gibson. While there, he directed the development of the Master Model instruments including the F5 mandolin, H5 mandola, L5 guitar, and the Master Tone banjo series (later to become one word, Mastertone).
But, as enormous and expansive as his contributions were, Lloyd Loar was a musicologist and acoustical engineer, not a luthier. He didn't build instruments at Gibson, but instead was very instrumental in specifying many of the key features that make the Master Model mandolins so excellent today. These features included a 6° neck pitch, f-holes, inwardly angled string posts, fretboard extender, tuned parts, gauzing of f-holes, ebony fretboard extender, longer neck, narrower fretboard, newly shaped peghead, and more.
When one reads the comments Loar made in his Physics of Music class at Northwestern University, it is relatively easy to see how his love for the design of the violin influenced the design of the Master Model instruments. While Loar was not a luthier, there is no doubt that he was a musical genius.
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Product Highlights
 · F5/A5 mandolin neck profiling template, laser cut, 1/8" luminescent plastic, contours are at five positions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th frets), includes half-neck and total width contours, and hang-up hole. Part #370-N, $17.95 plus P&H. Order online here.
 · F4/A1 mandolin neck profiling template, laser cut, 1/8" luminescent plastic, contours are at four positions (1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th frets), includes half-neck and total width contours, and hang-up hole. Part #372-N, $17.95 plus P&H. Order online here.
 · H5 mandola neck profiling template, laser cut, 1/8" luminescent plastic, contours are at five positions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th frets), includes half-neck and total width contours, and hang-up hole. Part #373-N, $17.95 plus P&H. Order online here. NOTE: Please consult the Shipping & Returns page on our website for a P&H table. |
Luthier's Tip: Removing kerfed lining
Occasionally, it is necessary to replace the kerfed lining when repairing an instrument. If hide glue was used to construct the instrument, a thin hot spatula should soften the glue and make it easy to separate the lining from the rib. If Titebond® was used, the hot spatula might work, but it is more stubborn than softening hide glue. Sometimes, it is difficult to determine what adhesive was used, and the seam may be difficult to open. Prying the lining off is not a good practice since there is a good chance that you could crack the rib.
To remove stubborn linings, when all else fails, one of our shop's luthiers, Ken Roddick, slips a thin blade (often referred to as a "stripper blade") into the lining-to-rib seam, holding the blade vertical, and gently taps it through the lining to separate it from the rib. This solution works quite well and leaves only minimal residual glue and wood chips to remove with sandpaper.
When using blades of this type, you must be very careful of the blade's exposed edge.
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Product of the Month: Molded Fiberglass Mandolin Case
 For the month of July we are making our molded fiberglass mandolin case available at an incredible offer. This durable form-fitted case is black on the outside, features a shoulder strap, and has a plush green lining with string pocket. Part number is #2010 and the regular price is $199.00. But, if you buy one in July, you can save $30.00 while supplies last! Only one case per customer, please. Order online here and use the coupon code below at checkout to receive this special price.
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