The contents of this issue are in
Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven
It is no longer available as a back issue

Mike Doolin buffing body of guitar
American Lutherie #73
Spring 2003

This issue's cover we see Mike Doolin buffing the body of one of his guitars during a workshop on waterborne finishes that he and John Greven presented at the 2001 GAL Convention.

Francois Pistorius In Memorium: Francois Pistorius
South African luthier Francois Pistorius recently passed away at a very early point in his promising career. We offer four short appreciations. Read his memoriam.

Kathy Matsushita Meet the Maker: Kathy Matsushita by Cyndy Burton
Kathy Matsushita is a born teacher. Not only does she teach high school by day, but she shares everything she learns about lutherie with cyberfriends and fans worldwide.

Eugene Clark presses lines into rosette channel Constructing the Spanish Rosette, Part 2 by Eugene Clark with
Jonathon Peterson

In American Lutherie #71 we brought you the first part of Eugene Clark's detailed explanation of making a Spanish-style rosette. In this issue we bring you the second half, in which Eugene assembles the lines, tiles, and braids into the soundboard.

John Greven French polishes the back of a guitar Waterborne Solutions by Mike Doolin and John Greven
John Greven and Mike Doolin gave an in-depth demonstration of using waterborne finishes at our 2001 National Convention. Mike uses Water Edge “Top Coat” while John prefers Target brand. They show you how to spray, brush, and pad the stuff on to good advantage.

Caricature of Pugo Brothers A Contrabass for the Pugo Brothers by Juan Carlos Morales translated by John L. Walker
The Pugo Brothers of Ecuador defied incredible odds to become luthiers.

Jon Sevy's mathematical guitar equation What Happens if I Make It Bigger? By Jon Sevy
Jon Sevy shares some thoughts on mathematical relationships that are useful for estimating brace strength, string tension, and the like.

Cleaning glue squeeze-out from around a guitar side brack Stop Giving Your Guitar the Finger by John Calkin
John Calkin shares a set of tips for making your guitar building experience more productive and enjoyable. For example, he says “Stop giving your guitar the finger!” Spread glue with a small brush instead.

Ted Beringer displays one of his guitars Ted's Excellent Adventures by Steve Regimbal
Ever see an archtop guitar with top, sides, and back made of spruce? How about a half-scale 12-string guitar? Ted Beringer makes them, plus many other unusual things. That's Ted in the picture. Click on it to see Bruce Harvie playing a Ted Beringer guitar.

George Wunderlich plays one of his vintage style banjos Meet the Maker: George Wunderlich by Nathan Stinnette
George Wunderlich makes authentic 19th-century minstrel banjo reproductions. Meet him and get the skinny on gut-string banjoes.

Aluminum bars and pivot arms of a neck duplicator Pantograph Neck Shaft Duplicator by Mike Doolin
Mike Doolin shows us how to build a pantograph table to precisely shape neck shafts. Click the little picture for a different view.

RM Mottola Ashbory style bass guitar Plywood by R.M. Mottola
Remember the Ashbory bass, with the crazy little rubber strings? Ever think anyone would make an acoustic version of it? R.M. Mottola has done it. But the article is really about plywood and its uses in lutherie.

Bottom side of bridge fixture Bridge Positioning Fixture by Pete Barthell
What is it? It's the business end of Pete Barthell's jig to perfectly align the bridge on a classic guitar. Click it to see the whole thing in action. It involves toothpicks.

Veritas Apron Plane, Tite-Mark Marking Gauge, Veritas Contour Plane Product Reviews by Jeffrey Elliott with Cyndy Burton
Jeff Elliott reviews three small tools: a plane, a marking gauge, and an ultra-simple spokeshave.

David Hawley shows guitar made out of toothpicks. Eugene Clark's veneer scraper It Worked For Me by David B. Hawley and
Eugene Clark

Speaking of toothpicks, check this out: A fully-functional guitar made entirely of toothpicks! Eugene Clark just can't stop sharing. Now he's showing us how to make a simple and effective tool to scrape rosette veneer lines to an exact size.

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