|
|
Meeting Notes
|
|
Notes of Meetings June '00 to December '00From latest to earliest
Click here for reports of more recent events
|
|
|
The Seattle Luthiers Group got a taste of the big time December 12 as the guests of Hammond Ashley Associates, famous maker of basses and other members of the violin family in Des Moines, Washington.
Master of Ceremonies David Wilson talked about their business, which now consists mostly of repairs and set-ups, and discussed many of the techniques used in shaping big and small pieces of wood. Examples were available for inspection, including a barely-portable neck blank and beautifully carved 'cello plates. Guests were ultimately turned loose in the back room to roam among an amazingly diverse population of basses suspended from beams and awaiting attention.
Any hand tool you can imagine is here, in every size and radius. Can a shop be complete without a hank of Mongolian horsehair hanging on the wall beside three other varieties? What does Coors beer have to do with keeping a fine edge on your plane iron? How do they make those convex ones in the first place? Do real instrument makers use glitter? What good is a broken bandsaw blade? Is your viola big enough?
Answers were provided, along with hot drinks and cookies (the latter supplemented by cookie expert Jay Hargreaves). Also, advice for the bassist facing airline travel, for instance: always approach airport personnel peghead-first, giving them a foreshortened view of the instrument, never upright, exhibiting the full seven-foot length. If the gate agent refers to the instrument as "the 'cello," do not offer a correction. And so forth.
Members left with an appreciation of craft on a new scale.
|
November 2000
|
|
The Seattle Luthiers Group met for its bi-monthly dinner at the Viet My on November 14, 2000. The number attending equalled the number expected, which equalled fifteen, and thus no announcements concerning attendance were necessary.
Jay Hargreaves showed pictures of his latest project, a guitar with removable oval soundhole covers, midi output, and both piezo and internal boom pickups. Jim Blilie brought his most recent guitar, a somewhat more traditional but nonetheless popular instrument. Scott Collier, overnight archtop success, produced a neck fragment with peghead from a plastic bag and then listened while grandmaster Michael Gurian explained how, with two hours and a dovetail saw, to turn it into a perfectly restored Les Paul.
Mr. Blilie also brought the long-anticipated Duke of Pearl information and sought individuals interested in participating in his ($1000 minimum) order. Mr. Tom Mehren, publisher of Sounds of Seattle, www.soundsofseattle.com, introduced himself and set about finding out more about our group and its members.
The evening's fare included a thick soup, tofu curry, shrimp with bell peppers, beef in a sauce with peanuts, the usual eggrolls, and plenty of fried rice. The carrot-and-cucumber salad was not in evidence.
|
October 2000
|
|
The First Annual Swap Meet and Sports Fest of the Seattle Luthiers Discussion Group was held on the evening of October 10, 2000, at the workshop of Rob Girdis in historic Greenwood (see December 1998 Proceedings for more on Rob's shop).
|
|
Attendance reached two dozen, and a large number of those present had brought trade goods of some kind, ranging from odd surplus tools to big stacks of wood. Several diversions were available besides barter, including the traditional chips and salsa, supplemented by Mrs. Fields' cookies, and, since baseball fever was running high, a television set tuned to the Big Contest (the Mariners beat the Yankees 2-0 in the American League championship series opener). This bread-and-circuses format kept the masses happy and forestalled a promised discussion of plans to make the Group a bigger force on the area's cultural and economic scene.
|
|
|
No large bills were seen to change hands, and in fact a lot of materials were given away free. David Haxton, continuing a tradition he established at the Group's very first meeting, dispensed stacks of 100 grit sandpaper as favors, and several others followed suit, with items from plastic bags for packaging (Rocky Perko) to VW torsion rod pieces (Jay Hargreaves, who says the spring steel makes excellent edge tools). Eyes lit up when Steve Andersen announced that he was leaving without the big stack of maple he had brought.
|
|
Deals were made in hardware, though, and Cat Fox was eventually able to recoup some of her (accidental) investment in the fat fretwire market. Paul Hass asked the group for comments on his experimental classical guitar neck, which combines the convenience of bolting on with the, well, the foot of the Spanish foot. Nobody could see a danged thing wrong with it.
|
|
Rob's shop is a fine place to meet and it must be a great place to work, too. Most spaces this size would attract big noise-making machines, but this one is designed for humans. Nearly everything on the floor is on wheels, which means not only that it is out of the way when it's not in use, but that any surface can be moved next to a window for natural light. A lot of us probably envy Rob that wood stove in the corner as well, an effective means of increasing comfort and eliminating clutter.
|
|
September 2000
|
|
Attendance at the September regular dinner meeting was scant (only half the number who had indicated they would come). There was at least one valid excuse; but the rest of those missing were talked about in their absence in stronger terms than usual. Fortunately, a brand new member, Scott Collier, showed up to break the tension, with a good-looking archtop guitar, his very first project.
Despite talk of turmoil in the Pioneer Square real-estate scene, a good time was had by all, as were the egg rolls, the soup, the carrot and cucumber salad (poultry), the curry (tofu), the fried rice, and the popular mussels in the spicy bell pepper sauce.
|
August 2000
|
|
This month’s meeting featured those bravest of luthiers, those who do repairs. The panelists, Michael Tagawa, Paul Stroh, Gary Wagner, Cat Fox, and John Saba (along with help from the floor by Jon Bentley and host Michael Gurian) offered advice from their cumulative centuries of repair experience. There were tips on specific cracks and finishes, but the tone of the evening seemed to be set by Ken Savage's early question, "What mistakes do you see builders making?"
The cardinal sin, according to Ms. Fox (who also brought a couple horrific examples of amateur repair jobs), is to assume that your instrument, unlike all others, will never need that neck re-set. Making a joint irreversible, or hiding it too cleverly, may shorten rather than lengthen the life of your instrument. Commonest problem? Bad fret jobs. Easiest to avoid? Heel blocks (especially with square corners) glued to tops and backs, leading to the ultimate hard-to-hide fix: split spruce under a sunburst finish!
How much heat melts which glue without ruining which finishes? Most of the advice was more general: Don't answer the phone while you're loosening a bridge plate. Don't take on a job you're not sure you can do well. Remember that the last person who works on an instrument is the one who gets blamed for everything that's been done to it. There was clearly enough wisdom here for more than one evening, but the hour grew late and popcorn comsumption reached its limit.
In addition to the featured discussion there were announcements of new products. Alan Ollivant of Guitarwoods.com journeyed all the way from Oregon with stacks of myrtle and Port Orford cedar to make his Seattle Luthiers Discussion Group debut, and Mr. Gurian showed a wonderously flexible and consistent white fiber material in wrap-around (63") lengths for guitar bindings and other applications. Also, Kevin Almeida, interested in getting back to building, is offering to sell his computer-inlay business.
|
July 2000
|
|
Ken Savage hosted the second annual Seattle Luthiers Potluck at his home on Bainbridge Island July 23, 2000. Early reports praise Ken and JoAnn, their home and shop, and the people who attended. No praise has yet been heard for the somewhat unsettled weather.
|
June 2000
|
|
The Seattle Luthiers Group made a great leap forward on June 13, 2000, while returning to its roots. This meeting, like their very first, was held at the home of David Haxton -- but this time in his newly completed detached workshop. The program, "A Look at the Acoustic Guitar as a Structure" by Jim Blilie, satisfied many of the hopes of those early visionaries in providing useful technical information in a pleasant, helpful format.
|
|
David's wife Patricia describes work at the Seward Park area lutherie complex as "seamless," by which she means that no project ends before another has begun. Before this red paint had dried the building was occupied by the hulk of a Morris Minor 1000, now on a sort of automotive rotisserie against the east wall. David says that by fall the rust will be gone, the car will be back on its wheels and work on guitars can resume.
|
|
Jim Blilie brings to his work as a luthier his experience as a structural engineer. Jim was able to explain to the assembled multitudes why we do certain things (like taper the ends of our braces or join them to the instrument's sides), and why we don't do others (like make the sides strong enough to bear the forces traditionally born by the top).
"Stresses follow the strongest members," Jim says of any system. We were surprised and pleased to learn how much lower most of those stresses are than the strength of the woods involved.
|
|
 "What's the difference between a luthier and the pizza guy?" Fortunately, at Haxton's place, none at all. David makes 'em and he serves 'em. Shown here are a number of the faithful stoking up in preparation for learning. Mr. Blilie's presentation was the first to be videotaped in part, possibly a cornerstone for a great library of lutherie knowledge. Jim promised to make his materials available for those interested. A copy can also be obtained non-electronically from Paul Hass.
To see any of these pictures in greater detail, choose "View Image" from your context-sensitive menu.
|
|
The biggest question for the group at the end of the meeting was when to hold its summer pot-luck gathering -- July 9 or July 23? A later e-mail survey led to the choice of the 23rd. "Where" was not an issue -- it would be at Ken Savage's place.
|