MIMF

I have the book, and it's good stuff. Yes, you can do the deflection testing on completed instruments. Actually, this is how Hurd went about establishing deflection targets for his own instruments: he measured the best instruments he could get his hands on and shot for those numbers. Obviously, you ...

YES, this is what I want to see!

Port Orford Cedar has different properties than WRC: closer to sitka than a cedar, though harder. It's actually a cyprus, which is flamenco blanca material.

Mark W., when you get your neck set where you want it, do you just plane flush any of the heel that's proud of the back surface? And then the notch on the fingerboard side is for pickup clearance?

Wow, a couple nice logs and you have yourself a couple decades of stash! Makes me want to go wood cutting with my folks in the mountains of Idaho: lots of that beetle-kill Ponderosa and Lodgepole that the FS and BLM are happy to have people take out. Probably some good stuff in their firewood pile r...

Very cool, Paul! You have a serious groove going here. I like how the "sound hole" just opens up to the body wood, and gives you some nice grain and complementary color to look at.

That's really cool, and encouraging, to hear, Alan. Last time I remember one of these threads, you had mentioned that you and Hurd hadn't really been able to get together and swap info/ideas. Sounds like a lot of folks are having success with these methods, either separately or in combination.

I read Mr. Smirnoff's book but have not tried his method I suggest tonic and lime. ;) Craig, do you just test deflection at the bridge, or elsewhere on the top? David Hurd's "Left Brain Lutherie" method is about testing deflection all over the lower bout in a grid-like fashion. It would b...

This is nice, Nathan. Your post, though, brings up a question for Charlie: these are progress shots. In the "old country," incomplete instrument documentation was not allowed, since all the photos and such used too much juice. Since a discussion can float around on this style of forum for ...