Doc Rathwell
Forum Replies Created
-
Canadian suppliers Solo Guitars (Silver, Black, Gold) and NextGen Guitars (Pink, Blue, Silver, Black, Gold) both offer it. I believe Solo offers aluminum and steel and NextGen aluminum:
https://nextgenguitars.ca/products/aluminum-foil-gold.html
Doc
-
Hi Kfir,
I’ve never really had issue with these but I’ll go ahead and ask the obvious question first – did you remove the bolt? It’s hidden under the model/serial# tag on the neck block.
Beyond that I would simply suggest to keep at it. I’ve been able to remove them pretty easily with both steam and now adays the foam cutters.
Cheers,
Doc
Edit – Ian let me know he believes through photos you’ve shared with him that the bolt has been removed so perhaps trying to pull outwards by clamping the neck and lightly shifting the body back and forth and pulling outwards. The fingerboard extensions and part of the joint are glued. I believe these are mortise & tenon joints (you should be able to confirm by looking at the specific model on the Martin website) so pulling outwards is another possible solution compared to the upward removal of a dovetail…
Edit Edit – Ian beat me to the last Edit so, yha, what he said…
-
I’m wondering if it may be just a frequency thing. The greasebucket is meant to be paired with a 250K pot and the caps & resistors paired with that particular pot. Perhaps what it’s doing is simply not audible to the ears. I gather why you used the 500K but it just might not be the right pairing for the desired outcome.
For instance, here’s a pile of treble-bleed circuits I’ve built for various pickup and pot configurations – some of these won’t do an audible thing when clipped into a certain pickup/pot combination and some are very obvious.
Doc
* within this pile are 2 different bleed circuits for TV Jones pickups dependant on whether I’m using a 250K or 500K pot. The 250K one is fairly similar to a Fender bleed for 250K pot but, the 500K has a much higher capacitor value. I’m not an electronics guy but giving this logic, I would consider perhaps a .04µF capacitor in-series with the 4.7KΩ resistor
-
I use the Hosco workbench mat. They’re pretty cheap, don’t effect any finishes, have a decent weight and two little magnet areas in the far corners (I position the magnets far left and right as I look at an instrument on the mat) to quickly place screws so you don’t lose them during a quick task. I’m pretty happy with them.
Doc
-
I wasn’t aware of the aforementioned and I’ll have to give them a look-see myself.
I think Heritage is likely the most well known and who I’ve been using for years. Much like they other, they specialize in musical instruments and have focuses on groups like players, collectors, sales shops, makers and repair shops. The “Workbench Policy” is what I have which covers every aspect of running a shop. One thing I particularly like is when shipping instruments, the instrument is fully insured until it is signed for by the receiver.
Doc
musicins.com
Heritage Insurance | Musical Instruments & Equipment | Free Quote
Heritage Insurance | Musical Instruments & Equipment | Free Quote
-
You can check out what Aeris has to offer.
Doc
aerispackaging.com
Aeris offers you eco-friendly Air chamber packaging and biodegradable packaging designed to protect your products easily, cost-effectively, and completely.
-
I have it with use for my (I think) Model B Schatten winder and I’ve had no issues after setting it up. I find it a little annoying having to set it each time for usage but the tension was fine from the first wind if I remember correctly. I just tried to mimic the resistance of when I used my fingers and it’s been good enough.
Doc
-
I’ve had something in the works in the background but keep hitting walls I’m not happy with. As such, I’m still using the original Hot Wire Foam Factory I first recommended and they’re still going strong…
Doc
-
-
-
Hi Doug,
You could fabricate a small rectangle out of wood, something just shy of the 1.25″ you’re after and cut it on the diagonal then use it as a wedge. Use a clamp on the outside areas to ensure you’re not just pushing out the top/back…
Doc
-
I echo this entire suggestion. I spent the first 10-ish years of lutherie at the bench in a very high-end violin “firm”. All the big named historic makers passed through the shop. The clientele owning these are a unique group of individuals often difficult to work with.
The start of the next decade, I left the big city and the firm and took over a “fiddle” shop. The fiddle clientele were much easier to work with but the working repair structure of a violin firm compared to a fiddle shop was much different. The “fiddles” were of much lesser value and it was difficult to expect someone to pay $1500+++ for a neck-reset with an instrument worth a few hundred bucks. I also wanted to focus on fretted instruments.
Today I don’t do any work on bowed-instruments. I no-longer re-hair bows either. When I started in “The Firm”, the Master didn’t like that I would need to leave the shop to attend to a fretted instrument issue. He sat me down and said I needed to choose. And I did. And since, I have made a different choice, which I am very happy with.
Today, I have enough angst with the need to build a fretted instrument every now and then that I don’t need the draw of even fitting a violin bridge to a wonky soundboard to muddle up my head.
The suggestion of getting old fiddles, the Weisshaar and Stroble books and having at it, if you feel you must, is exactly what I would suggest. The Weisshaar book is a little dated today but a wealth of useful information. Of course, the past interviews containing the tips and techniques shared by the likes of Iris Carr and Jerry Lynne that Ian has done for TLG is exceptional with very advanced modern approaches.
The only thing I would add is once you think you’ve got a fixed up fiddle, you need to get it into the hands of someone qualified to judge the work. Otherwise, I don’t see the point.
Good luck
Doc
-
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the heads-up as it ended up in my Spam folder. I’ll get back to you soon.
Doc
-
I get at drips pretty quickly so I don’t have an issue with them per se…I’m not sure that they’d fall off it they were left to dry however.
Doc
