Building Methods Archives

January 19, 2020January 26, 2020

Practice Time with the Big Roubo Saw

I recently started a new position in my Information Security career, which has kept me away from the shop (and from posting) for a while. I managed to shoe-horn in some workshop time during Memorial Day weekend 2019, and took the Roubo inspired veneer saw (frame saw) for some test cutting. Just like any…

February 24, 2019January 26, 2020

Taking My Glue Pot “off the grid” (Part Two)

Although my shop conversion began in 2005, most of the processes I’ve used over the last 30 years involve hand-tools. Before the power outage in 2008, I always had access to electric power in the shop. Electricity was always there to tackle a job I was capable of, but just didn’t feel like doing at…

February 24, 2019January 26, 2020

Taking My Glue Pot “off the grid” (Part One)

Ever since I began building instruments, I’ve used some form of electric glue pot to prepare granulated hide glue for my instruments. For the last 30 years, I’ve either used a double boiler (bain marie) and an electric hot plate, or the iconic “Hold Heet” electric glue pot that’s been my workhorse since the early…

September 12, 2018July 20, 2019

At last, a pair of decent holdfasts!

Holdfasts are probably the second-most-used clamping tool in my luthiery shop. Since I use holdfasts for securing lute-forms, soundboards, birds-mouths, top battens, and almost everything else, I’m almost always about one pair of holdfasts short of the number I really need. For the last 25 years, I’ve used a pair of cast iron holdfasts from…