The Luthier Community

Looks better than the reproduction antique engraved guitar tuning plate I made this week.

I get zero credit for that. It came up recently in a blog I read every morning, and I bookmarked it because it looks like a pretty quick and easy jig for making clock gears.

If magnification is what you need, the pros use stereo microscopes. I use a stereo microscope for watchmaking and electronics. With the right setup, you can get light magnification (3.5X) with about 8" working distance (the space between what you're working on, and the bottom of the scope). Ple...

Might be worth a look-see for you here. I've also got a copy of the 1877 edition of the Practical Machinist. A little later than you're looking, but a lot of really simple (relatively) stuff. I don't think rotary cutting tools were a thing yet.

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t114/spectre6000/photo-6_zpsfd4cda63.jpg Happy? :-) The top set of controls are unused at the moment. The bottom set of switches from left to right are bridge pickup on/off, neck pickup on/off, unused. The knobs are volume and tone. The pickups can not have their ...

My #1 commercially made axe is a Japanese Fender Jaguar that came with two humbuckers and a TOM tailpiece. In case you're unfamiliar with this particular guitar, it comes with four two-way switches (a set of three on one plate, and the fourth off on its own) and four pots (two sets of two). I bought...

Here's a tip on parts guitars: different manufacturers' parts don't always translate. I.e. a guy brought me a guitar he'd built from parts that he got in a "kit" from a local music store (they just bought the cheapest stuff they could find from whoever they could get it). They were reputab...