What Are You Stuck On?
Even after nearly 30 years of building guitars, I still get stuck. An unfinished go-bar deck reminded me why learning to listen is how you find the next step.
Read MoreAuthor: Tom Bills
The Joint Was Flat Until The Glue Went On
Two flat blocks of mahogany weren’t flat anymore once the hide glue went on. How anticipating what wood does with water makes a better glue joint, and a better guitar.
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What The Hygrometer Can’t Tell You
Most humidity advice stops at 50%. What’s actually moving a guitar is the water in the wood’s cell walls, and learning to know the wood is where the craft begins.
Read MoreI Lost Three Guitar Backs In One Night
Three braced guitar backs cracked overnight while my hygrometer said 50%. The humidity where your wood sits can be very different from the number on the wall.
Read MoreThe Two Battles Every Guitar Builder Fights
Every builder fights two battles. The first I can trace to a ceramic rooster in a 1993 drawing class. The second took me years to even see.
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