Official Luthiers Forum!

That does look like a very useful beast. Is it yours? What is the reach between the chuck and that post? It is much better than mine and would probably get around that problem with the Safe-T planer quite nicely!

But anyway - Colleen, back to your build. Any further progress? It feels like it might be rosette making time soon.

Yes, I should get to the rosette soon. I’ve been distracted by writing an opera. Seriously. In my other life I’m a musician and composer. Planning to apply for a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts next year to do a recording with a live orchestra. But I should make time for the build again very soon.

Writing an opera! Wow, that sounds impressive. Music and libretto? An opera about guitar building could be great. It could have drama, pathos, a hero luthier and her love interest (a famous musician needing a special magical instrument), and a villain (I haven't worked that character out yet). You could workshop the story line here at the OLF.

Villain? Guitar Center. It practically writes itself . . .

Unfortunately, not a luthier story, lol. Although I did come up with a story idea about a luthier with a dark secret; he boils bones for nuts and saddles, and sells blanks online, but the bones are human bones… he’s secretly a serial killer.

No, my opera is based on my life as a transgender woman growing up in an unaccepting and unforgiving world. And yes, music and libretto.

With the radial press Colleen shows the horizontal tube moves in and out so the drill head will move out past the table and can also be turned to do horizontal boring or angle boring. I've never measured the travel on the one I have, but I'm guessing it would be about a foot and a half from chuck to column when extended.

Ever see The Red Violin.... Another story about using human parts for Lutherie.

We own a busy repair shop so I have to disclaim that no humans were harmed in posting this post and we only use free ranging cows that do yoga for nuts and saddles, their bones are denser.