Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi folks,

I joined a few months ago but haven't introduced myself. I'm James Warwick (Jim) live in Oakton, Virginia, and have a small shop a few minutes away in the Historic District of Vienna, VA (Washington DC area). I do a lot of repair and resoration work, and build 12-16 guitars year. I've been doing it since I was a kid, but full-time for the last 11 years (second career).

Regarding a recent discussion regarding Tor-Tis, I thought I'd offer a simple way I've found of working with it. It does involve some heat, but no water (messy). A few pictures will convey the idea best, I think:







Heated up to ~ 135 degrees F, it cuts like butter; much hotter and it wants to stretch. Use a sharp knife and one pass is all that's needed. Take the aluminum plate off the heat blanket and in a minute or so it's hard and ready to bevel and polish. Works like a charm for me.

Here's a pics of one of two models of classical I build:



My classicals and flamencos are French polished; I use Target USL on most of my steel-strings.

Apologies for the long post. This is a good forum--hope I can contribute something equal to what I'm gaining.

Best regards to all,

Jim Warwick

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

Welcome, and thanks for the great tip!
-C

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Freeborn Guitars
and home of BeauGuard©

James...welcome to the OLF. On your heating plate is that some sort of surface thermometer?

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Brad
Avon, OH

Jim, nice to see you here, and welcome. Great tip, and nice guitar!

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Jim,

Welcome! Nice guitar, and an excellent solution to a problem. Might work well for heating parts to prepare for hide glue, too.

Welcome, Jim. Thanks for the post and the tip on Tor-Tis. Looking forward to having you chime in with your opinions.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Now, why didn't I think of that?!

Great idea, great looking guitar! Welcome!

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Hmmm, never thought of water as messy, but this is a slick method. Must try...!

Geday Jim

Welcome, slick idea, fine look'in guitar, look forward to your future input.

Cheers

Kim

Welcome Jim! And thanks for the great tip!

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Not just a good tip but easy for any of us!

From a fairly new member and hobbiest, welcome to the world's best luthier site.

Donovan

This is a great idea! Looks like that's a metal plate on top of a side bending blanket.
I was thinking about trying some plate glass on a food warming tray.

CrowDuck

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Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.

Welcome Jim and beautiful guitar!

Great tip!! Thanks and welcome!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Hi Brad. Yes, it's a simple bi-metal surface thermometer. I keep several of these around. Very handy for checking temp of bending forms, heat blankets, etc. I calibrate them using my DMM and a thermocouple. They are reasonably accurate and are cheap ... $7.95 at my local hobby shop. I think Stew-Mac sells them too -- different brand, cost a bit more.

Jim

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

Hi Carlton ... I do just that with top braces and bridges. I use a heavy salmon poaching pan, the kind with a sliding lid, instead of aluminum plate. Keeps everything at a nice uniform temp.

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

I can make a mess out of just about anything, Mario!

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

Hi Hesh, thanks for the kind words. One of my clients is a professional photographer and takes hi-res pics of my finished instruments. They are really big files ... 1.5 mb +. I can't figure out how to reduce the resolution so they are web-friendly. The one I posted was a quick shot using my shop digital. I've got scads of shots like that, and of differnet guitars at varying stages of completion. Not much to look at, but I'd be happy to post a few if you are interested.

Best, Jim

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

Hmmm ... just saw how my responses lined up. How do I post so that responses follow logically?

Thanks! Jim

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

Hi Jim, welcome to the OLF!

Now that's the spirit! Thanks for sharing such a great tip with us and i look forward to learn more from you my friend!

Enjoy the group, the best folks on the WWW!

Serge

Welcome! and thanks for a great tip

Mike

Jim, I'll add to the welcome and the kudos to the great tip. In another thread, you'll have to tell us what you think of the Target USL and how you decided to use it vs. the other finishes out there.

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

    Hey Jim! Thanks for the tip! Pretty clever! But I think I can do you one better! Just put a box of McNug's on the side an you could have lunch too!

That is pretty cool! Thanks again!!
Billy Dean

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Some follow up info regarding surface thermometers.
Available as "Grill Surface Thermometer", designed to monitor surface temp of BBQ grills and fry pans. Can commonly be found as cooking supplies for about $10.
I love these kind of tips!! Thanks Jim

CrowDuck

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Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.