Official Luthiers Forum!

How are you all measuring the thickness of tops, backs and sides? Are you using calipers such as on lmi or stewmac? if so, what kind are you using. i was going to place an order but wanted to check with teh always knowledgable forum first.

Ebay, harbor freight, and many others have digital calipers that are very reasonable. I am not sure how expensive the ones form LMI or Stewmac are, but I run into inexpensive sets all over the place. Mine does mm to 3 decimal places, and inches to 4 decimals.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I'm just using a caliper with a dial on it. I guess something else might be more accurate but I not really thicknessing to an exact thickness anyway. I just use it to keep informed about where I am. Flex, thump, look & listen.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Frank definatly check Harbor freight tools. They were insale 12.95 for digital read in in. and mm

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Another vote for Harbor Freight digitals. I have a couple of sets of Mitutoyo calipers and the HF are just as accurate and LOTS cheaper.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I am using the ones from LMI and they work great. But I think these other guys are right. Find them somewhere else where you can get them for a lot less. I know I just didn’t do enough looking before I went and bout mine. And they sure weren’t cheap.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

I got a cheapie dial caliper guage thing from Axminster in the UK, made a frame for it, measures fairly repeatable to within about .2mm.

Hello, this is my first post here - great forum!

I'll cast my vote for the german made deep throat calipers as sold by stewmac. They work well, are nicely made, and are very accurate. I believe that a good set of calipers is one of the msot important tools in the shop, and also that keeping records of thicknesses and the "feel" of a soundboard are important to producing consistent and improving results. This is one of those tools that is well worth putting a bit of money into.

Regards,
Joshua A. French

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Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

Nice to see a new member contributing. You make some very beautiful classical guitars too!

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

Thanks Tim for the welcome. I look forward to participating here...

Best wishes,
Joshua

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Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

Welcome Joshua, Great work, My computer dials up big images like that in about ten minutes. I went and did my mail and came back to a big surprise, wow.

Looks like this week is Joshua week, we had Joshua House from Canada sign up too. By the way, we'd love to have all you new folks sign up under Luthier's Bio on the top of the page. Put up a pic and a few fantastic lies about yourself, we'd love to read about you.

Joshua,

Great to see you here! I have looked at your website many, many times and emailed you once or twice I think. That was when I was looking at buying a classical guitar, but now I look at your site because I have started building! I really like what you have to say in your philosophy statement. I sure hope you will stop by often and share with us. I have 1,001 questions I could ask about building classicals, but I promise to only do so one at a time.

Jeff

I use a standard vernier caliper(no dial,no digital). I was able to buy on sale. Cost practically nothing but has nothing fancy about it. It works well. I made another thickness caliper with a dial indicator. By the way Jason nice web site. And really nice workmanship on your "Spanish" guitars.