Official Luthiers Forum!

I've seen a few builders use these beautiful labels that are laser etched or engraved on thin veneers instead of the standard ink and paper. Any idea where to have those made? Google hasn't been too helpful, or maybe I just don't know the best search terms.

If I remember correctly, Dave Fifield has a laser setup. You might want to PM him and ask....

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Peter

James I have mine done at a local trophy shop. When I get home tonight I can send you a pic of the finished product.

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

I'd love that, Chris. Thanks. Is it a pretty common service for trophy shops?

Most trophy shops can take a file you create on your computer and laser engrave it.

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Damon Wack
https://www.facebook.com/LindamonGuitars

There are a lot of laser engravers around. If you can't find someone local, I've worked with this guy a lot:

http://www.fastrubberstamps.ca/

(Hey, business names can be deceiving...he's done both laser engraving and cutting on wood for me)

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Yep. I make and use laser engraved labels. As far as I can tell, since they are engraved, they should last "forever". They don't take long to run and are therefore inexpensive. Shipping is usually pretty cheap too, since they fit nicely in a padded envelope. PM me if you're interested. Here's one (of mine - I like to keep the design simple) on a tenor ukulele that I'm building right now. Sorry for the poor focus.



Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Here is one of the proofs I ran through the local trophy shop here (laser work). I just use spruce and write the pertinent information in. That funny looking 'C' in the upper bout of my logo is gone too...that thing was an eye sore. I'll probably change it again sometime soon because I'm still not happy with it.

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

That looks nice, Chris. I love the finishing touch the wood label gives. I got in touch with Dave, and he'll be making me a few! I'll be sure to show them off when they're done.

On thing to be careful with these sort of labels is telegraphing through. Many times you'll be able to feel a bump on the outside of the back where the label is. I've seen it on many McPhersons, as well as a couple different solo luthiers who have uses this type.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Thanks for the heads up, John. Does thickness have anything to do with it? Are there thicknesses I'd want to stay away from?

I think it has more to do with moisture from the glue than anything. McPhersons middle section was very thin (something like .030-ish). We tried a number of different things to minimize the bump, but it persisted. Our best guess was that it had to do with the glue as well as the time in between the thickness sanding and gluing of the patch on. Longer time in between the two seemed to be better as we guessed it was a matter of the wood getting heated up during the sanding and drying out the wood and then gluing the patch to that. That said even sometimes when leaving it sit overnight it still would happen.

I think the wood patches look nice, but this is one of the biggest reasons why I would never used one.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Lee Valley at one time sold blanks about 2"x3" by about .010 to be used for business cards by woodworkers. They may still have them and IIFC they were relatively cheap.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!