Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
RE: new method for clamping work pieces (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
When I was in Japan I ordered a Samisen from a local maker. He sat down on a mat on the plank floor and carved the solid ebony neck while I waited. He used nothing but a sort of draw knife and his hands and feet. It took him all of about 30 minutes and the neck was beautiful. This was in 1987, the Samisen had a Python skin head and came complete with bag and carved stone finger picks for $240.00. At that time a cup of coffee cost $8.00 locally. How this wonderful craftsman survived in the Japanese economy charging that kind of price I'll never know. He must have been extremely frugal. He was impressed that I was a guitar maker but not nearly as much as I was impressed with his skill.
RE: new method for clamping work pieces (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
Nice, great for fingerboards too! Like the way he has plenty of time to allow the shellac to dry. I often carve my necks sitting down and resting the guitar on my feet. By the way had a look at your site and enjoyed your philosophy about making. Rather similar to mine. I started out at 18 travelling spain with my 1st flamenco guitar that I had built, playing flamenco.
RE: new method for clamping work pieces (in reply to MarTay6)
quote:
Well if the owners of your new guitars detect an un-decidedly guitar-like aroma, that'll explain a lot! Wes
Especially in this heat wave
quote:
At that time a cup of coffee cost $8.00 locally.
Good lord, was everything else that expensive too?
quote:
By the way had a look at your site and enjoyed your philosophy about making. Rather similar to mine. I started out at 18 travelling spain with my 1st flamenco guitar that I had built, playing flamenco.
Thanks Stephen, I wish I had been making guitars already when I went to Spain, but I didn't even visit any luthiers because I was totally happy with my piece of crap factory guitar
RE: new method for clamping work pieces (in reply to Andy Culpepper)
I was in Japan few years after John and a bowl of rice with some vegetables and a big shrimp was 9.00 - I think Toblerone chocolate bars and beer was pricey too, but I don't remember exactly. I had just come from China where I took 500.00 dollars spending money for the whole summer and came back with 50.00 in change and spent money eagerly eating and drinking in China when I was not in the student dorm, which was quite often.
The whole clamping with your feet and other body positions thing is routine in some types of traditional Japanese carpentry like post and beam temple building and some fine joinery. Interesting thing I saw in China is the wood bodied plane the carpenters showed me is the same design that carpenters had been using for 2000 years. I saw the same plane in a museum as was being used in the cabinet shop near me.
Printable Version
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread