Official Luthiers Forum!

I managed to organize a family trip during my son's spring break to Virginia. No particular reason...

http://laneguitars.blogspot.com/2010/04 ... ur_08.html

...if you ever show a guitar that you built to Wayne, and it was finished by Joe, expect to hear an earful about how much he likes it (the finish), especially the satin neck.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

Thanks so much for posting this and starting this thread. We can't ever get too much of a great builder like
Wayne Henderson.

Love that house....love that shop and the obvious charm that sort of oozes out of every pile of wood, tools
and crack that you can find there....and how you possibly not love Wayne Henderson, his playing and the great
tone of his guitars.

With what I'm going through right now as far as my health being affected by an aggressive and advanced
bout with pancreatic cancer, I do wish that I saw a safer and more body and health considerate spray area and
set up or booth.

The only link that my surgeon has been able to even remotely connect to my cancer, since no one in my
family has ever fought anything like this, is the finish materials, solvents related to their application and other
strange chemicals that I'd never use had i not needed to to achieve what I wanted to and have while working as
a full time luthier since the early 90s and part time before that since the late 70s.

Guys, please reconsider those makeshift spray fan and chute ideas that only provide marginal or minimal
exhaust capabilities and allow for too much of the stuff to land on and lay on your skin and to be taken in
because of the lack of good and proper respiration aids. I recommend a full coverage overall and an outside
air supply mask if you insist on spraying your own finishes. If you've ever smelled your finish material, it has
made it into your body to some degree.

I'll be doing my best to hook up with the very best finish people in the business to have them address my
finish issues in the future. There are a very small handful of people that I'd trust to do it and I've already spoken
with the one who's been putting the very best quality finishes on guitars coming out of a good number of the
shops manned by the very best builders in the business.

It will serve me and my customers as it will cut my finish schedule and delivery times and will keep the
materials that may or may not be responsible for my condition off of my skin and out of my body in the
future.

Thanks again and regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Wow that was a real treat Martin and I thank you for posting this.

Question: Did you by any chance get the specifics on the ribbon side tapes that Wayne uses. From your pic I can make out "Offray" but no model numbers. Side tapes without polyester have been a mission of mine and so far I am empty handed.

Great write-up, pics, and you seem to have a knack for asking the questions that I as a reader would want asked - thanks again - very enjoyable read!

-Thanks Martin for posting this great material.

This kind of 'slice of life' material from fine makers is so rare and appreciated.

Again, thanks.

CW

I enjoyed that! Thank you!

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http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/jsh ... ef=profile
http://www.youtube.com/user/Jallh82

Martin: Thanks for that,can't seem to get enough material about Wayne..!!So down to earth and not caught up in the money at all costs sort of thing. Dedicated to his craft both as a builder and player and very generous with his time for various causes. With only about 7 people in Rigby,Wayne says he even takes his turn being the town drunk. Love his sense of humor also. Think he and Hesh took the same Shop Clean Up classes........Wayne made an F in that subject. Thanks again Martin.
Tom

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

Martin,

What an excellent tour and article you put together. I have the greatest respect for Wayne's guitars and character for sure. Not enough can be said for folks like him, and the absolute beauty of where he lives speaks for itself. Thanks for posting this.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Thanks, Martin. That was great! And thank you too, Kevin.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I'm interested in that ribbon as well. Can't tell from the photo what Wayne is using but a search of the Offray catalog turned up "ELI" 100% cotton, herringbone pattern, in five colors. It's about the only thing there that isn't polyester, or metalic, or paper.

http://berwickoffray.digicatalog.com/

René

Glad you shared that Martin, it was a real treat!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I wonder if that particular ribbon Wayne is using isn't in that catalog, or perhaps isn't even made anymore. Wayne, at one point, must have ordered a case of it, because he really had it a lot of it, not just the few rolls that were hanging up.

I figured it would be easy to find. Now I'm straining my eyes trying to read those blurry numbers in the pic. I went back to my camera to see if it is clearer than the version I uploaded to blogger, but it isn't. it looks the same. dang, guess I messed that one up.



thanks everyone for the compliments. there were even more questions that I asked. another one came back to me, today. (easy on me, I turned 40 last year). I asked him if he has ever built anything different than a Martin. He said only a few Nick Lucas-ish guitars. he isn't interested in making anything new or different. I went back and edited the blog, to add that. I also added the context to his "Collings" remark.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

Nice post there. I enjoyed it. Reminded me of the claptons guitar book. A very enjoyable read....Mike

Found a recent interior pic at UMGF. It looks to me like this ribbon Wayne uses is probably half polyester...it looks too shiny and slick not to be.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

Dang Martin, you are making me homesick.

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Aoibeann

I have a few rolls (100 yards each) of that old herringbone woven ribbon from when we were cleaning house
at the old North Street facility in Nazareth, PA. The things that were making their way from nooks and crannies
and shelves from the attic to the basement of that old building amazed me and I was able to save some of it
by simply asking permission to keep or purchase it.

If you ever make the trip to Nazareth to take the Martin factory tour, be sure to include a jaunt around the
corner to browse around and hang at the old building. It is one of the most charming and historic stops that
you'll ever enjoy in the guitar industry.

The sights and sounds are just the tip of the pleasure of being there. I think there's something to be said about
the smells that we all experience in our shops as luthiers.

One of my favorite places to pop in....even with no reason to.....is Martin Guitar. They have done well as they've
maintained the charm of every area of production there.

Just up late and thinking and these thoughts popped into my head and reminded me that I'm due to set aside
a few hours to visit there soon. I have a very close friend coming to visit in two weeks from Yakima, Washington
and I look forward to the day that he's here when we can just go hang out, take a relaxed tour of the main plant
and then go over to spend some time there on North Street flipping through woods and things and getting to
talk to whoever pops through the door while we're there.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Thanks Rene - that colorful children's print on the ribbon on the cover of the catalog would look great.....

Thanks again Martin for your efforts - I agree and I can see that poly sheen too in the ribbon pictured. The 50% poly stuff works but IMHO it doesn't absorb as much glue as a non-plastic ribbon would.

I know several builders who have 100% cotton stuff but in all cases they got it a very long time ago, have no clue anymore where to find it, and only have enough for their own use left....

Kevin great write-up from you on the experience when visiting Martin.

Oh yeah - almost forgot - in the book Clapton's Guitar at one point Wayne puts St. John's to work gluing on side tapes. Do you guys remember this? When Wayne inspects St. John's work IIRC he thinks that some of the tapes are a bit crooked but good enough...

Martin your pic above must be the guitar that St. Johns taped up....

Kevin's right. I like to tour old barns too, it's like being on a treasure hunt (My Grandma's old barns were a LOT of adventure) My first trip to Martin factory led me face to face with Frank Finnochio, after speaking with him on the phone. He led me back through the dimly lit, dusty bowels of that old factory, and it was distracting just to walk! He introduced me to ASIA, and sold me 2 partially assembled guitar kits (when they did that). He was very helpful. Frank's a down to earth guy and a joy to be around (most luthiers are aren't they?)

We are going to take our homeschooled kids up there for a tour. (and possibly the nearby Crayola factory too) Thanks for the reminder Kev. Haven't been there in years.

Hesh,
The 100% cotton ribbon is on page 2 of the catalog.

René

Nice write up, Martin. Thanks for sharing that with us.

Kevin - Great to see your posts pop up. As usual your advice is excellent and the stories about visiting the Martin factory highly entertaining.

This thread has me wondering about two things. First, since 100% cotton ribbon is hard to find, I wonder about linen. Would that be an acceptable substitute? Second, I notice that Wayne glues a strip of spruce centered vertically on his tail block. (I've seen that in a few pictures from various builders as well.) Is that to combat potential splitting from an end pin? Just curious.

Thanks,

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George :-)

Yup. but it's maple.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

Martin, thanks for spending so much time to put this tour together. It is heartwarming just as Allen St. John's book is and you are awesome to share it with us.

I was reminded of the "what cloth tape does Wayne use" concern by the "taping the ribs" thread. So I went back to my picture of Wayne's Offray ribbon, and blew it up 400% to try to read the numbers. (Has anybody here ever seen the movie "High Anxiety?")

Anyway, it looks to me like two of the digits in the number on the ribbon are "77". so I searched the pdf Offray catalog in the link posted here earlier and concluded that either (1) Wayne's ribbon is no longer made, (2) Wayne's ribbon is still made but has a model number that no longer has a "77" in it, or (3) I'm seeing a "77" where there isn't one because the pic is too blurry.

Glad I could clear that up.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

Great blog post! My favorite picture is the one that shows the messy workbench with a nice ripe apple just sitting there LOL

Wayne is practically a neighbor of mine and I have yet to go see his shop, I really oughta some day.

Mystery solved! I don't know why I didn't look there a long time ago. but the grocery store that I shop at every weekend has the ribbon that Wayne uses.

I was straining my eyes trying to read the numbers on the roll in the picture. But it turns out that every roll I saw at the grocery store today, of Offray ribbon, had those same numbers. The product number is on the other side!

The kind that Wayne uses is #1017, 5/8" wide, brown. the roll is 18' long. Here's a couple of places that have it.

The product descriptions say one side has a shiny sheen and the other side doesn't.

http://store.quilting-warehouse.com/284436.html
http://scrapbooksupplies2u.com/Single-F ... 14M0UW.htm
http://esticker-simply-fun.amazonwebsto ... 14M0UW.htm

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."