That has become a tough question to answer with Hold-Heet out of business. It has a lot to do with how much glue you need hot at once; If you do veneer work and need a large volume then I think Dictum has the only current production option. For smaller volumes of glue (like most luthier work or small furniture projects) an adjustable baby bottle warmer can work. A thermostat-controlled hotplate and small ban marie also work. The cheapest option is to boil water and then submerge a jar of gelled glue in it until it's liquid, but it's less convenient than a constant heat pot.

It's what I generally have on hand, it's fast to dry, and it's easy to recoat even after the form has been waxed and used. Spray shellac would work well, too.

I think the Lundberg is an incredible reference but I do think there are places it suffers for the expertise of the author-- namely in the fitting of ribs. It is a testament to his experience that he could do it on the form with chisels and files, but I think it is a very hard way to learn! I personally prefer a setup more like a Cooper's plane, only using a chisel or file if I have found an error in a rib already glued in place. The Lundberg technique compensates better for a form that isn't geometrically perfect, though, so it's all about choosing your battles. I wish you all the best with your descant, you'll get there in time!

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 It's interesting, some of the things he didn't go into. Like the fluting of the form, which he shows in pics but never mentions in text. I figured out how to do it, and so that's not an issue. But it's clear to me that he knew how to do it so well that he just didn't even consider parts of it that heavily. Don't get me wrong, I consider it a gift, as there really isn't all that much else that I've found that isn't either a reprint of a 16th century book or is written with guitar construction in mind. He was a good writer, and the pics of his instruments show that he definitely knew what he was talking about. Thanks for the encouragement, I have a bunch of them in mind before I stop this foolishness. I look forward to seeing and hearing more of your work.

Thanks for following along!

Thank you! It was a really meaningful opportunity for me, and I'm glad to support community music through my work.

It takes some time to learn how the wood feels when it's ready to bend. What species, how thick, and what kind of iron are you using? I am sure your project will move forward again!

It's a lot of fun and a great way to do complex layups with less stress than a press or vacuum bag, in my opinion. I'll see if I can put together a tutorial video!

The hardest part is something that isn't so hot right at the heating element that it scorches the glue at the bottom. Dictum/Herdim now make a glue pot in a similar price range to HoldHeet before they went out of business, otherwise I've seen baby bottle warmers used to good effect. The classic, of course, is just a double boiler over a hotplate.

Glad it helps! David's course is a fantastic primer, keep at it and you'll have a nice instrument and a tremendous amount of gained skills at the end!

This is the body of a lute, a string instrument that was a precursor to guitars and mandolins.

Cool thanks

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks for watching!

Yes, it is! Walnut and mahogany have very similar pore structure, especially when the walnut is quartersawn like this.

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 thanks for reply

There is really no room for error, the tension created by pulling a gap closed becomes a multiplying error as you work around the body, so even if the joint doesn't fail it will create distortion in the shape of the instrument seasonally that can interfere with the action. If there are gaps it is better that they be hidden by the spacer than pulled closed. I think the overall tolerance on the joint is probably in the 0.05mm range if you want a predictable outcome, but obviously much coarser instruments exist!

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 That is pretty tight! Say I'm making my first lute, and I keep things relatively simple, and it's just going to be my own instrument, I'm guessing I could get away with a bit better tolerance than .05... But I guess you also say use spacers. Could I also use some thin shavings of wood and hide glue to hide some of these gaps, especially as I get started on making my first lute? I'm assuming that my spacers will be pretty flat. I guess I'm also a little confused on how one controls getting a hollow-shaped rib vs. a flat rib.

@@hellomate639 It's a bit of a complicated answer, but I'll do my best: You can definitely get away with some gaps, the limiting factors are at what point they become numerous or large enough to structurally compromise the joint, and at what point they become aesthetically ruinous. For structural purposes many small gaps or a very long but narrow one are a greater weakness than a single bad place, since the glue joint is compromised more or less equally by any gap. As long as most of your joint is good, a few bad spots might be okay. I would offer you encouragement to strive for none, as on a simpler shape like a Renaissance or early transitional lute it is not so hard and patience will get you there. For aesthetic concerns, the spacers primary function is to help disguise little alignment problems and small gaps. The sweatshops in which historic lutes were made certainly did not achieve perfection on the vast majority of instruments! With a good contrasting spacer any gaps will appear as though they are extra width in whichever part is darker; in the case of dark ribs and light spacers you have a large margin for error! With light ribs and dark spacers you have only a small percentage of the spacer width before it is visually perceived as a varying width of the line. For this reason on a first instrument if you go dark spacers I would suggest something at the wider end of what is visually pleasing--1.2mm or so-- because it gives you a little more room to hide than a more typical 0.7mm spacer will. Ribs which have a convex, concave, or compound shape rather than a flat plane intersection are shaped by intentionally deforming the rib as you plane it, sometimes this is downward pressure in certain spots, sometimes it is slightly increasing or decreasing the bend as you pass it over the plane. I hope this helps!

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 This is amazingly helpful. Thank you so much. I'll start with an early renaissance lute with darker ribs and lighter colored spacers!

Thanks, will do!

My background is indeed varied, with a stint in biology research.

Awesome, thank you!

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 and thank you, too

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks! That instrument has stalled because of the massive time investment to film and edit such a project, but I hope to have more videos up soon including some theorbo updates.

Hey Bob, sorry for my slow reply-- I hope this is still helpful: The gram strength of the glue isn't really about how strong it is when it dries (although partly) but rather a separate measurement called a 'blow test' about how it gels. The higher the gram strength, the faster the glue goes from liquid to gel and the stronger it tacks. I tend to glue on lute bridges with 192 because once the glue gels any movement weakens or ruins that bond, so I prefer having the added time to get everything where I want it and clamped rather than a slightly stronger glue with a smaller margin for error. The other factor is how fresh and how dilute your glue is, the older it is the weaker it becomes, and the more water you add the less effective proteins there are in the joint. This affects the strength and visibility of glue lines and can be used to your advantage, or ignored to your peril.

Game of Glues, coming soon!

Ed, thanks for your kind interest! I hope to be sharing more soon, unfortunately even my very basic video making takes a colossal amount of time and doesn't pay the bills. I have a video about making the mold for a baroque guitar in process and hope to make more short informational videos this year.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you! More will be up soon!

I'll see if I can find a way to bundle them together and link them. More videos will be coming-- hopefully soon-- but unfortunately taking video and getting it trimmed up takes a lot of time! I'm finishing up a video about making a baroque guitar mold, and I'm considering doing an instructional series on a smaller instrument.

I do not own the rights to these particular plans as they are not my own measurements. There are good working drawings available to purchase from the Lute Society. You can also buy measurements from many museums but be aware these are 'as is' and may require correction/interpretation to be working drawings for building from.

Holly, when talking wood, is harvested from Ilex opaca, a North American shrubby tree with almost no tannin in the heartwood. It stays very bright white for many years if it is harvested in winter and immediately dried, if cut wet in summer it will turn blue-gray from fungus!

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 ik dacht aan esdoornhout, Maplewood. Bedankt Benjamin.

The width at the widest point can be found a number of ways. On more primitive instruments it is simply twice the highest point of the back, since they had regular hemispheres defining their shape. As the backs of lutes became more and more flattened the width was based on other geometric ratios-- I highly recommend reading the work Robert Lundberg did studying period instruments and laying out their shapes.

Rib material is usually quartersawn unless using a wood where the figure is only seen on the flatsawn face. I've not done any side by side tests to compare, but in theory the quartersawn is more resistant to loss of shape and breakage around the curves than flatsawn.

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 Thanks for reply, I acquired some quartersawn yew and just starting to trial bend that :)

It depends a bit on the size of the instrument and the material chosen, but somewhere between 1mm and 2mm is typical. For this instrument they are 1.5mm.

You're very welcome, James! There are a few different ways to go about the making of a mould, and each has its own set of steps for getting from drawings to reality. I should do a quick video explaining some of it for the KZbin audience-- thanks for this reminder of an interesting and important topic! I had livestreamed a fair number of times on my personal Facebook profile, where the streams should be publicly viewable still. Some were cut into a bunch of fragments by spotty internet, some are in once piece. Let me know if this helps!

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 Thanks Benjamin, I'll go and dig out those facebook videos. I for one would certainly be interested in what you have to say about making moulds. I have made one already following David van Edwards' instructions but am currently try to figure out making one of my own for a different instrument. I've been enjoying your videos on other aspects of the building process too. Very helpful! How is the instrument you're building here coming along?

James, I'm currently figuring out how I'm going to make a form for a baroque guitar, and that will include some similar techniques and considerations. I'll see if I can put together a video about it! Otherwise I am also working on setting up my shop to do live sessions, specifically to show certain processes and allow for Q&A sessions. Once I'm set up for that I think there are several of us who would enjoy a scheduled chat about form-making. I'll keep you posted!

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 Sounds interesting, please do!

Glad it was helpful!

Gregor, slightly different (7 courses) but one resource I highly recommend is David Van Edwards' 'Build your own Renaissance Lute' which is a set of working drawings and templates, plus a lot of photos and detailed instructions from him on the entire process-- it is a great way to learn the art of lute making. Otherwise a good starting place would the the Lute Society, which has a number of plans available. Some of these are drawings of historic instruments which will require a fair bait of know-how to convert into working drawings, but others are working drawings ready to build an instrument from. (These are both UK sources so you should avoid any current shipping/importing messes!) I am guessing the book you looked at was the Lundberg? I too, would love to have a copy but they are a bit hard to find it seems.

I've never made an oud so there might be some differences in how they are made, but if you have questions about general tools for getting started I'm happy to share my thoughts some time.

Thank you, I will!

Yes, a scale is definitely not a must-- I've found it to be a great way to always have glue that is consistent, but mixing by volume works too with a bit of adjustment. It's all about learning how you like your glue, and having a repeatable way to make it that way. The timer is really clever-- I have an old digital one for vacations where you can set days and hours to run, might automate my pot for 9-5 Monday through Friday!

Glad it was helpful!

These ribs are about 1.5mm thick when they are bent. Depending on the density of the wood used they may be a bit thicker or thinner. The bending is done dry, with material this thin the heat conducts quite well through the wood without the use of water.

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 thanks for the reply! looking forward to more content, i'll be putting together equipment to get started soon, so these progress vids are pretty slick

sucks that yer phone died for this tutorial though :(

The phone died doing what it loved, I hope.

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 lol

Glad it was helpful! For other ideas and techniques you might look at furniture makers who are producing "stringing" for inlay. Very similar, we just are more particular about which way the grains runs since we are bending it.

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 Hi, just wondering if you will be making any more videos? I can't seem to find anything newer than 2 years ago, but I did see some comments from 7 months ago about building a baroque guitar etc. I'd love to be able to watch any videos you make on the subject of instrument-making, and to find out what you're up to in general since the pandemic! Thanks very much!

I think I'm going to do some videos using a lute mold to explain some of this as well as how to carve a neck block. Once this instrument is farther along I will probably circle back and build a different mold to show that process again. Thanks for watching!

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 BUMP. would love to see the mold, as i'm currently limited to making guitterns i'd like to start ribbing instruments!

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 yes please! And thanks for this excellent video

Thanks! Happy to have you watching from Morocco!

I'm glad you enjoy these videos! This started as way to provide some entertainment during lockdown, but I also think there is value in videos of craftwork that are not accelerating a 120-hour process into 10 minutes. I hope to, in essence, video-blog the creation of this instrument with a lot of real-time explanation of each step even if there is some work done in between that gets sped up or is off camera.

I might be able to do that, and I really do wish I had video of the process of building the mould and carving the neckblock here on KZbin. I might do a separate video of carving a neckblock for a different instrument.

@@benjaminkratchmer8124 understand. I deleted my FB account. Swear I'll never to open one again. The noise level was too high for me. Look forward to your videos. Cheers.

that could be a good idea, either way, Jesus Christ the good true sovereign king loves you my friends may you have trust in His goodness and care, He never will abandon or forsake you