Recent content by JMLangford

Here is a pair of Channellock #357 end nippers I modified many years ago. I ground the top bevel flush so I could use them as a fret puller....nowdays you can get a proper fret pulling pair for under $10 off Amazon.... .

Once the tung oil dried for 2 days, I sprayed probably 4 heavy coats (over 3 or 4 days) with Helmsman Indoor/Outdoor Spar Urethane..... I reinstalled the newly painted sign today..... :beer: .

* * * UPDATE * * * On May 5th, 2025 Mike of Mike's Music Barn, passed away at 89 years old. Mike's daughter Michelle (who was instrumental in making the music barn a reality) decided she wanted the barn to continue, to honor her father and keep his dream alive. So, fast forward, Michelle and...

Several years ago I made a couple of Klemmsia style cam clamps out of maple and steel bar stock.... They worked O.K. but I always thought they were too big and clunky, so I started building them in the mini style like the StewMac version. I downloaded the pic from the website and guessed the...

Cheap instruments have there place....A lot of the instruments coming out of China nowadays are well made, sometime even rivaling the big name brands. I've own a few plywood top guitars that sounded great (if your get one that sounds good, it will always sound good...it you get one that sounds...

The violin kits are a great way to build. The kits come with the back and sides already assembled making it easier to get started. This is the StewMac kit I built (assembled :thumbup:) for my friend.... I used a student violin of my son's to make the homemade neck angle gauge (at the time I...

Thanks....I think its a fantastic ideal for you and your son to build a guitar together, and since he is skilled with using his hands and has an active imagination the guitar would be epic. Set-up is much easier on a solid body guitar with a bolt-on neck and there are hundreds of YouTube videos...

Found 2 other bridge repairs I've done using the 3 Shop Fox C-clamps! (I used 3 bolts and pearl dots on these repairs) First one.... Second one.... I'm still undecided about which clamping system is best/easiest :dunno: they both get the job done .

Here are some pics of me using the tool steel to sand the rim of an F-style mandolin to level the rim with the kerfing....circa 2005 .

Here's a cheap guitar (Laurens LA125N) that I gave $12 dollars for at a Thrift store a while back (broken tuners, no nut or saddle, lots of dings and dents, and plenty of scratches on the back) I didn't notice until I got it home that the bridge was lifting.... I scribed around the bridge...

Not being an machinist, but to my amateur assessment, my claim of super flat is based on the fact that when 2 of them are placed together there is no wobble, rocking, gaps, or movement. In fact they fit so close together its hard to separate them. I can set one on the machined surface of my 3hp...

I've built one of the StewMac fiddle kits for a friend and I have another one half-way built :lol: They are great kits and an easy way to get started in instrument building....funny thing though, of all the stringed instruments I play the fiddle is the hardest....I can make it sound like rocking...

5S is how I came to have these (super flat) 01 Tool Steel Bars....If anyone is familiar with business and manufacturing, 5S stands for a five-step methodology used to create and maintain an organized, clean, and highly productive workspace. One of the 5 "S" is SORT: Separate needed items from...

But wait....There's more :thumbup: #1 ~ 35° Fret Beveling / Dressing File #2 ~ Replacement Fret Beveling / Dressing File (Fine Cut) #3 ~ Small General Purpose File (Tapered Half-Round) #4 ~ Fret End Dressing / Deburring File (with brass cleaner brush) #5 ~ Knob / Jack / Tuner Nut Spanner...

I've played and collected many stringed instruments (mostly guitar) on and off for roughly 60 years (1967 to present. - I'm 73yrs old) I currently have over 30+ various instruments (guitars, banjos, fiddles, mandolins, etc.) that every now and then need a little TLC, so I've become an wannabe...