Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi folks,

Is the neck underset or overset?

Is it the front or back of the nut?

You say popsicle brace, I say tongue depressor, or was it upper transverse graft?

This came up in a recent conversation about terminology. Has anyone found a good luthier glossary online? I see that Siminoff has a book. I sort of expected to find something at the GAL website but did not.

Maybe my google-fu is lacking?

Brad


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Insta - https://www.instagram.com/cbcguitars/
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There are so many of these idiosyncrasies that it is almost fun. Some major suppliers still call kerfed linings "kerfing". Some makers wrongly call their peones or dentellones "tentellones". Is a harmonic bar located at a harmonic interval? Sometimes. A well "quartersawn" board is the result of a rift sawing process. I'm sure there are others.

I don't have the Siminoff glossary, but based on his other stuff I would suggest saving your money.

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Instagram: @jfrenchluthier

I've thumbed through Roger Siminoff's book because a friend got it. I found it interesting and well done but as it often is the case with those hard to find books I never managed to find a copy that wasn’t very expensive. Still trying.

I know there are many valid ways to name a dog, but nevertheless I found the exercise interesting.


Pierre
Guitares Torvisse

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Pierre Castonguay

A glossary would be a good thing. On one of the forums, not this one I think, someone mentioned gluing in kerfs. The resident terminology police jumped all over him, "Kerfs are air! How are you going to glue air!?"

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

This would be equally helpful and difficult to get to consensus.

I remember when I was first starting out and I found the MIMF, the discussions were not helpful because they seemed like they were in a foreign language. It wasn't just the words either, the terms AND concepts were difficult to truly understand. I finally realized that I didn't have to understand it all at once. I just decided to read every discussion and read everything I could in the library there. Eventually things started to click as I got more comfortable and gained more context for what people were talking about. Once I understood most of what was being talked about, re-reading the archived discussions became a treasure trove of information.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

The whole kerfed lining thing cracks me up. I'm all for using the correct terminology but some people seem to get upset by it. I mean, literally every one of us knows what is being talked about when someone says Kerfing. I laminate my linings from 3 thinner strips so I now, cheekily, refer to them as solid laminated integral swarf linings.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Vocabulary pre or post Everclear?

It’s so annoying! Some dips say potato when clearly it’s potato!

Hi Pat,
I've seen a few Gibson's (and a few of my own ) where when you look inside the box the only thing the glue you see could be sticking to the guitar is "air". Stella's are also famous for this - they didn't spare the glue, they just didn't always get it in the right places.

And then as you cross the pond cars change their bonnets and boots for hoods and trunks. And things that were once hot became cool and then hot again, and the younger generation now finds them to be "sick".

Sounds like a good opportunity for someone to start a Wiki...

I volunteer Dan!

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

Please lose the attitude and refer to laminated sides as laminated sides.

Every guitar I build has a headblock/neckblock, tailblock/endblock, fretboard/fingerboard, headplate/faceplate, sides/rims, top/soundboard, dart/diamond, tuners/tuning machines, pickguard/scratch plate, center reinforcement strip/marriage strip, bridge pins/string pegs, fret markers/position markers, tuning pegs/tuning keys, fretboard extension/tongue, strap pin/ strap button, and a sound hole/pick trap and I play them with a pick/plectrum.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

The spell checker on this forum thinks I misspell luthier every time I type it. This is a failing.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I thought it was potatoe

Unless it's a sweet potato, and then it's a yam!

What the heck is this “fret”?! Round these parts we call em note bars.

Was it Stephen Wright? Decidollar, half-decidollar and hi-how-do-you-do... re-designated the dime, the nickel, and pennies. Please add this to the Wiki...

But seriously... after the kerfling/kerfing/kerfier-than-thou linings and other silliness, I doubt you'll get to agreement on much of anything. Periodically, we get those folks asking for professional organizations to police this sort of thing, but the interwebs have done a much better job of doing what professional organizations once did, so it all comes back to consensus and marketing considerations... one person's Titebond is another's 'high-technology thermoplastic adhesive.'

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Maybe it thinks you are trying to spell loothier, "builder of outhouses".

I thought it was loser.

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

There does exist a book on the subject (ahem ) but of course it must be purchased. For anyone considering putting together an online facility or writing yet another book, I'd recommend a few things. The first is to approach the work as a linguist does, identifying the words and their variations as they are commonly used. Being prescriptive (i.e. this is the correct word for this part) is just asking for trouble. The other thing is that one of the things about my lutherie dictionary that readers seem to appreciate is the inclusion of common lutherie terms in other languages. Helps when you get a plan and the notes are not in English.

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R.M. Mottola
LiutaioMottola.com

Author of the books Building the Steel String Acoustic Guitar and Mottola's Cyclopedic Dictionary of Lutherie Terms.

NEVER!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

You may have to invite Dan Quayle over and discuss the ramifications!

The Dan Quayle lexicon, methinks.

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Peter Havriluk