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It's too risky. Better to have lots of wiggle room! I used to use templates but I found them to be unwieldy. This is the best method I have found. Thanks for your question!

Thank you for the kind words! There will be four more Rameau pieces coming, after I edit some lute pieces by Gaultier.

I'm happy that you like the video...there will be four more pieces by Rameau after I edit some Gaultier lute pieces. That was a pretty nice donation for a church! Best of luck with your lutherie project. Clive is very inspiring, for sure.

It's original equipment which we think was made by Nelson Woodworking in Cambridge. We're not sure it's still there but you could check. They also made the lovely keyboard.

​@@EarlyMusicStudio1 Lucky you. I've got the earlier, aptly named "Kluge" keyboards. Well...I've lightened them greatly so they're less bad now...

@@qwaqwa1960 We undercut ours too, and we took a lot of trouble over felting the jackrail so that the contour matches the string band. That makes a big difference to the way the instrument feels.

@@EarlyMusicStudio1 Cool. But could you explain "the contour matches the string band."? thanks (I replaced the original thick felt on mine with layers of cloth...)

@@qwaqwa1960 Once the soundboard crowns, the string band is no longer in a flat plane. It's usually fine in the bass but you have to be more conscious of shimming in the treble because the jack rail is the only thing that limits the travel of the key and thus determines the key dip. This is how you shim your jack rail: Make a block of softwood 6.5 mm thick, and about the same width as a key top, and test each key in the upper half of the keyboard, to see that the key dip is correct. You’ll probably find that in the extreme treble the key dip is about right because the case is stiff, but from middle C up for two octaves it may need adjustment. By testing carefully with the block you can determine the precise amount that you should adjust, by pressing the key down with the block on it until the top of the block is exactly even with the keys on either side. Any travel after that point should be absorbed with cloth, leather or wood. Test all of the keys and come up with the correct contour for a shim. An easy way to make this is with blanketing material in a cloth bag. One, two or three layers or blanketing material should provide exact adjustment. Tack this bag at the edges making sure that the jacks do not hit a tack head, then test to make sure that the action is completely even, and that every jack works with the block. You may have to adjust the stagger of the jacks. In some instruments this is done with an end screw adjustment, in some by planing wood from the bottom of the jack. In any case, all three plucks, 4-foot, main 8 and upper-manual 8 must occupy the upper third of the key travel. Getting your harpsichord to work perfectly is never easy!

Thank you so much; I love playing Rameau!

Glad you like the video!

They are usually carved.

My pleasure!

Thank you very much!

Thanks for the good wishes, and for your continued interest!

The Luthiers Guild of America, Lute Societies of both England, and the USA; instrument museums in Germany, Belgium, France, England. Italy; all of these have plans for instruments in their collections. One warning: the American luthier Bob Lundberg commented, "if you build exact copies of old instruments, you will surely be disappointed". He's talking mainly about our understanding of what instruments were expected to do in which music, compared to our modern understanding. Of the instruments I built, most were from various plans, but you will have to adapt them to modern hands (wider spacing for the fingers) higher pitch or lower (depending on countries and the other instruments made there), the number of courses (specific music calls for certain tunings, numbers of basses and various expectation involving the use of octave strings. If you wanted to build a lute for Dowland, for example, do you heed his advice that "octaves are contrary to the laws of music"? Most modern players use overspun strings with octaves, not plain gut or roped gut--too expensive and very hard to keep in tune, though wonderful under the right circumstances. Look for what most musicians are playing to identify the best models, find a plan for those, follow advice about making the instrument ergonomic and suited to its stringing. thanks for your question, C

We're glad you like it...I like the fish photo!

I'm happy that you like it!

Thank you for watching!

Thanks for your comment. We agree, music is the purpose of our work. Sometimes viewers are interested in the instruments too, so we provide a variety of material. You might enjoy the mandolin in this video; ruclips.net/video/PtFg64qKls8/видео.html

Glad you like it! Thanks for watching.

Thanks for your question. I use 120, 220 and 320 sandpaper with a sanding block. I actually prefer not to use sandpaper, and if you are expert with a smoothing plane and can get it extremely sharp that gives the best result. This short video is extracted from a longer one which you can see here; ruclips.net/video/bwdYA26be_M/видео.html

Thanks for you comment. I used 120 grit resin-backed sandpaper from the local tool store. This short video is extracted from a longer one which you can see here; ruclips.net/video/bwdYA26be_M/видео.html

We're glad you like it. Thank you!

You will find among the videos on my channel a video on this subject: ruclips.net/video/-5eJWnCFic8/видео.html Thanks for your question, C

Thanks for your continued support!

I also appreciate your comment! I made this kind of video in addition to my shop videos because it seemed to me that most people who are interested in the lute still do not really have access to interpretive material. Even if you have plans and listen to the music, that won't really help you to built a lute. Sometimes you need a person to teach just the attitude, if not the specifics of the world of the lute. That was my purpose, to show some conclusions that I reached about the way lutes were viewed in their own time. We can learn from that. Best, Clive

We're glad you like it...thank you!

Custom made by a blacksmith, about 15 cm long, rose head, also known as Roman nails.square section about 1 cm at the head. Most 25 lb anvils have a standard square hole intended for making them. Thanks, Clive

@@EarlyMusicStudio1 so there's no company that makes those nails now, you still have to find a blacksmith.

The nails are fairly common, but not long enough. If you have a company that does wrought iron for stairs, balconies, gates, that will do it. Some artists who do welding and other commercial work also do special orders. Not that hard to find, iron is a very workable and common material. Machine shops might also do some nails. best, c @@guitarmanjoe9450

Thank you so much!

Thank you! The reality of turning pegs isn't quite as quick and easy as it looks in this video :)

Oh, you definitely use a hammer. Brass. Heavy. Then pliers to remove it. This you do many times until the fit is perfect. It would be nice to just bang it in, but it is actually more like a mortise. This type of nail is still in use for timber framing of buildings--with much the same procedure. thanks for your comment, C

I used plastic templates for a couple of years, but found that transfer was a problem, and that the flat shape does not necessarily convey or translate the deviation from the centre line for each rib. The more the cross section is a semi-circle, the idea of templates will work well, but when making multi-rib and flattened lutes of the early 1600 to 1700s, the templates become an impediment, and actually slow the work. I finally came up with tape as a way to abbreviate and simplify. Eventually I could fit a rib in about 20 to 30 minutes from a flat blank. It also allows for correction of the shape when getting to the last few ribs, always the most crucial stage. As far as the moulds go, toast-rack moulds are fine form smaller and simpler lutes, but you can't beat a solid mould for it's re-creation of the whole space within the body. The TR mould has a problem with the base plate. Trying to make a part of the whole shape makes it nearly as complicated as the solid mould. Most professionals I know use solid moulds. I knew one guy who used a mould made like a Terry's Chocolate Orange, with little sections for each rib. It wasn't flattened, and it worked well, but very hard to make! He was a teacher, not a lute maker, and liked such problems. c

Good to know!

Glad you liked it. It grew out of teaching many students to copy music properly. Hope you have tried that. It forces the mind to see the music visually and aurally at the same time. Thanks, c

So true. I've always been experimenting with the pieces of the literature, producing what I call "edited for performance editions". This is because very few lute pieces are actually edited in the modern sense. Some are obvious, the printed French books of G, Mouton, Gallot, clearly the summation of their work, produced under their watchful eyes. Another the Dowland pieces in Varietie, or the books of Vallet, Francisque. Most of Dowland's work requires copious arrangement. But for those I mentioned, Bittner, Reusner, you don't have to change a note. Weiss is somewhere in the middle, as he himself changed many things in various versions, BM vs Dresden. But music by almost any other--it's fair game. Thanks for your kind attention! c

It's a good thing to do!

Thanks very much!

Thank you for your question. I discuss the book "La Rhetorique des Dieux" which means "The Arguments of the Gods". In the dedication it states that Gaultier is dedicating himself and his works to their glorification, and he thanks them for the blessing of his talent. All of this reflects a renewed interest in the classic works of the Greek and Roman writers at the beginning of the Enlightenment.

That is really a long time ago! I'm still hackin'...thanks very much for your comment.

Well thanks for you comment and good wishes. My experiment was not easy to do, there were many takes and making the piece play well in both ways took a long time. I'm glad you appreciate my work! C

These little block that I screw to the main block serve two important functions: one is to register the joint exactly plane with the neck surface, making for easy repeat fitting; another is to prevent creeping when the glue is added. Any force pararell to the main plane of the top/neck surface will cause the joint to slide slightly forward, disrupting the careful fitting of the back and neck veneer. When I used screws, this problem was very common and hard to fix, but with the nail, it just does not happen. It's one of the advantages of the nail. Thanks for your comments and compliments...C

Glad that you got some useful information from that. C

Thanks for your comment...very glad you like the video!

Thank you very much for this comment, and I'm glad the transcriptions are of use to you. We visited Holland many years ago, when Susan had lessons with Leonhardt. We greatly enjoyed the instrument museum in the Hague...and we ate very well there too, ha ha. All the best from Canada.

@@EarlyMusicStudio1 Indeed the great Gustav with Aner Bijlsma and Frans Brúggen! Den Haag has a nice collections of instruments as well. I studied Amsterdam conservatorium classical guitar and was a teacher my working life but as often the lute caught my attention and now im addicted to my lutes. Thank you again Clive.

I use my H2 recorder, not expensive mics. Also we add a bit of reverb. Everything is done in one take. Thanks, C

Glad you like it! Thank you!

Thank you for the kind words!

Planet of the lutes!

Well hard to say without seeing or knowing more. Usually a lute top has a "potato chip" contour, which forms around the bridge due to string tension. But if the action is too high or low, the instrument may be uncomfortable or unplayable. The height of the first string should be 4.2 mm at the body/neck joint. If too high, the top is removed, some wood around the bottom is planed off, top replaced. If too low, you can shim the bridge with a 1 or 2 mm veneer that covers the whole bridge or part thereof. Without more info, it's hard to say more. Thanks for the question, Clive

action is about 6mm both sides at the 8th fret.. I am going to lie it face down apply steam to the neck joint through the sound hole if poss.... put some weight on the body to reduce the neck angle and hot water bottles around the joint insulated with covers and leave a few days.. I worked with a classical guitar of mine with a backbow neck. The bowl might get damaged is my main thought.@@EarlyMusicStudio1

This is not the recommended procedure, and will probably result in fracture of the joint. Best to remove the top using moisture (not wet) and masking tape, don't take it off the main block. Remove material from the lower portion, re-glue the top. Can be done by a competent luthier in 24 hours. If the neck is curved, then remove the fingerboard, plane flat and re-glue or replace. Depends on the whole appearance of the action. Excessive string tension probably did not cause this, as many think, but indifferent assembly and action testing was the cause.

@@EarlyMusicStudio1 thanks for your advice.. I agree assembly problem... It was a kit I think.. I can see me having difficulty taking the required amount off the bowl (also how does the collar on the bout come off?) So am going to try a more restraind gentle effort using the weight, moisture and heat method.if no joy I will see if I can get top off.

@@paulcrawford5153Aha! No you don't take the capping strip off. Mark how much you want to remove by estimating: if you need 2 less action, you need 3 mm removed, very approximate. Tape this area around at the bottom of the bowl until it takes on the new contour, zero at the area around the rose. Another way to remove material is first use a scalpel or other small very sharp knife, making little shallow cuts. Then use a sanding stick with 80 grit one side, 120 on the other. For the rib area not capped use a scalpel and pare off the material, then sand smooth. To remove the top used a folded cotton strip the whole way around (t shirt material, knitted is ideal) moisten it, then make a shallow knife mark around the whole joint, water will penetrate. Tape up the whole thing with painter's tape overnight, test in the morning. Apply gentle heat witha small iron set on low, buffered with a tea towel or cloth. Gently lift with a pallet knife, being careful about the bars, which must be carefully disjointed. Worth a try. c

Thank you very much, and thanks for your comment on yesterdays video too! I was actually trying to make a short but it didn't work out the first time, so I took that video down. We appreciate your good wishes!

That's why it is worth the effort. Besides that, it does not place new demands on scarce resources. Thanks for your comment, c

Many thanks for your kind words! May you have lots of cheerful and sunny days...it's dreary here today as well but we did hear a robin this morning so spring is here.

Many thanks!