STOP – READ THIS FIRST! We’ve created this list in alphabetical order to help you navigate through our articles and blogs and find items of interest to you. In addition, you can use the search box to the left to search by words or phrases. Our articles and videos are an accumulation of data covering years. They may not always be contemporary and may contain items we no longer carry, but we will continue to publish them for their archival value and to provide information for customers who may have purchased discontinued items in the past. 10 WAYS TO AVOID TRUSS ROD DISASTERS -DECEMBER 2016 ..read more

Some new species were recently added to the list of CITES Appendix II species. The two that are often used for guitar building are Padauk and Khaya. Here are the specifics of the listings: African Padauk – Pterocarpus spp. (African populations) Inclusion in Appendix II CITES with note #17: Means logs or logs, sawn timber, veneer sheets, plywood, and processed wood. Effective February 23, 2023.  Note #17 also applies to the already listed species Pterocarpus erinaceus and Pterocarpus tinctorius from the entry into force of the genus listing African Khaya ( Khaya spp. (African populations ..read more

STOP – READ THIS FIRST! We’ve created this list in alphabetical order to help you navigate through our articles and blogs and find items of interest to you. In addition, you can use the search box to the left to search by words or phrases. Our articles and videos are an accumulation of data covering years. They may not always be contemporary and may contain items we no longer carry, but we will continue to publish them for their archival value and to provide information for customers who may have purchased discontinued items in the past. 10 WAYS TO AVOID TRUSS ROD DISASTERS -DECEMBER 2016 ..read more

At Luthiers Mercantile, we have the largest assortment of binding materials anywhere. When shopping for plastic binding, it’s important to realize that there are a wide variety of lengths. This is true with wood bindings, but there we find that 32 inches long is pretty standard. The plastic bindings come in quite a range. This is because the plastic bindings come from sheets that are used in a variety of industries, not just guitars. One of the advantages of using plastic for bindings is that some of the strips can go all around the circumference of the body eliminating the need to n ..read more

Tonally and structurally, the guitar’s bridge is a delicate and critical fulcrum. The bridge of a standard acoustic guitar with medium gauge strings is being pulled by about 200 pounds of tension! Obviously, for a luthier striving to build a guitar with a light, responsive top, this is a fact that can not be tip-toed around. In the day to day life of a repair person, errors made gluing the bridge down, and the normal effects of age and environment, are the source for a shop’s “bread and butter”: bridge removal before reglue or replacement. There is a lot to be considered in these repairs. Remo ..read more

Bone is the standard material used for acoustic stringed instrument nuts and saddles. It replaces the traditional elephant ivory, the use of which is both illegal and reprehensible. Bone is also used to replace the plastic nuts and saddles used on many inexpensive instruments. The hardness of bone supports great sustain and strong tonality in general. It is long-wearing which allows it to be polished to a pleasing luster. The bone of a large animal is better as it is denser. Camel bone is sometimes used, in those countries where domesticated camels are common, but here, for obvious reasons, th ..read more

Your body is built, the neck is on and now it’s time to install your tuners. Beginners beware! What should be an easy enough procedure can turn into a nightmare if you don’t take steps to make sure things go well. Here are a few tips to guarantee success and move you effortlessly towards the finish line—the day when you finally string up your guitar! Headstock thickness. On the Luthiers Mercantile site, you will find detailed technical drawings posted for all the tuners we sell. Please look them over as not all tuners are created equal when it comes to the headstock thickness they require. If ..read more

STOP – READ THIS FIRST! We’ve created this list in alphabetical order to help you navigate through our articles and blogs and find items of interest to you. In addition, you can use the search box to the left to search by words or phrases. Our articles and videos are an accumulation of data covering years. They may not always be contemporary and may contain items we no longer carry, but we will continue to publish them for their archival value and to provide information for customers who may have purchased discontinued items in the past. 10 WAYS TO AVOID TRUSS ROD DISASTERS -DECEMBER 2016 ..read more

We are often asked whether certain guitar finishing products are compatible with others. With so many great finishing products available, it is tempting to try a new combination of filler, sealer, and finish. But caution is in order. Even if you carefully prepare a test piece, there is no guarantee that incompatibility between finishing products won’t generate unwelcome results weeks or even months into the future.  That can lead to a very unhappy luthier. The first thing we want to clear up is that we (Luthiers Mercantile) cannot judge the compatibility of products that we do not carry ..read more

If you are ordering pre-slotted fingerboards from Luthiers Mercantile or using one of our fret slotting systems, then you are wisely leaning on super-accurate CNC technology for the proper placement of your fret slots. Still, many are inclined to check to see if the slots and scale are accurate. With our pre-slotted boards, we know that errors practically never happen, but it can’t hurt to check. But measuring fret slots is tricky business. Here is how to do it! Note: In the rare case of a dispute, Luthiers Mercantile will not pay the return shipping costs of slotted boards unless they have be ..read more