grindstone guitar maker handicraft lutherie string instrument Wood

Sharpening the wood planer (lutherie)

The planer blade is sharpened on a grindstone with a water stone. In order to work with wood, the desirable angle for chisels and planes should be 25 °.

Sebastian has been working as a luthier for the past 13 years. He creates guitars and specialises in gypsy acoustic instruments.
After a degree in mechanic and some training in architecture, Sebastien turned towards violin making and trained in Beziers working with some professionals. He has been living for 7 years in Belgium and has settled in a collective studio in rue de l’Indépendance, in Molenbeek, with a dozen other skilled craft workers .
His customers are found amongst professional musicians or keen players. To make a good guitar he needs an average of 200 working hours. He creates about 8 instruments per year. While the guitar is, in fact, a popular instrument, it is clear that ordering a customized guitar is a very luxury purchase available to only very few people.
The sound of the guitar will depend on the wood used (the table is made of spruce or cedar) and the relative humidity. Tannic woods will colour the music.

Sound recordist : Gaëlle Courtois / La Fonderie, Brussels

Specs:

Decade:
Filesize:
Duration:
Channels:
2010s
14.9 MB
1 min 24 s
2 (Stereo)
Sample rate:
Bit rate:
Bit depth:
44.1 kHz
1413 kb/s
16 bit

Recorded on February 10, 2015
Workshop
Brussels, BELGIUM
Creative Commons License