Collings Guitars

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Richard and Nancy go to Austin, Texas, the home of Collings Guitars

Yep, Richard Johnston and Nancy Thomas of Gryphon Stringed Instruments took a trip - without me. But, they brought back a bunch of good photos of one of the most sophisticated guitar building operations in the business! So, let's stroll through the Collings guitar factory with them. There's a special Collings neck reinforcement "secret" on the last page of this little travelogue.

That's Bill Collings on the right, with Nancy and Steve McCreary:
Steve's the guy who keeps the Collings shop running smoothly.

This is the obligatory photo, with Richard (third from right in front) and the entire Collings crew:
Nancy's not in this picture because she was the photographer.

A classic shot:
Its a guitar side mold with linings being clamped in place.

A batch of neck blanks and peghead overlay veneers:

Fingerboards being clamped up:

Some detail shaping of a neck heel:

Trimming and tapering brace ends:

Here's a guitar body in its mold, ready have the back installed:

Collings is known for some of the finest shaded and colored finishes in the business. Here's one secret: lots of spray guns loaded with colors:
With all these spray guns, color adjustments can be made "on the fly."

Steve again, showing off a brace of Armstrong ukuleles:
Steve's a serious fan of our favorite wacko instrument painter, Robert Armstrong.

Final setup:
Look at the neck support jig. If you'd like to know more about this fine setup fixture designed by Dan Erlewine, check in with Stewart MacDonald.

Binding installation:

Fingerboard leveling and fretting:
Notice the neck jig in use here, too.

Setting up a vacuum brace clamping fixture:

"Bag sanding" a 12-fret neck:

Drilling for edge dot inlay:

Clamping a back in place:
I guess that's a big enough press for the job!

Clamping linings:

Fitting the neck joint:

Here's a set of Brazilian rosewood back and sides Richard picked out for a future Gryphon order:

A veritable forest of Fox guitar side benders:

OK, not everything is done by hand. This is the business end of a sophisticated computer controlled milling and carving machine:
This machine can turn out an endless stream of identical parts such as bridges.

Now for the good stuff:

He's installing the truss rods, and some special neck reinforcement that's unique to Collings guitars:

See the two channels outboard from the truss rod?

They are filled with special spring steel reinforcing strips, here being glued in place with epoxy:

Take a look below at the arrow:
These are two pieces of spring steel (they're curved because they come on a roll.) The pieces are .043" thick by 3/8" wide, and are installed two on each side of the truss rod, for a total of 4 bars in each neck. (Small body guitars get .036" thick by 3/8" bars.)

The idea is to provide extra stiffening in the neck. It works.

Here's the latest Collings project:
Mandolins.

And here's Steven Gilchrist (right) consulting on the design of a mandolin building fixture.

Steven and Bill, trying out the finished instruments, and swapping lies: