Nineteenth Century elegance!
Geza Burghardt's Tools
© Frank Ford, 1999; Photos by FF

Well, I'm speechless. After my September, 1999 class at the American School of Lutherie, I poked my head through the door of the L. M. I. office, and saw an amazing array of special guitar building tools. Geza Burghardt had sent them for inspection and review, for possible inclusion in the L. M. I. catalog.

Geza is a luthier and a specialist in Old World hand craft. He believes in using only hand tools, building guitars in the Nineteenth Century European tradition. I've included a few of his special tools in this museum section rather than in the tool section of FRETS.COM because they look like they were made 100 years ago. As I understand it, these are typical of the tools he actually uses in his daily work.

Just look at these pictures:

Please click the small image

A binding and purfling scraper. This tool is so massive that it makes quick and precise work of scraping strips to thickness.	A little "finger" plane. Beautifully crafted with riveted rosewood sides.	This rosette and soundhole cutter is the most elaborate lutherie tool I've ever seen! It looks like an antique clock maker's tool.
	The photos to the right and left are of Geza's purfling cutters, or "gramils." One for flats and one for curves, they are made of brass and steel with ivory faces.

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