Glad to see there's still some building going on, so I thought I'd just go ahead and ask a few questions since I haven't been on in a while. I have been following the discussions, but mostly just thinking about the whole process. All that thinking is starting to hurt, so I suppose after Christmas I'll have to actually get started on a Varquain-based hg. Anyway, some questions for you builder-types:
One, have seen a reference in the archives to Helmut Gotschy's explanation of why the wheel should be set at an angle to the belly, not parallel-but I haven't seen that explanation, and it's not on his website, either. Does anyone still have that at hand? Two, is delrin the current favorite for shaft bearings? I'm considering lignum vitae, since that's a more or less self-lubricating wood. The question for lignum is, would it still require an oiling hole as I've seen on several models? Somebody talk me out of it, or into something else! Three, a number of instruments are being built with onboard electronic tuners. It works nicely on my guitar, I'd think that with some 46 or so tangents, it could be a big help in getting set up. Pros and cons? And if pro, every source I've been able to found has external (self-contained) units. Is there a source for one that could be built in, or do you just "build one in" whether it's made to be or not? Thanks John T
