Luthier Tips du Jour - Season 1

This very popular video series has helped countless luthiers and woodworkers all over the world! It is now available for streaming in chronological order.

Buy Now $79.20 245 Lessons 23:56:51

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About This Course

2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the first Luthier Tips du Jour video. Since then hundreds of "Tips" have been presented in the series and the videos have received over 7.5 million views on Youtube. To celebrate the occasion Robert is making available the original series, the current Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag series as well as a bunch of unreleased episodes. These unreleased Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag videos will be slowly released to the general public at the rate of one video about every four weeks. At this pace it would take five years to make them all available for viewing. However, you can view them all now! Why wait to benefit from all the great information presented by Robert in his popular Luthier Tips du Jour Videos!

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Get 10% off Luthier Tips du Jour videos Season 1 when purchased together with Season 2. Discount applied automatically and valid to previous purchases of Season 2 as well.

I love these videos. They have been immensely helpful to me over the years. Thank you! Garrett
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Just a quick note to say thanks for your Tips du Jour segments! I'm finishing my first acoustic instrument (tenor uke) using Royal Lac with a dust/shellac pore filler treatment. Both are working out very well, thanks to you - and more patience than I thought I'd need. Craig in Canada
I am finding your video-recommendations on many different topics and issues, and I have to note that your advices and methods are the most useful and practical over the Youtube, your videos are short but covering the issues at the fullest. Many thanks for sharing your experience this way!! Mikheil
I’ve been enjoying the Luthier Tips du Jour videos, very informative. These days I’ve been watching just about every lutherie video I come across. Lots of great information. Colleen
Your luthier tips du jour, have been invaluable in learning about more than can be taught from a book about the building process. Neil
Thanks for all you’ve done on the Tips du Jour channel. It’s really driving my interest in guitar building. Lim Hock JIn
I have watched a lot of your videos and you have so many wonderful tricks and techniques to fix imperfections. Robert
What a great video brother, THANK YOU Joshua
Your Tips du Jour videos are always interesting. I purchased them today in support of your time putting them together and their content of course ! Dermot
I purchased the complete set of your Tips du Jour videos, also extremely helpful! All of them… Steve
The best tutorial for setting up an acoustic. I'm Always coming back to this video each time I set up my guitar. EZ
My name is Sean from Pittsburgh Pa. I just finished my 1st steel string last week, and I wanted to let you know that your YouTube videos were invaluable to me. There are tons of videos out there showing the steps, but yours are concise and to the point you show the steps while not making us watch the entire process. They’re well produced, and always enjoyable to watch (and I always enjoy the “dad jokes”) While California is likely too far for me to ever participate in one of your in person workshops, I wanted to let you know how much help you were to me and that I really admire your work. Sean
Love your Tips du Jour. Astrobooder
I watch all of your videos and they are quite entertaining as well as informative! Steve
I just wanted to write a quick note to tell you how much I appreciate all of your youtube videos. I can’t even tell you how much I’ve learned from them. I’m working on my second and third Martin kits right now & your videos have given me the confidence to tackle a build from scratch. With extreme gratitude, I thank you. Ross
I absolutely love all the rich and informative content you have brought us over the years!!! Doc
Robbie, thanks for taking the time to do these videos. They are a wealth of knowledge for those wise enough to watch and missed information for those who don't watch. Alan
Short, direct but very helpful! This guy is a true teaching master. From Youtube
I have learned so much from your videos. Thank you! I have watched many many luthiers, all have different styles and personalities, yours imo is the most natural. Youtube viewer
Hello from Michigan. Interesting coincidence. This technique worked like a charm on two guitars of mine. I practiced on my old classical. Then repaired my favorite Taylor. Thanks again for sharing your expertise. Keith
I have watched your videos and luthier tips on you tube for quite a while now and find them to be very informative and have learned a lot from watching them. So much so that I now do my own setup on acoustic and classical guitars. Tony
I love your videos on guitar repairs, definitely the most informative, and thank you for your knowledge and humor. Richard
I'm a big fan of you Tips Du Jour videos, and have also just recently bought your online course. Great stuff, and I can't wait to get into my build! Steve
Love your tips du jour series! Dave
Thank you for all your contributions to our industry. I have used you as a source many times and appreciate the time it must take to produce these segments for luthiers worldwide. John
I love your tips du jour Rob. I'm an amateur builder and learn lots from your clips. Thanks so much for doing them! Kevin
Luthiers Tips du Jour is easily the best channel for shop tips pertaining to building stringed instruments. Boyd
Your videos are some of the best I've seen. They are very clear, concise and pick one topic which is really helpful when you just need a helpful tip. Ron
Excellent, your explanations are simple and the methods always work! Appreciate it Jeff
Hi Robert! As a newbie builder out here in Grand Junction I just want to say THANK YOU for your countless advice and tips I’ve received from watching your Tips du jour videos! Your approach and professionalism is nothing short of perfect for someone learning this craft! Getting ready to start #5 soon and they get nicer every time! Thank you again! Nicholas
Thanks for all these videos..they are all great Ronald
I've been watching a few of your "Tips du Jour" videos this morning. They are SO good! For one thing, you know what you are talking about. You present the information clearly and completely, and the video quality is excellent. I greatly appreciate all the time and effort you put into them. So....THANK YOU! Steve
Love watching your YouTube videos.Great ? Donald
Thank you for making your instructional videos! I have been watching your Luthier Tips du Jour relentlessly to learn guitar repair and building. After watching and learning from your video's they have given me the confidence and practical skills to work on my own guitar's. I have been successful in using your techniques to transform a $20 dollar guitar with many problems into one of the best sounding and most played guitars of all of my collection. Brent
I used another of your Tips du Jour yesterday evening on the body of the tenor guitar project. I had a small gap next to the binding I needed to fix. Medium CA, some Rosewood sawdust, and lots of elbow grease made the gap vanish. Thanks for that tip, Robbie. Tony
I have watched countless of your Tips du Jour videos, and I think that they are among the best written, informative, and well-shot videos on luthierie I've seen. Morgan
Love all the tips, keep them coming! Allen
Thanks a million for putting all the tips online for us. What a bargain!!! Austin
Congrats Robbie! Thanks so much for all the videos and hard work. Folks the instruction this gentleman offers is first rate. Robbie O'Brien you are the best! Thanks!! Jeff
I absolutely love tips du jour, so much helpful info. Ever so grateful. Brandin
Congrats on 10 years of high quality content Robbie! Alexandre
Thank you for all those great videos. Martin
They are wonderful and very much appreciated! Bill
An enormous amount of amazingly valuable information! Thank you! Peter
Very cool! Well worth the bucks too. Jay Lichty - North Carolina
Taught this old dog many new tricks! Paul
Thank you for all you do. Those videos have saved my weekend at times. Abe - Hawaii
Awesome! That’s a massive amount of guitar building information to have at your fingertips. Frank
Your work always have inspired me and so many luthier through the world! Rodrigo - Brazil
I really like your tips. Thanks again Giju
Thanks so much for all the videos and how to sharing! Discovered you like 9 years ago and you're always near when I'm building guitars. Thanks for your time, generosity and teaching skills! Keep up the good work! Mitch in France
Just bought your latest course, the Tips du Jour videos - this is a great resource and a good price. Chris
I love these videos. They have been immensely helpful to me over the years. Thank you! Garrett
Congratulations for the work accumulated during these 10 years. that have been of great help to make known the luthería. Toto Dixit
I watch them religiously...but I noticed a very important video..one that should be "pinned" to the top of the page...."Getting permission from the wife" Thanks for all you do! Ronald
Hizo Mr O'Brien, this videos have been very helpful. great advice Iván Lobo
Chapter 1 • Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag
7:55:29
#1 • Hygrometer 4:30
#2 • Fret end filing 5:46
#3 • Crack Repair 4:14
#4 • String height at the nut 3:32
#5 • Vacuum 2:30
#6 • CA Glue for bindings 5:10
#7 • Dust collection 4:26
#8 • UV systems 3:52
#9 • Hide Glue 9:26
#10 • Sunburst Finishes 3:19
#11 • Pickups 8:52
#12 • Buffing high gloss finishes 3:17
#13 • CA glue on fret ends 3:53
#14 • CA glue and tie block bones 3:50
#15 • LMI Fret Tang Filer 2:20
#16 • CA Glue 7:22
#17 • Fretboard Binding 8:20
#18 • Gluing frets 1:43
#19 • Working pain free 3:52
#20 • CA glue for gap filling 3:59
#21 • Nut slots 4:48
#22 • Pickguards 9:41
#23 • Fret Removal 4:33
#24 • CA Glue to fix finishes 10:29
#25 • Determining Finish type 3:26
#26 • Tonerite 5:06
#27 • Burn in sticks 2:31
#28 • Redwood 2:24
#29 • Shop design 14:30
#30 • Shellac and sawdust pore fill 6:04
#31 • Mando pickup install 10:10
#32 • Side bending 4:06
#33 • K&K Guitar pickup install 10:16
#34 • Drilling an end pin hole 3:28
#35 • Aqua Coat pore filler 6:02
#36 • Royal Lac - LMI Version 36:31
#37 • Pandoras box 11:48
#38 • LMI Yellow glue 3:09
#39 • Re-attaching a bridge 6:21
#40 • Baking Tops 3:12
#41 • Tonewood 7:07
#42 • Binding jig advice 5:18
#43 • Safe - t -planer 3:08
#44 • Bending Bindings and purflings 3:32
#45 • Pre-carved classical neck from LMI 8:28
#46 • High gloss without a buffer 3:17
#47 • Sandpaper 3:39
#48 • Working with problem woods 5:35
#49 • Closing the box 3:45
#50 • Sealing tuner holes before finishing 2:58
#51 • Pore filling rosettes. 3:57
#52 • LMI articulated clamp 3:20
#53 • Friendly plastic 2:24
#54 • A better glue bottle 2:50
#55 • Calibrating hygrometers 7:44
#56 • Marketing your work 6:12
#57 • LMI brace sander 4:54
#58 • Is it really as easy at it looks 3:53
#59 • Lutherie wax and lemon oil 3:32
#60 • How often to sharpen tools 2:37
#61 • Super six planer 3:53
#62 • LMI nut and saddle setup gauge 2:25
#63 • Twill tape 6:51
#64 • Drilling tuner holes 1:49
#65 • UV pore filler 3:56
#66 • Removing buffing coompound residue 2:05
#67 • Show room shine 2:52
#68 • CITES 8:25
#69 • Fixing dents 3:15
#70 • Torrefied wood 7:47
#71 • Arm bevel block size 3:02
#72 • Wax for easy glue cleanup 3:00
#73 • Inlay tool tip 3:23
#74 • Bending a cutaway side 1:50
#75 • Bone shims 2:34
#76 • Rocklite 2:30
#77 • DIY humidifier 8:03
#78 • Crackle finish 3:33
#79 • Laminating sides 13:23
#80 • More CITES information 10:29
#81 • CA glue shelf life 2:31
#82 • Brace height 2:06
#83 • Tape removal without damaging the finish 3:56
#84 • Zpoxy pore fill 21:01
#85 • Jack the gripper 1:32
#86 • Mitered purflings 5:46
#87 • Cutting fretboard to length 2:34
Chapter 2 • Unreleased Episodes
5:36:51
#88 • Leveling rosettes 7:16
#89 • Scratch repair 6:02
#90 • Back crack repair 5:53
#91 • LMI bridge drill jig 2:59
#92 • Holding the guitar 2:03
#93 • Classical guitar action too high 7:17
#94 • LMI cutaway template 2:02
#95 • Sharpening convex planes 6:37
#96 • Tuners 5:10
#97 • Glu Boost 8:10
#98 • Scratch repair with glu boost 4:13
#99 • How to laminate sides 3:27
#100 • How to find my videos 7:22
#101 • LMI rotary plunge tool - rosette installation 8:38
#102 • Go bar deck idea 2:27
#103 • How to process bone 4:02
#104 • Cool machines 5:23
#105 • How to process wood 18:19
#106 • What is torrefied wood 14:53
#107 • Compound radius 10:06
#108 • LED Lighting 2:08
#109 • Truss rod - testing before use 2:44
#110 • Spray equipment 2:29
#111 • Installing reverse kerfing without breaking 6:13
#112 • Royal lac post cat 2:40
#113 • Covid-19 Edition 1:40
#114 • Beveling classical bridge ends 3:20
#115 • Reaching inside the guitar 2:13
#116 • Sanding bars 3:29
#117 • Crack repair using tuning machines 4:45
#118 • Electric guitar pickguard 3:56
#119 • Finish repair 6:01
#120 • Binding repair 3:54
#121 • Cleaning saw blades 2:20
#122 • 3 or 4 back braces 1:51
#123 • Bad sounding string 1:49
#124 • Cedar vs Spruce 4:44
#125 • Strings 3:23
#126 • Wolf note 6:26
#127 • Drilling bridge pin holes accurately 2:20
#128 • Clamping a bridge 3:55
#129 • Replacing the bridge on a 1943 martin -OO-18 clamping a bridge 3:49
#130 • Strap button installation 3:49
#131 • Fixing color finishes 6:55
#132 • Calibrating hygrometers with potassium carbonate 2:27
#133 • Maintaining RH levels after the guitar is built 3:35
#134 • Re-topping a guitar 1:58
#135 • Ripples in sides 2:36
#136 • LMI semi carved classical guitar neck 2:50
#137 • Recipe for depression 3:04
#138 • Sanding around neck area while finishing 3:02
#139 • Wifes permission 1:49
#140 • Sharpening angle 2:44
#141 • Finish repair - sunburst 4:04
#142 • Fan frets 8:20
#143a • Humidifiers I 2:34
#143b • Humidifiers II 7:01
#144 • Shop safety and kids 3:28
#145 • Shellac 5:53
#146 • Unusual stories 3:52
#147 • Mineral deposits in wood 2:33
#148 • Tie block bones 1:49
#149 • LMI headstock drilling and slotting jig 3:44
#150 • LMI micro bead pore filler 3:03
#151 • Back injury advice and bench jig 4:27
#152 • High gloss finish without a buffer 4:20
#153 • Sculpted heel - Beau Hannam 4:11
#154 • Working when tired 2:16
#155 • Royal lac 1:58
#156 • Joining plates using the LMI sanding bars 1:58
#157 • Grain Orientation in braces 3:22
#158 • CNC and lutherie 3:13
#159 • Fret tang filer 3:35
#160 • Making a solera 8:33
#161 • Flamenco vs. classical 8:03
#162 • How to control thin Ca glues during repairs 3:52
#163 • Glu boost gel for inlay 3:05
#164 • Mis-aligned purflings 3:15
#165 • LMI water based pore filler 2:05
Chapter 3 • Luthier Tips du Jour Classic Series
10:24:31
Lesson 1: Thickness Sanding 4:40
Lesson 2: Scrapers 6:09
Lesson 3: Side bending by hand 6:28
Lesson 4: Safe-T-Planer 8:01
Lesson 5: Drilling tuner holes 7:01
Lesson 6: Drill press router 7:35
Lesson 7: Pore filling with drywall compound 5:54
Lesson 8: Top Thicknessing 5:50
Lesson 9: Top Bracing 11:05
Lesson 10: Notching classical fan bracing 3:29
Lesson 11: End Grafts 8:39
Lesson 12: Vacuum Fixtures 9:40
Lesson 13: Glue Part I 7:49
Lesson 14: Glue Part II 9:35
Lesson 15: Cutting Binding Channels 7:45
Lesson 16: Bending bindings 5:15
Lesson 17: Installing bindings and purflings 8:42
Lesson 18: The Spanish heel 3:50
Lesson 19: Neck carving 9:05
Lesson 20: Steel String back braces 8:54
Lesson 21: Truss Rods 8:58
Lesson 22: Neck Blanks 7:13
Lesson 23: Inlay 6:31
Lesson 24: Buffing high gloss finishes 9:49
Lesson 25: Mortise and tenon neck joint 8:59
Lesson 26: Go Bar Decks 6:32
Lesson 27: Classical Bridge making 9:28
Lesson 28: Murphys Law 8:55
Lesson 29: The Tornavoz 9:51
Lesson 30: The Tornavoz Part II 5:18
Lesson 31: Kerfing jig 3:47
Lesson 32: Sunburst finish 6:30
Lesson 33: The shooting board 6:38
Lesson 34: Closing The Box 9:43
Lesson 35: Steel String Bridge making 7:04
Lesson 36: LMI Manual Fret Slotting System 8:02
Lesson 37: Making Forms 9:15
Lesson 38: Heel and end Blocks 8:15
Lesson 39: Plate joining 6:07
Lesson 40: Acoustic guitar set up 8:56
Lesson 41: Sharpening 9:20
Lesson 42: Nut and Saddle Making 8:33
Lesson 43: Heating Controller 5:02
Lesson 44: The V Joint 9:48
Lesson 45: Spray guns 9:26
Lesson 46: Double Tops Part I 8:50
Lesson 47: Double Tops Part II 9:59
Lesson 48: Kerfing 8:02
Lesson 49: The LMI Side Bender 7:43
Lesson 50: Rosettes 11:11
Lesson 51: Pickups 8:55
Lesson 52: Les Paul Peghead Repair 5:58
Lesson 53: Slotted Pegheads 7:31
Lesson 54: Neck reset 10:37
Lesson 55: Tonewood 10:13
Lesson 56: Meet the maker Kent Everett 14:08
Lesson 57: Abalone 6:34
Lesson 58: Pickguard removal 1:49
Lesson 59: Tru oil 3:40
Lesson 60: Bridge Removal 4:02
Lesson 61: Electric Guitar Finish 7:01
Lesson 62: Brazilian 7 string guitar 19:19
Lesson 63: Hand Planes 10:03
Lesson 64: Luthiercam 2:04
Lesson 65: Band Saws 16:03
Lesson 66: Monica Esparza 7:44
Lesson 67: Meet the Player - Steve Devries 22:46
Lesson 68: Meet the Player - Steve Devries Part II 4:01
Lesson 69: Steve Devries - Part III 11:47
Lesson 70: Crack repair 3:24
Lesson 71: LMI Plate joining jig 2:33
Lesson 72: The arm bevel 6:34
Lesson 73: LMI Bridge hole drilling jig 2:44
Lesson 74: UV Cured Finish 3:57
Lesson 75: Humidity 6:48
Lesson 76: Purflex 7:04
Lesson 77: LMI Pre-Carved Necks 8:28
Lesson 78: Intonation 6:22
Lesson 79: Cutting binding channels by hand 3:18
Lesson 80: Shellac 5:09
Lesson 81: LMI locating pins 2:08
Lesson 82: Neck removal 2:36