Official Luthiers Forum!

I have done business with Bob and John going on 7 years and from beginning of this site and they were starting out some. They are both class acts in business, but more important as men of character. We are all better off with them. Semper Fi guys

Never give up. Like my boss says, look at the problem and make a plan to make the problem not be so, and go for it. You will learn, and you will succeed. You have time, now is the patience of learning and then doing. It will happen.

As has already been stated, don't get discouraged. Take a step back for a few days and ALWAYS ask questions!

I'm into guitar #8 & 9 right now and still get discouraged with some processes and outcomes and I'm sure I will as I continue on with this art.

Way to go Bob and John, just like you've done for so many others here at the OLF!

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I give a neck, fingerboard and bridge. The neck would be a pre-carved Martin with a tenon. PM me with an address to ship it to.

If I had quit during the first I would have missed a great deal of fun. My first was a disaster too.

Steve Brown

I doubt that the back is ruined ,a few trips through a thickness sander can fix that . I think once you learn how to use the plane and set the blade , you should be fine. After all experience comes from learning from ones mistakes , so you should be learning much . That will make the next one that much better.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Hey Luke,

Like the other guys said, keep forging ahead. You might try filling out your profile. There could be someone close by that could help you out. I haven't seen anything in your pics that couldn't be fixed in short order.

Steve

Hi Luke,

Im in the middle of my first build and I went through a similar issues with my scarf joint, thicknessing the back,jointing and rosette channel. Why? I didnt take my time to learn how to use the tools and the techniques required.

Get yourself a card scraper /cabinet scrapper ASAP. Absolute must. Help me save my back , smoothed out all the chunks.

I have reassessed my goals for this guitar early on. Initially I wanted/hoped it would be able to produce a guitar better than my Admira. Im now looking at it as a learning tool and the mistakes I now see as challenges, problem solving opportunities , I guess its experience.

I will be extremely happy if this guitar holds up , doesnt implode when its strung up. I have no doubts that my next guitar will be significantly better as a result of this initial build. I now know what jigs I need and what woodworking skills I need to improve.

Keep at it Luke, its hard going but the mistake you made this time you are unlikely make again.

Ive been blogging (http://atguitars.blogspot.com/) too so you might want to have at look at mine so you can avoid some of the mistakes I made and see how bad my back looked after my initial attempt thicknessing it.


Cheers
Anthony

I have to say that Bob C and John have won futur business from me. This is encouraging seeing I am a first time builder.

Just thought I'd add something that helped me through my first build:

My primary goal was not to build a guitar but to learn the general process of guitar building. That outlook allowed me to view my mistakes as part of the learning process (a bonus of sorts) and gave me a great deal of patience since I wasn't in a hurry to get to the final result. That patience paid off since I spent more time in the planning/measuring phase and made fewer mistakes than I would have otherwise (though still plenty).

Stick with it. You will succeed.

Luke: The road is long and sometimes it's hard...!!!! But don't you dare give up..! Nothing worth while comes easy,the dues must be paid.You have to keep things in perspective,on this forum there are folks who have spent years working on building guitars and it is routine for them to post pictures of fantastic guitars.How long did it take for them to build a guitar...About 80 or 90 hours plus or minus a few hours ....plus 20 or 30 years learning how to do this.Even some of the folks who produce first time guitars that are knock outs..and there are lots..generally have paid the price somewhere.They may be carpenters, cabinet makers, machinists or other such skills that tend to lead one to an easier transition into building.The thrill of finishing the first guitar is fantastic but I found that to wain a bit in a short time because there was another one to be built. After a number of guitars I discovered for myself it was the mystery of how the guitar work that was the pull and ending up with a few guitars on the side was a bonus.It's a journey,sometimes the road is bumpy,make sure your seat belt iis on tight and enjoy the ride,the view at the end is rewarding......Just DONT give up.

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I'm impressed with the generosity of people on this site but I wonder if it's misplaced.

I'm frusterated and confused that a person with no previous woodworking experience
would take on a project like a guitar and expect anything but a nearly impassable road.

Luke let us know what direction you want to take.
On standby.

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Runamuck: Not sure if you are mentioning my post or not but certainly did not mean to say this is an impossible task. Want to convey that we are not born knowing how to do these things. Mistakes will be made,everyone who does anything makes mistakes.It just takes time to let ourselves navigate through them. I'm sure if Luke had someone like Todd by his side for a while it would be much less trouble.The only real mistake is giving up on yourself.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Dont know what you are using to sand but if you glue a 3M 40 grit sanding belt to a plice of FLAT ply the same size you will be amazed how fast and you can thin a back
Good luck

Luke:
Where are you physically located? with 4000 members someone will be nearby, close enough to stop by and maybe lend a hand...... Mike

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The Biggest Little City, Nevada
www.hammondguitars.com
I love building guitars!

Luke,
PM sent your way.
Coe Franklin

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,

I know exactly how you feel. I am making my first too. I thought I'll make a little parlour guitar which would be easier...

I am starting to put in my rosette and I think it is looking pretty good. My only issue is with the rosette is that if I glue & fit my rosette, when I put in my bracing, wouldn't the slight flex in the top cause the rosette to pop out slightly? I think this as the rosette is maple which is much stiffer than spruce...


Stick at it, we will all get there eventually.....

Hey Luke

I understand where you're coming from. I'm about to finish my first acoustic . . . after starting and abandoning 5. I've always trashed them because they didn't live up to my expectations, and this one is no different. I'm finishing it out and asking questions in an exercise of humility. I've built a number of amps and electrics, a few drum sets, a snare or two . . . and quit on five acoustics. If you see it out---even if it sucks---you'll be proud of the accomplishment.

Very generous offers from Steve, John, and Bob. I think you'd be wise to take their assistance. As others have said, trying to hand-plane wood to thickness is very difficult without plenty of experience. It's also difficult to build a first guitar if you don't have something (a book like Cumpiano's) or someone (a friendly OLFer) to tell you what order in which to do things. Trying to do things out of order can create nightmares, IMHO.

Luke:

I would encourage you to press on with the making of the guitar. What I've seen here with the folks who are willing to offer advice, and even lend a hand, is amazing to me. That type of help and generosity is unheard of in the industry where I make my living from, and it's a craftsman-type industry.

I just finished my first. It was a very trying experience for me, as not only was I learning how to make the guitar, but also learning how to use the tools. I had virtually no woodworking experience. I made a number of fubars, but in most instances could correct what I did wrong. Some were beyond repair, so to speak. But everyone who sees it thinks that it's an awesome piece of work. I'm proud that I accomplished what I did with it. I've recently started on my second, and I'm just as excited about it as I was with the first.

So press on!

I decided to step away for a good majority of the friday and saturday. Got relaxed and really tried not to think about all the steps coming that might be hard but rather I thought about the things I've already done and how I only needed to change some MINOR things to increase the quality of the results of those processes significantly. Really allowed me to see that although this is definitely a tough project, that I can do it. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement.



Why does one ever start anything? Sure I could start with small things, but my heart won't be in it, my efforts would be misplaced. With proper guidance and encouragement and resources anyone can accomplish nearly anything.



On a side note (pun), I bent some sides.

Well I can relate to the frustrations of the first build. Mine actually got put aside for nearly two years at roughly 90% done. I'm finally in a position to jump back in and pretty excited about it. I also had zero woodworking knowledge (it shows) and little tools to start with. I tried to make do with "this or that" homemade jig, tool, etc, which will work as long as you pace yourself and don't feel rushed. Also though, I am not the expert here, but it seems (myself included) new guys tend to doubt their abilities and either don't try something they could do, or freak out when something goes wrong. Don't sweat it too much. This is supposed to be fun.

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

Great to see you are pressing on with the build..

How did you bending go? No dramas I hope. How are you doing your bending? Pipe? Fox jig?

Cheers
Anthony

Im an idiot.

Just remembered your blogging. Checked your blogged and what do you know, it answers all my questions..

Cheers
Anthony

I had essentially no woodworking experience. On my first guitar, I made mistakes every day. Luckily I was in a class and the next time I saw Robbie, he'd show me how to fix it. Yes, I learned to make a guitar, but I also learned you can fix pretty much anything. On my second, I made far fewer mistakes. Hopefully it will be a trend.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

I would recommend making yourself up a toothing iron.

You can get a #4/#5 size replacement iron at Home Depot for $2.97 -- Grind some shallow notches in it with your dremel (1/16" apart)... Resharpen to razor sharp... and off you go! You will wonder where this wonderful iron was all your life.

So.. 1st you tooth, then you take a plane with a medium/fine set and clean off the grooves... then tooth over it again... Makes it very easy to thin down a plate by hand. (Well, as easy as it gets with a Plane.. It takes me ~3 hrs to do a back by hand)

Here's a pic of my home made toother in my #5.


Keep on going!

Thanks

John