Official Luthiers Forum!

Dear Dr. OLF

I just completed No. 2 yesterday. Sweet. Awesome. What a thrill. Went down into the basement today to plane and glue up the pieces for a 5-piece neck blank for No. 3. Is this normal? Is wood dust addictive? Am I doomed?

yours puzzled,
Christian

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God, Family, Carreer

Addicting? No, I think its just you....

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Dear Puzzled,
I am afraid, my friend, that it sounds like you have a classic case of tonewood addiction.Minute particles of wood dust penetrate the cells of your body and are carried by the blood to the pleasure receptors located deep within your gray matter. By the mere fact that you find yourself, after just having had a fix the day before, slinking down into the privacy of your basement (and away from prying neighbors) to get another shot, indicates that the receptors are now well and truly hooked, this is worse than Crack and almost as expensive a habit!
Unfortunately there is no "twelve step programme" or Luthier's Anonymous setup to help you at this stage as build dependency has not been recognised by the medical community as a legitimate addiction. The only possible cure I can recommend (and there are no guarantees with this method either)to you at this stage is to keep all your tools sharp and rust free and keep building as many stringed instruments that you can, preferably one after another or on the odd occasion, two or three at a time(in which case you may suffer symptoms of brain fatigue, sleeplessness as you work out details of the different builds and loss of appetite as you forget to stop building and go eat!),in the hope that A) You run out of enthusiasm for making said instruments or B) You run out of money by which you feed your current addiction for quality & pretty tonewoods.
If you feel yourself unable to build during these early stages then it is an ideal time to switch to jig making, beware though!! as this in turn may induce an addiction to all things jigs, you spend vast amounts of time scrawling on small pieces of paper as you try to perfect that radiusing jig or neck fixture.
Best of luck with your withdrawal programme but if you find you are unable to continue to withdraw then all I can say is.......................................Welcome to the club
Dr OLF.

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Nick Oliver

http://www.oliver-guitars.com

And what a lovely addiction it is......

Addiction?!? What addiction? Now...... where did I lay that chisel......

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

You laugh about it now, but wait 30 years or so, and you've a shop full of guitars sets, and topwood, and you can't move around because of the tools. The house isn't painted, not because you don't have the time, that is the "secondary" reason, it's because you've neglected your primary occupation to pursue guitar building, and you can't raise the money for a gallon of paint, you've spent what little money you have on just a few Brazilian Rosewood bits.

You've lost most of your friends because you don't go out much now, the few true friends you have are just sticking around for the coming intervention.

Run! while you still have the chance, and could you sell me your wood when you do?

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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008907949110

WHAT??? It's my, my own, my precious



Thanks for the welcome, Dr. OLF,
I hope I can avoid the jig addiction. What will my wife think if I say "I'll check out some jigs", or even "I'll get a new jig"?

I hear some people are developing a twelve step program for Zootaholics, but lets face it.... the core of the problem is the repeat-builder.

The story plays out over and over again. A man (or woman) slaves away for weeks, or even months. Then late at night while the wife and kiddies are sound asleep, a miraculos thing occures. A guitar is born. Hands reach out to touch it, the instrument is caressed, finally to be held it in his arms. The shimmer of the hand applied finish catches his eye, he plucks a string or two and a sweet sound fills the room. He knows deep in his sole there is no turning back.

Joe

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Bet you can't build just one........!

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

Addiction ????
Withdrawal starts in about 6 hours after the last wood or tool contact.
If you get the shakes your in real trouble!

Mike

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Mike Collins

At least, it seems, I'm not alone



Isn't that the truth...during building I was really frustrated at times, because things didn't always work as intended, but this frustration was just gone after playing the first few chords. It's such a thrill if in the end all things come together and out of a coupe of pieces of wood an instrument is born...

Christian,

When I build a guitar the outcome is not based on how good I am, but rather how well I recover from the mistakes.

Take my current build for instance. I finished spraying the last coat of KTM. It was one of my best jobs! No runs or sags, just needed a light level sanding then I noticed something.... wait a minute.... one of the sides was lighter and the grain showed clearer than the other. That's when I realized that I didn't sand the side properly after bending. The heat had brought the resin up and it was still there.

I looked at it for a few minutes than it was back to the scraper and sand paper. Had to take that side down to the bare wood. Sand it well. Refill w/epoxy and I'm in the process of re-applying the finish.

Sometime I think I'll never learn.

Joe

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I find that it isn't about the music the guitar makes, and it really isn't about the finished instrument. It is about the building process.

Once an instrument is done, if it isn't sold, it goes in a case, almost to be forgotten about till I can sell it. Once in a while I'll remember it, and play it, but it isn't mine, so I don't want any wear on it.

I have kept a nice one for myself. Once it got a few scratches on it (by someone else, not me!) I am free to wail away on it, as much as I want.

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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008907949110

dang You! I was almost cold turkey (12 hours dry), now you've made the craving re-surface.

*Runs screaming to the wood shop*

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Nick Oliver

http://www.oliver-guitars.com

Nick,

I know what you mean. I just came out of the workshop myself... Some people you just can't save.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

If you were truly addicted, you would have started the new neck well before you completed the guitar!

Starting it AFTER you strung it up does not count. Sorry.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/