I feel that I must reply to my own post before someone else rightfully addresses my shortcomings. "What?" You don't bend your own sides or carve your own necks-what kind of luthier are you, if at all?"
I do not consider myself a luthier. Really, I don't hold myself out as such. I am a "builder" at best, and could fairly be called a mere "assembler." Touche`.
Most of the time I have spent on precision woodworking was spent making custom rifle and shotgun stocks from varieties of walnut. From time to time over 36 years or so, I went at it on an acoustic guitar. A drill press and an ancient all cast iron 14" bandsaw were my power tools. Everything else was done with handtools.
When I built and drove my own racecars, I did the engine assembly, but not the machining. I bent and welded my own chassis but from a master designed and proven by someone else. I still cannot properly assemble a "Muncie" transmission, but most years were in open wheel cars with no transmission ,nor a starter. I did my own chassis setups and at the track adjustments and I fixed the cars when they got wadded up in crashes though a few times, some "sheet-time" delayed that and others might pitch in while I was healing.
When I belted into those 700+ horsepower 1400 pound cars(my weight included) the welfare of my family was on the line along with the welfare of those on the track(dirt/clay-asphalt is for getting to the track) with me. So, assembling correctly was not a matter to be taken lightly. When I assemble a guitar(lately mostly Les Paul style) I use the same care, but I have a fellow who has a stock of very good Central American Mahogany and he has my sub-body pattern and he ships bandsawn to that pattern with a bit extra for smoothing. A couple of reliable fellows sell me joined maple tops, uncarved. I have a large shooting board and plane set up for jointing 5/8ths" tops-it is simpler for these fellows to joint and glue mine along with many others and
ship. I carefully top-carve, assemble and finish. Not a luthier, a mechanic. MT
