Official Luthiers Forum! :: View topic - The title "Luthier" is not in my future

Got some interesting advice early on, don't remember where it came from. It basically went "there may come a time when you want to simply pick it up and smash it against the wall. Go ahead, but have fun destroying it. Then take a day off, and start over."

I appreciate all the great advice. I think when it comes down to it though, I just don't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. Guitar building takes someone who like to take their time and I'm a "Get in and get it done" kind of guy. So maybe 10 years from now I'll give it another go, but for now I'll stick to playing.

So who wants to buy all my stuff?

...but I'm glad I didn't.

jlwoodall wrote:

I'll bid $1! laughing6-hehe

I built my second guitar in a class, and traveled to and from the city by commuter train, carrying the parts. I had rough thicknessed the top and back in class, and was carrying them home under my arm one evening when I slipped on the ice walking from the train station to the subway. Both broke lengthwise, off center: I darn near crunched them into splinters on the spot, threw them in a trash can, and gave up. Instead I went out to my teacher's the next day and glued them back together. The top was missing some rosette parts, and I made another for that guitar. The repair on the back was invisible. Had I given up at that point, I'd probably be a wealthier man now, but I'm glad I didn't.

Author:	jlwoodall [ Fri Jun 15, 2012 9:46 pm ]
Post subject:	The title "Luthier" is not in my future
I just started to cut my binding channel on my first build when I jumped the router onto the top of the guitar wrecked it along with the kerfing. Oh well... this building process has taught me two things. First, I don't want to build guitars... I want to play them! Secondly, I praise God for those of you who do build such magnificent instruments. Please know that you have been blessed with with one heck of a talent. Keep doing what you do best and I'll stick with what I know! Thanks for all the help guys!

Author:	Spyder [ Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:25 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
Sorry about your bad luck, but hey, it happens. That's how we learn. Got some interesting advice early on, don't remember where it came from. It basically went "there may come a time when you want to simply pick it up and smash it against the wall. Go ahead, but have fun destroying it. Then take a day off, and start over." Had to fight that urge myself several times. So don't sweat it. Just save the pieces, enjoy your playing, and who knows, some day that building fire might just start up again...

Author:	Steve Davis [ Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:23 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
I dare you to post pictures and ask the gang for possible fixes If you are binding you have a box All boxes can be fixed simple

Author:	Steve Davis [ Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:24 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
I dare you to post pictures and ask the gang for possible fixes If you are binding you have a box All boxes can be fixed simple

Author:	Trevor Gore [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:23 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
Before you despair, read this, then read this.

Official Luthiers Forum! http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/

The title "Luthier" is not in my future http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=36813	Page 1 of 1

Author:	meddlingfool [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:56 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
Sweet recovery in those threads, very impressed. FWIW, I destroyed what should have been about my 60th guitar a few weeks ago routing for binding. Scabbed in a patch, bought a new router, rebuilt the jig, and did the same thing again to the guitar. Poor little fella, after I'd hoarded the wood for years and felt confident to use it. These things happen. Don't let it get you too far down, there is an almost infinite variety of ways not to do things!

Author:	WudWerkr [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 6:21 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
All good advice ! Im fairly new at this and ive already learned enough from these guys to know that ...... its gonna happen....... If we all decided to quit after a mistake this would be a lonley forum . Save the parts and maybe after a bit you will try again Post Pic's , might not be as bad as u think.

Author:	John Coloccia [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 6:44 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
I was in Cumpiano's shop last weekend. We were talking about bending sides by hand, using bending forms (he uses forms now when he can), acceptable tolerances and other other such things. He brought me over to a corner of his shop, under his wood pile, and showed me the DOZENS of screwed up, broken, cracked, kinked sides that he had ruined over the years. Made me feel a little better about my own screw ups. Geez, I hope you don't let this little boo boo scare you off.

Author:	Chris Ensor [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 8:18 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
Spyder wrote: Got some interesting advice early on, don't remember where it came from. It basically went "there may come a time when you want to simply pick it up and smash it against the wall. Go ahead, but have fun destroying it. Then take a day off, and start over." I did that with my first! But I used the floor!

Author:	klooker [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 8:48 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
Put it away & give yourself a little time to forget about it, then come back later & make your decision. We've all been there, just look at the doofus of the month threads. Kevin Looker

Author:	NWflyonly [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 8:56 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
You can't just throw in the towel! My first had all kinds of issues. When I went to bind my first I did it freehand and it looked like cr*p, I just set it aside and started another then came back to it. Obviously if you don't have the interest in building then don't...but if you do give it another try.

Author:	Joe Hill [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:07 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
Jon, I agree with Mark on this...I made sooooo many mistakes on my first build that I think a Chimp would have done better. Most people here know that, that guitar was sent to the bonfire Gods. I may not be a luthier but I want to build my own guitar, even if I only build one guitar in my life. My advice is finish it then play it, burn it, beat it on the floor but finish it before you throw in the towel. Joe H.

Author:	jlwoodall [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 2:20 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
I appreciate all the great advice. I think when it comes down to it though, I just don't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. Guitar building takes someone who like to take their time and I'm a "Get in and get it done" kind of guy. So maybe 10 years from now I'll give it another go, but for now I'll stick to playing. So who wants to buy all my stuff?

Author:	CharlieT [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 2:57 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
I feel your pain, Jon. My first build has taken about 3 years, mostly because I made so many mistakes that I had to fix. Those mistakes really set me back, but I learned a lot from each one and won't make the same mistakes again. My second, which will be done in a few weeks (hopefully) has "only" taken about a year, but I made just as many mistakes on that one...just different mistakes. The biggest was not considering humidity when I braced and glued on the top, which ended up developing a crack from the sound hole all the way to the tail. I tried fixing it but just made it worse. The thought of removing the top and bracing up a new one was pretty overwhelming to me and I actually considered trashing the guitar. Glad I didn't though as I really like how it's turning out. And now that I think about it, the top on that guitar now is actually the third one I made for it; I couldn't even glue the first one on due to a cutting error that made it too small for the rims. Anyway, only you can judge whether you have the personality to build guitars, but I didn't want you to think you were the only newb in history to make catastrophic mistakes on your first build. Far from it. Best of luck, whatever you choose to do.

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Author:	David Newton [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:33 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
I never liked the title "Luthier" either. Maybe later give it another try, but this time think of it as "building a guitar for fun".

Author:	Alan Carruth [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 5:09 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
I built my second guitar in a class, and traveled to and from the city by commuter train, carrying the parts. I had rough thicknessed the top and back in class, and was carrying them home under my arm one evening when I slipped on the ice walking from the train station to the subway. Both broke lengthwise, off center: I darn near crunched them into splinters on the spot, threw them in a trash can, and gave up. Instead I went out to my teacher's the next day and glued them back together. The top was missing some rosette parts, and I made another for that guitar. The repair on the back was invisible. Had I given up at that point, I'd probably be a wealthier man now, but I'm glad I didn't.

Author:	Chris Ensor [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 5:25 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
jlwoodall wrote: I appreciate all the great advice. I think when it comes down to it though, I just don't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. Guitar building takes someone who like to take their time and I'm a "Get in and get it done" kind of guy. So maybe 10 years from now I'll give it another go, but for now I'll stick to playing. So who wants to buy all my stuff? I'll bid $1!

Author:	Arnt Rian [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 5:38 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
Alan Carruth wrote: ...but I'm glad I didn't. And so are we! First, learning that there always will be mistakes, and next, learning how to fix them (better all the time, hopefully), is a certainly a big part of this craft. For early guitars, repairing anything that goes wrong can be very educational. Later, it is often a better idea simply to start over (at least if the worst scars from the incident can't be hidden, or worked into a feature). Many times its faster, too.

Author:	WudWerkr [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 8:10 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
Chris Ensor wrote: jlwoodall wrote: I appreciate all the great advice. I think when it comes down to it though, I just don't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. Guitar building takes someone who like to take their time and I'm a "Get in and get it done" kind of guy. So maybe 10 years from now I'll give it another go, but for now I'll stick to playing. So who wants to buy all my stuff? I'll bid $1! $1.00 ??? cheapskate I bid $4.00 ! Seriously , dont give up , and you say u are a get er done kinda guy , view this as your " learn how to slow down for retirement " lessons

Author:	John Sonksen [ Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:53 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
You might change your mind about just wanting to play guitar and not worry about building them if you get this one done. I haven't finished my first yet, but I did string it up (it's an electric and I've gotten it to the point where all that's left is cosmetic) and I have to say the feeling of playing, for the first time an instrument that YOU made is transcendent and indescribable. I've spent 9 months working on my first one and I've had to fix several major mistakes, but if you looked at it today you wouldn't know. I'm really glad I pushed through the most frustrating parts of my build, I think it'll be very rewarding in the end.

Author:	Bryan Bear [ Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:30 am ]
Post subject:	Re: The title "Luthier" is not in my future
Alan Carruth wrote: I built my second guitar in a class, and traveled to and from the city by commuter train, carrying the parts. I had rough thicknessed the top and back in class, and was carrying them home under my arm one evening when I slipped on the ice walking from the train station to the subway. Both broke lengthwise, off center: I darn near crunched them into splinters on the spot, threw them in a trash can, and gave up. Instead I went out to my teacher's the next day and glued them back together. The top was missing some rosette parts, and I made another for that guitar. The repair on the back was invisible. Had I given up at that point, I'd probably be a wealthier man now, but I'm glad I didn't. This anectdote boggles my mind in the way I boggle my 4 year old's mind when I tell her I used to be a little kid. . . Don't give up on this project. Even if you are sure you never want to make another one again, finish tis one. You have come too far to miss out on the experience of hearing an instrument you created. If you can't bring yourself to do it now, put it away for a while.