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| If You Could Automate Any Building Process... http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=40763 |
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| Author: | LarryH [ Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:45 pm ] |
| Post subject: | If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
...What would it be? I'm profiling sides right now and I would love to have a motorized sanding dish. So much so I think I'll start looking at plans and ideas. What about you? |
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| Author: | Beth Mayer [ Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Buffer and motorized sanding dishes |
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| Author: | Rod True [ Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:16 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Finishing.....all of it! |
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| Author: | Pat Foster [ Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:34 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Rod True wrote: Finishing.....all of it! +1. and cleaning the shop. Pat |
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| Author: | jeff crisp [ Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
All sanding and cut backs. But back to reality, one day I,d like to be able to rough out my necks faster. Jeff |
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| Author: | meddlingfool [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:18 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Neck carving, neck carving, neck carving, then neck carving. Then maybe a motorized radius dish. |
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| Author: | theguitarwhisperer [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 1:29 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
I kinda like all of it. I guess final sanding and laquering, I wouldn't mind a robot for all that. |
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| Author: | nickinbruns [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 3:18 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Brace carving and shaping....hate it.....boring.... |
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| Author: | ChuckB [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 6:23 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Pore and grain filling. |
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| Author: | LarryH [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 8:04 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Rod True wrote: Finishing.....all of it! +1 to that as well. |
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| Author: | LarryH [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 10:27 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Todd Stock wrote: I'm probably worse about carving necks than anything else, but that just means I need do more of it. As for sanding or whatever...kinda silly to pay $80 a month for a gym membership and complain about breaking a sweat in the workshop... I tend to agree Todd but I'm getting older (60 a couple days ago) and it is tending to make a really big difference in my guitar building. I'm really surprised actually how much my hands hurt after a long sanding session. My thumb is gradually getting better after some nasty tendonitis I developed causing a 'snapping' that was really painful and had me unable to build at all for a few weeks. When I was younger all my muscles and joints could take it very easily and of course get stronger over time. Now things seem to just hurt more instead getting stronger. And profiling on a sanding disk tends to irritate a shoulder injury that I've had after years of surfing. So it's not a matter of complaining, at least not for me, it's a matter of looking for ways to extend my building for many more years by using machines for some of the hand work that is genuinely getting difficult to do. |
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| Author: | Pmaj7 [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 10:43 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
I wish I had a finishing replicator and an army of glue clean up nanobots. And an idish sander. Or an apprentice... |
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| Author: | James Ringelspaugh [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 11:23 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Pore filling |
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| Author: | Stuart Gort [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 11:33 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
I DO automate a great deal of it with cad/cam/cnc. So...drawing, tool path generation, machine setup...all that can get tedious. Mostly it's enjoyable...sometimes it's repetitive. There's a LOT of sanding involved with the complex surfaces, radii, and pockets on my electrics. Although it's the hardest part of building for me, finishing is the part I enjoy the most. Things are quiet in the shop...I can listen to Bach while I do it. 
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| Author: | theguitarwhisperer [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:22 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
It's not so much the difficulty as it is the tediousness of certain tasks. |
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| Author: | Bob Garrish [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 4:18 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Finishing. I can already automate everything else
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| Author: | WudWerkr [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 5:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
LarryH wrote: Rod True wrote: Finishing.....all of it! +1 to that as well. +1 several times |
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| Author: | Mike OMelia [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 6:48 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
I realize that this for the most part a humor thread. I wonder what 19th century builders would think given our power tools! What those power tools allow us to do is spend more time and energy (efficiently) on finishing. And the folks that buy from me want a hand built instrument, not one built by robots. But if I could automate ANYTHING, I'm going to echo above: shop cleaning!!!! |
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| Author: | gozierdt [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 8:00 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
I'd automate mounting the bridge. I just don't have that down yet, and end up with a lot of drop filling around the edges. I finally made the two jigs to route the finish off the top, and rebate the edges of the bridge. That looks so far (only one guitar done) to have helped a lot, hopefully. |
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| Author: | jac68984 [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 8:35 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Without a doubt . . . finishing. |
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| Author: | dzsmith [ Sat Jun 29, 2013 9:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
I don't want to automate finishing - I just want someone else to do it. |
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| Author: | Paul Eisen [ Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:12 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
+1 Cleaning the shop |
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| Author: | Michael.N. [ Sun Jun 30, 2013 5:49 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Mike O'Melia wrote: I realize that this for the most part a humor thread. I wonder what 19th century builders would think given our power tools! What those power tools allow us to do is spend more time and energy (efficiently) on finishing. And the folks that buy from me want a hand built instrument, not one built by robots. But if I could automate ANYTHING, I'm going to echo above: shop cleaning!!!! 19 th century makers largely used other peoples labour. They were the power tools of the day. Pretty much all the famous makers of the early 19 th century (Lacote, Stauffer, Panormo) employed skilled workers. Amati, Strad and Guarneri were almost certainly workshops of several people. The lone instrument maker is largely a 20 th century concept, although I'm sure that there are numerous example of single maker workshops throughout history. Apart from Torres the vast majority of the famous makers employed people. Power tools have replaced much of the preparation work done by hand. Hard to beat industrial sanders with a hand Plane. Just like in many other industries, people are expendable. |
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| Author: | WudWerkr [ Sun Jun 30, 2013 9:01 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Filippo Morelli wrote: I'd like to automate all the stupid mistakes I make, so I could preferably not be there when they happen. Filippo Alll that would accomplish is making them FASTER ! 
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| Author: | Stuart Gort [ Sun Jun 30, 2013 10:35 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: If You Could Automate Any Building Process... |
Michael.N. wrote: Just like in many other industries, people are expendable. A cynical, highly generalized comment. I enjoyed your comments up to that point. A more accurate observation might include an acknowledgment that it is the desire of the consumer to ALWAYS to have a product they can depend on. There might be an industry in which this axiom can be ignored...but I can't think of one. Most manufacturers understand this as they automate their processes to that end. People aren't expendable but they certainly are the least predictable aspect of manufacturing. Make no mistake, people are the hardest aspect of manufacturing to manage. Personally, I never much liked having to "manage" people. That rubbed against my ideas about initiative and independence. I tended to project all that onto them. But that's beside the point.Put yourself into the position of HAVING to produce a volume of guitars with a world class finish. Then note most of the comments in this thread. People generally don't like the hyper-tedious aspects of finishing. Hence, the development of tools to speed the process along. |
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