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

Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=49234		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  sdsollod [ Mon Apr 10, 2017 4:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
I'm working on two right now. I think I've built 12 guitars at this point, so I guess this one could be considered number 13. (I may have made a few more, I loose count...). I'm not superstitious, but this is bad luck. I've never made a major mistake until now. I'm kinda ashamed to post this but maybe you guys can make me feel better. First of all, this is not a commisson. I make them because I enjoy the craft (until now).

I had shellacked the top for protection. As I always do, I covered the top with with poster board while zpoxying the back and sides. After that was done, I uncovered the top and, as usual, proceeded to sand off the shellac and clean up the top. There were some rough spots on the edges that were stuborn. Before I realized it, I had gone too far, thinned down the binding and went through the purfling (that took a long time to do...). I think my only alternative is to router off the binding and purfling and re-bind. That includes the back because I doubt I can finding a matching piece of koa. ...disappointing. [xx(] [headinwall] gaah
Author:  meddlingfool [ Mon Apr 10, 2017 4:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
That sucks!

Your top is going to be quite thin in that spot as well...
Author:  Clay S. [ Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
The thinness of the top in the lower end of the lower bout is not always a bad thing (you will see whats left when you repurfle and rebind). Sometimes it actually improves the sound.
Author:  bcombs510 [ Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
A mistake or did you get one of these new festool sanders and was marveling at the balance and feel of the tool. Bummer though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Author:  Joe Beaver [ Mon Apr 10, 2017 9:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
I hate to admit but I have done something like that a time or two.

First with a ROS, so I swore off them and went to the scraper.

Then one day I was marvelling at how nice and sharp it was and what a wonderful curl I was getting.... and then i noticed i had almost gone through the binding. The good old days....
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Mon Apr 10, 2017 9:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
I don't use shellac anymore for this reason. Once top is done, I tape a shield of sorts to the top. Once sides and backs are pore filled, I seal the top with Simtec sealer. Sealers applied early can let debris get "ground in", making it difficult to remove.
Author:  sdsollod [ Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
I also tape a shield to the top, but if you don't use shellac the tape will pull fibers out. Also, when you bind the top shellac keeps the binding tape from pulling out fibers. I've never made this mistake before. I am really bumbed and discouraged. I will need to rebind with koa because the fingerboard is bound with koa. Dang it! I was at the finishing stage. All that work behind me...
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
If u use a hair dryer to heat the tape, u can pretty much eliminate fiber pullout
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
U can also wipe a thin coat of Simtec sealer on to help with this. Just not too much. shellac is too gooey for my liking.
Author:  J De Rocher [ Mon Apr 10, 2017 11:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
Man what a drag. I really like your purfling/rosette/end graft too. I had an experience with over sanding when I built my first steel string guitar in a class. It had Macassar ebony back and sides and the figuring of the wood caused some serious ripples in the sides after bending that had to be level sanded. The shop had a powered rolling pin type sander on a stand and I was so focused on making the witness lines on the sides disappear that I neglected to think about how aggressive the sander with 80 grit on it was until I noticed a reddish-brown color showing up along one edge of the side. It took about a second to realize that was the color of the mahogany kerfed lining. Many bad words were said. The bright side was that I had sanded through the side over the lining and it served as a backing for a patch.

I agree that the hair dryer on the tape trick works for releasing tape without damage.

I use z-poxy too, but I don't tape a shield on the top. I squeegee the z-poxy on the sides far enough to cover just the sides of the binding and then carry it over the rounded edge onto the top of the binding with a gloved fingertip running lengthwise. That gives good control and I haven't got any on a top yet (knock on wood).
Author:  George L [ Tue Apr 11, 2017 7:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
Disappointing for sure, but don't be too hard on yourself. I've done way dumb and dumber things.

You either bite the bullet and break out the router or leave it and move on. It's your guitar, so you can do whatever you like. That's one of the beautiful things about building for yourself.

Lovely work, for what it's worth. :-)
Author:  violinvic [ Tue Apr 11, 2017 7:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
You are not the first one to have this happen. If it is any consolation, you won't do that again.
Author:  jfmckenna [ Tue Apr 11, 2017 8:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
Just leave it ;)

Or, just inlay some pieces in as best you can and move on.

That's my 2 cents.
Author:  kencierp [ Tue Apr 11, 2017 9:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
Turn the "lemon into lemonade" feather the entire lower bout perimeter to that thickness, the effect on sound quality is similar to what results from the Taylor practice of routing a groove on the inside of the sound board. I'd re-do the trim but prudent sanding will result in an acceptible blended binding height.
Author:  kencierp [ Tue Apr 11, 2017 11:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
And a PS -- as mentioned above using a blow drier to release the binding tape works great I have never had a need for the extra steps required to shellac/treat and then carefully remove the coating.
Author:  Wayne Brown [ Tue Apr 11, 2017 6:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
My number 13 was plagued with a lot of little problems all along the way. I worked thru all the little items but it sure was frustrating. ( It was a commission )

Hang in there, you'll get past it and No. 14 will be a breeze!
Author:  tysam [ Thu Apr 13, 2017 8:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
Not even close to top 10 dumb things done......judging by your previous work it will turn out not even noticeable. Don't beat yourself up..... just a reminder you have a precision hobby.:)
Author:  sdsollod [ Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
Things are looking up. I thought that I was going to have to replace the top binding and the back binding because I wouldn't be able to match the binding on the back. I thought I had used all the koa binding I had. As it turns out, I had originally bent another piece for the cutaway in case one of them broke and I have one more straight piece! So, I will need to only replace the top binding ...and the purfling of course. The binding will also match the bound fingerboard. It still sucks that I have to fix it, but as long as I don't brake the remaining piece of binding or otherwise bugger something up, I should be able fix my mistake. I just can't leave it the way it is... Thanks for all the encouragement.
Author:  bcombs510 [ Thu Apr 13, 2017 10:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bad Luck - Dumba** Mistake
If you are bending that last straight piece in a bending machine... pucker factor will be high!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 5 hours
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/