Sorry, but yes this is his first. I do watch as they do some of the more critical things. For instance I did the first mitre, the one on the top at the cutaway point. But Jonathan was more than talented enough to handle the rest - took them slowly, sharp chisel, pared his way up to the final chop.
I teach mostly one on one, some nights I have two, but each is working on completely different stuff. I am there to watch them execute at first, then can do some stuff on my own until they are ready for the next steps. Of course I am always there if they are unsure, or have questions on techniques and whatnot. I think a big part of success is having access to tools and jigs that work because they have been proven in during my building. A lot of students then make copies of stuff I use for themselves. As well, the ability to show someone what to look for is very important - they may do something, more or less blindly because I (or a book) say so, but then once I give it another look, can show them what it is I am looking to see. As we have seen in other posts, something that seems as easy as sanding can get you into trouble awfully fast if you are not watching for the right (or wrong) things.
It still amazes me that even after about 50 guitars on my own, a student will say something that makes complete sense about a technique, making it better or easier to do. Its true that more than one person thinking about something can yield a better way. Thats what the forum is all about too.
thanks for the kind words .... the students deserve a lot of the praise - after all, they did ALL the sanding !!!
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