Official Luthiers Forum!

Well I have to say mine's pretty much everything other than sanding or emptying the dust collector. Drawing and design work is way high on the list along with voicing a top and collecting wood.

Depositing the customer's final check.

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Hank Mauel

final set-up.

In my furniture building days, admiring the finished product and prepping it for delivery. Now days, picking up that finished guitar and making it sing sweet songs before delivery. Of course I also greatly enjoy the things Randolph mentioned as well.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Shaving braces.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

I like pretty much all of the early stages, when everything seems to move fast and make a big difference. From resawing the wood up until the bindings are on, after that everything seems to slow way down and i loose steam. I will carve plates, bend sides, brace tops, carve necks, bind bodies etc. all day long, any job where i can see the fruits of my labor actually making a difference, the more physical the better.

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

This!

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Jim Hansen

Easy: admiring the finished product.

For those of you who say that's not a job, I'll pick cleaning up now that the instrument's done.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Shopping for the lumber - it is the most optimistic part of building. Before all the tiny flaws and mistakes take away from the perfect instrument....

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

THE FIRST STRUM.....!!!!!

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Absolutely!

All the above and -smelling Brazilian as you sand it or bend it.
Same goes for Walnut,Imbuia,Cypress and, Port Orford Cedar.

Looking at the woods as the rough sawn surface gets sanded and the grain & color really come alive.
It's like seeing a child being born-just less noisy !
Mike

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Mike Collins

Ah yes, the joy of WAS. Great when you can afford it. Besides that, I'd have to admit the planning portion. Choosing the woods, appointments, rosette style, what will go with what, what can you try differently on this build. Thats where the excitement is for me. The rest is just achieving the goal you have created, but most is fun none the less...except sanding.

Completing any difficult task and actually having it come out right. Since I'm just finishing acoustic#1 that pretty much means anything

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I love the smell of most woods when bending. I also love gluing braces, and voicing. This is where a guitar get it's presonality.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

Any part that involves a well-honed plane or chisel. that's when i feel the most like a "craftsman"

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

All of the above, but maybe I enjoy the most stringing up for the first time. And after it is all done, hearing it in the hands of a good player...

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Build log

Scoping out the great ideas on the OLF!!!!!!!

It usually leads to increased confidence and better results in the shop.

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http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Well said. This is me exactly, so long as it doesn't imply sanding and scraping.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

Once the bindings and purflings are all glued in, scraping them back to transform something cruddy into something that (hopefully) looks great. Same with the rosette.

Cutting out a back on my laser - the burned wood resins smell WONDERFUL!!!

(but I'm sure it's not good for me....)

Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

There are no guitar building tasks that I dislike, my time in the shop is the best parts of my day. That said, I love the sound of the first notes played on a new guitar, so I guess set up is my favorite task.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

The smell of Brazilian anytime I'm cutting it...getting rarer as time goes by!

Favourite 'real' job is cutting necks, the stream of chips flying off a neck in progress is somehow relaxing despite the noise.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Opening up a tree to see what's inside is my biggest thrill, as i mill my own wood for the guitars i build.

Why cleaning-up with my trusty vac of course AND voicing a top and carving braces.

The smell of BRW in the morning is pretty special too...