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Man, what a bummer of a night. Over the past few days I've been familiarizing myself with a Simpson neck jig I picked up a while back. Read the instructions, watched videos on YouTube, quadruple-checked everything a dozen different ways, then walked away to let it all sink in. Tonight I went through things once more, made a mock neck and set up a practice cut--perfect!

Well, you can probably guess the rest. I put my nice one-piece mahogany neck in the jig, double-checked the measurements, fired up the router, and set to work. Thirty seconds later it was all over but the crying. Still not sure how it happened but the bit slipped in the collet, dropped into the workpiece, and before I even realized there was a problem the whole darned thing was ruined.



The good news is that the bit didn't fly free and kill me.

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George :-)

I feel your pain George, I once had bearing come off while routing a binding channel. Not good!
Glad you weren't hurt. It's only wood and time and....

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Yikes! I nearly lost a finger the last time a router bit flew out of a collet. It is a drag losing that big of a block of mahogany.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Boo:(

Stuff happens though...

Ouch! Well, at least you didn't get hurt. I feel ya though!

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Pat

George, it's happened to all of us...or will happen. Sometimes things just go wrong, or you just haven't been "in tune" that day. That's why I like to do the hardest things that require the most acute attention at about 11am. Anyone human has to evaluate their mental awareness before those major operations. I have had some really drastic things happen, have had to start whole builds over. If you are really upset about it, take a day off and go fishing or something. Get your mind off it. You will be refreshed and the anger/frustration will be out of you. Maybe you can even figure out how to save it!
Thank God you still have all ten.

Sorry George, it gets better, hang in.

Bummer for sure. Things like that happen I usually walk away till the next day.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Ouch, I feel for you . No saving it at all ?

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Been there. It sucks.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

That stinks George. I had a similar trial to yours when I first used my Simpson Jig. Practice neck perfect. Second practice neck perfect. Actual neck..... crooked. I had made one adjustment to the jig and it was off.

I saved it by converting the neck to a butt joint. I used the jig to set the angle and all is good.

I hope yours is savable and am glad you didn't get hurt with bit slipping.

Good luck,

John

And I thought I was the only one who had done that -- at least I've had it happen more than once, so you have some catching up to do!

ugggg...been there, done that!!! , at least you got a good supply of neck block material!!!!!!

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MK5acoustics.com

one more reason I find ways to avoid unnecessary jigs...

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MK5acoustics.com

Bummer!

Hope you can make the incident into a positive.

Thanks for the reminder I need to put fresh collets in a few of our routers.

I think that jig and other like it are pretty clever -- actually I am doing some design work hoping to come up with something more fail safe, but the slipped bit can happen to anyone.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Thanks, guys. I'm definitely grateful I didn't get hurt. There's no saving the piece as a neck, not even as a butt joint. But I can salvage a few blocks out of it.

I think the most important thing this little obsession has taught me is patience. Learning when to walk away is as valuable a skill as any.

Out with the negative, in with the positive. Let's all have a great day!

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George :-)

I'm not speculating on what caused your bit to come out, but I've read that when inserting a bit, you need to make sure it is not bottomed in the collet or the collet will not tighten properly,
Mike

This was my first time working with guide bushings as opposed to guide bearings, so I'm sure it was operator error. Thought everything was snugged up nice and tight, but obviously something wasn't right. I'll have to do a little research to see what I was doing wrong.

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George :-)

Hi George

That has happened to me too. Glad you didn't get hurt. My router has a rather rough thread on the collet nut and wasn't as tight as it should be. So I double check the tightness every time I use it. You should probably try to determine what caused the loose bit and get that fixed.
I use the LMI jig which I believe is similar to the Simpson. I think they need a few modifications to work well - Mike G

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guitarsbygiltzow.com

An idea is to put a small rubber o ring on the shaft of the cutter to set it at the proper height so it is deep enough but does not bottom out. Easier that trying to hold it in place at the correct height and tighten up the the collet as you never seem to have enough hands!

Bob

I have learned the problem of bottomed out router bits doing rosettes. The bit heats up while cutting and the shaft seems like it expands, causing a deeper cut. The rubber o ring is a good idea.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Sorry George, I've been out of the shop for a while. I'd like to get back in even just to mess some wood up. Nice that you were not injured.

Sorry that happened. One of my big fears.

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EddieLee

George, console yourself that it was the neck. I used a similar mishap on the body side mortise. It was a completed body. I was barely able to hide the huge gouge (sp?) with the fingerboard extension.

George,
First of all, I'm glad there's no injury. Secondly, I'm sorry for you disappointment. Third, this won't be nearly such a big deal a year from now as it is today. Save a piece of the neck and hang it on the shop wall as a constant reminder of how things can go seriously wrong. In a few months, you'll be so far beyond this "DANG IT" moment that the leftover from the ruined neck will become a conversation piece when someone visits your shop--and a darned good visual aid about potential accidents, too.