Official Luthiers Forum!

As some of you know I have just switched from building one guitar at a time till complete and in the finish booth to batch building. This was driven because I got so far behind over the winter and spring due to my car accident and really bad weather.

I am now about 2 weeks into my first attempt at batch building 2 at a time and I have to say I feel like I am 3 weeks a head already. I suspect it will slow down some as I get into post bracing tuning, binding and prep sanding. But I think I like it I actually feel like I am working more efficient.

The one area that I am having problems is keeping my benches clean and the saw room picked up but I have always had that issue With all the kids grown and gone I sure miss the free remedial labor

[QUOTE=MichaelP]I suspect it will slow down some as I get into post bracing tuning, binding and prep sanding.[/QUOTE]

I also moved a couple years ago to building 2 at a time. I do find it more efficient..it certainly FEELS that way. I think it helps to try to keep them in parallel as much as possible. Then where things are more sequence dependent you can easily move to that mode as well. What do I mean by that? Finishing comes most to mind. I can be spraying and waiting on dry time on one, while I'm sanding out the other. One guitar is always in the booth, and the other is out being worked over.

I sometimes have problems getting one further along than the other. Then you miss out on the efficiencies of having a tool or jig all set up and ready to go for BOTH.

[QUOTE=MichaelP]
The one area that I am having problems is keeping my benches clean and the saw room picked up but I have always had that issue   [/QUOTE]

Multiple builds certainly aggravates this issue. I went and got a small wheel around cart from Lowes. The one I got is one of the chrome kitchen grate types (doesn't catch sawdust ) about 18" wide x 24" long with 3 shelves. This helps me keep all my parts together in one place and not cluttering up various benches. Wheels make it easy to move in, around, and out of the way as needed.

Joe

 

Yeah Michael, I agree it works great.
If you've got a lot of experience, it's a much more efficient way, but we should caution newbies to stick with the one-at-a-time method until they've really cut their teeth. Otherwise, they can fall into the abyss of making the same mistake on several guitars. Been there.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I am getting ready to start two guitars for Christmas gifts which will be pretty much identical with some trim exceptions.  I am planning on batch building them.  I have been building 2 at a time since March but they are at different stages.  I start a new build when I have one getting close to the sanding stage.

I only 'batch build' different kinds of instruments at the moment; I may start a pair of acoustics soon, but they'll be different sizes/designs/details overall, so not too confusing. But I try to have at least one electric and one acoustic going at all times. The advantage of always having something to do, some repetitive things that are the same for all of them can be done together (say, fingerboard/neck work), but they're different enough that I can't get confused as to which guitar it is I'm actually working on.

MichealP wrote: "The one area that I am having problems is keeping my benches clean and the saw room picked up but I have always had that issue "

We ought to get our buddy Hesh to give us lessons on keeping our shops clean!

Maybe a tutorial? 

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Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

Mine are in semi the same stage. meaning I bent in secession, I jointed then joined plates at the in secession. I cut rosette pieces in secession. Routed rosette channels in secession. I assembled and lined rims in secession. Tonight I will be inlaying rosettes again in secession. and this weekend I will brace back and top plates in secession. I don't think I would like having them where one is a stage or two in front of the other becuse that would lead to switching mind sets going from one process to the other.

Cut - vacuum, cut - vacuum, sweep, cut........................... 

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

[QUOTE=WaldenWorx]

MichealP wrote: "The one area that I am having problems is keeping my benches clean and the saw room picked up but I have always had that issue "

We ought to get our buddy Hesh to give us lessons on keeping our shops clean!

Maybe a tutorial? 

[/QUOTE]

Hesh?? He is neat but the one to learn from is Lance. I have known lance to be hospitalized for a month over a microscopic squeeze out showing at the joint of the Butt block and linings that he once missed Just teasing Lance

Bill Green could show us all a thing or two too.  His shop is dustless, chipless, and totally clean too.  With him though it is a necessity due to his wife's sensitivity to wood dust.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Yeah, true....but as I know Bill pretty well, I know he's just pretty OCD about stuff in general. Right Bill?

He's sort-of like me. Except I fail at the implementation stage of the disease.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I've only got room for one guitar at a time...at at my stage, one guitar is very attention seeking as it is!!

[QUOTE=Don Williams] Yeah, true....but as I know Bill pretty well, I know he's just pretty OCD about stuff in general. Right Bill?

He's sort-of like me. Except I fail at the implementation stage of the disease.


[/QUOTE]

I am not OCD. Nope. Not. Really. I mean it. Why would you even call me that? OCD? What does that even mean, OCD. OCD. Ridiculous you'd even think that. Ha, I'm about as NON-OCD as anybody you'd ever meet.   

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

I like a little mess in the shop.It proves there`s some work going on.No offense to Hesh.I know he works hard,it just looks like he works harder cleaning up than building guitars. I`ll be back up to A2 one of these days.I promise everyone out there I`ll go to Hesh`s shop and make a big mess.Keep up the good work Michael.        &nbs p;      James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

I like it too Michael!

The only drawback I can see is that I begin liking the latest one better than the one before.  It does give me a chance to try new things though.

 

 

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Reguards,

Ken H