Official Luthiers Forum!

I am one the the sadistic sickos who can be seen concentrating with a shiny chisel with shavings scattered nicely (or otherwise) about...

But then I am a vegetarian left-handed guitar player, so that might explain things a bit...

Pet hate: building tools and molds. I enjoy making a good one that looks nice, but only because I enjoy using a nice tool/mold/jig for a job. Finishing is fun at the very beginning (First coat) and the very end (when you're finished), but finish-sanding is a chore.

Biggest freaky/satisfying moment is tuning up for the first time, hearing things creak and pop a little as all that string tension gets applied, but what I really enjoy most is the process of building, all the little steps, the attention to each detail.

Neck carving is very zen, very pleasurable, ditto brace carving. Jointing is great fun if it's going well, side bending is oddly satisfying and a bit of a thrill (probably because I don't have proper temp control yet, so it's cycling on and off and on and off and bending and...). Closing the box, another great moment, fitting the rosette and having it all line up. Mostly, anything involving shaping, curving, etc. is great fun, and I do really enjoy the design process quite a bit (which is nothing like my day job).

Also, routing with a good router and a solid bit has it's own high-speed charm to it. It's not only hand-pushed edge tools ;)

What is approx cost for a nitro finish?

For me it is two fold. On the building side completing the binding and purfling and detail sanding because that when you get a good look and know if the combinations worked as anticipated.

On the finish side if French polishing the Glazing process is when the guitar shows its luster.

But more than anything else is when I see a client's eyes after playing their first riff on a new guitar.

Woolson that was a great clip, who was that playing?

I pretty much like it all. Sure beats fixing the sewer, we did that last week!

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

For me the best part is seeing it all come together, one step at a time.

Then watching and listening to an experienced player play what once was a drawing and pile of wood.

 

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,

[QUOTE=Bruce Dickey]
I pretty much like it all. Sure beats fixing the sewer, we did that last week![/QUOTE]



That's the way I see it too!

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

This is a little outside the box, but I truly enjoy the interaction I have with the people I build for. It is very VERY satisfying to hand them the fruition of their vision. I know it sounds corny, but that is one, if not the most fun I have in building.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

The most rewarding part of building a guitar? As much as I love bending sides and shaping braces and doing inlay, this is the best....



Nothing beats having the person it is intended for getting to play it for the first time

-Bracing and voicing the top.
-Wiping a wash coat of shellac on the bindings or rosette and watching the colors come alive.
-Hearing the guitar as it is played by an accomplished player who can really push the instrument.

-Scalloping and working the bracings
-FInal sanding the wood
-Initial finishing steps and seeing the wood figure jumped out
(Yes even the mahog SM kits look awesome )

I think in contrast we should have a 'most unpleasant or scary tasks' thread too.....................just to balance things out.

I wont hijack this thread!!
I will let someone else start a separate thread.

Others have said this as well but I always seem to be happiest when I'm carving chips and curls with a scary-sharp chisel or plane. The more I build, the more rewarding all of the operations become. As I feel my skills improve in certain areas, the confidence derived from doing my best only makes me want to achieve higher goals.

As far as unpleasant tasks, I can honestly say that there are none...other than a task where I may have lost focus and made a stupid mistake.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com