Official Luthiers Forum!

I was just replying to another thread and came to the realization of what a PITA it is trying to build a guitar as a weekend warrior. I'm ready to begin finishing the neck and of course for what I am attempting it will probably require a specialty order from a 1000 miles away and take all the next week to arrive only to realize that when it comes time to actually apply the super special finish there will be another little piece of something or a special brush or attachment I forgot to order meaning I either go to Lowe's to try and create a tool which they certainly won't carry or wait ANOTHER week to get the special part but then the next part of building will require ANOTHER special piece of kit which requires another week of waiting and WHEW... Patience, Patience, Patience.

If I could only special order some Patience...maybe a case.

Larry

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Thank You and Best To All

Larry,

I feel your pain. I'm currently in the same boat. Too many little things I realize that I need as I go along.

It's Maddening!

On the other hand, I have come to the conclusion that I should just enjoy the process and realize that the first one (or two as in my case) will take 3-4 times as long as any subsequent builds. It's this that keeps me from beating myself up over delays. I tell myself that I'm not just building a guitar, I'm building a shop too!

Regards, Steve

and yet with all thats been said, i consider you guys to be lucky!
got any idea how expensive it is and long long it takes me to get stuff i order over to Israel???!!!
i m at the fianl stages of building a ziricote OO.
and i just found out that all i m missing to complete my build is...1 strip of flamed maple binding!
and ive been waiting on it for the past two weeks...
life aint easy, eh?

Udi.

[QUOTE=vachterm] and yet with all thats been said, i consider you guys to be lucky!
got any idea how expensive it is and long long it takes me to get stuff i order over to Israel???!!!
i m at the fianl stages of building a ziricote OO.
and i just found out that all i m missing to complete my build is...1 strip of flamed maple binding!
and ive been waiting on it for the past two weeks...
life aint easy, eh?

Udi.
[/QUOTE]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH........ he cried running from the room...I could not do it, and I feel your pain. Udi, what about tools? Same thing?LarryH38760.5369328704

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Thank You and Best To All

I feel lucky not to be alone in that boat! Not only i'm not a patient person, but money is not growing on trees either and as many of you guys, i have to wait that my credit card stops crying and begging for mercy! Even when i'd like to purchase something as cheap as brace wood, you do have to make compromises between tools, material and family

As Steve said it so well, i feel the same way about building a guitar, thousands of jigs and organizing a shop!

On top of that you realize you stopped playing guitar ever since you started building 'em and then, you stumble upon the great OLF, start sharing with great folks the little you have and stop building because this OLF is so great that you don't wanna miss anything!

Man what's wrong with me! What's wrong with lutherie!

Must be the passion that's devouring us!

I know what you guys are saying. I've been building #2 since last summer and it's driving me crazy that it's taking so long. Oh well once I have all the jigs made up and tools I need it should go much faster!

Hang in there, Larry. From what I`ve seen about this venture so far is that there is a pretty large investment of time, money, and setup that can only come about so much at a time. I`ve been better than a year just getting the gear either made up or bought a little at a time. Wood has been coming to me a little at a time, also. The time investment will in fact pay off in the long run.

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

Greetings! I just registered and have been putting together a shop and going through the educational process of guitar building for over 10 years. I feel for the folks that order a Kit and then come to the realization what all is necessary to make that Kit an instrument.

I have really enjoyed following the forum and have learned a great deal from all of you.

Well Guys, I hate to tell you this, but your misery will not be over soon. Number 13 is on the drawing board, & I'm still building jigs & other conveniences with every new project.
You just gotta consider it part of the adventure!

Hi Michael and welcome, thanks for the patience lesson, i guess lutherie will force me to develop this virtue since i don't plan on quiting soon!

Serge

[QUOTE=LarryH] I'm ready to begin finishing the neck and of course for what I am attempting it will probably require a specialty order from a 1000 miles away....
Larry[/QUOTE]

I really envy you guys being able to order your parts locally

OH MAN, DO I HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR!
While my focus is more on building jigs and doing guitar parts, it's extremely frustrating developing new jigs, because every time I think I have two more steps and I'm done, something comes up on the last step that brings me back three steps. However, it is a great sense of accomplishment once the standard "two years" development time is done!

Craig
CT Holden Luthiery and Supplies

Thanks for the Welcome! my shop and jigs have not set idle for the past 10 years, mostly repair & renovations and alot of trial and error. Basically a weekend warrior like the gentleman above. What is great about building is you never stop learning.

   I thinks it's great to be able to share experiences with people who are living the same adventures I am!     
   Jigs, waiting weeks for orders just to realize that you still need another specialty part... More jigs, planing, tugging hair, waiting for the credit card to cool down, more jigs....
   After about a year, I'm just finishing the binding on numero uno. The back (binding) is all done, the neck is finished. Half the purfling on the top is completed as well... It's about 95% done (physically, that is)... But, now I have to build a paint booth, finish the purfling/binding, fit the neck, glue the bridge... Then I need a buffing arbor... So in reality, I'm still a very long way from stringing it up!!!
   Repeat after me,... I am in a happy place.... I have lots of patience....

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Alain, maybe you and i oughta suscribe to yoga or tai chi and ventilate there, karate would also be indicated when the postman announces himself with forgotten fees! haaaayyya! Serge Poirier38760.9376967593

tools as well LarryH.
i can get nothing but the simplest, most standard Stanley tools.
but if wanting small palm planes, spokeshaves, aggressive raps, extra long(paring) chisels, crancked neck chisels or even a router bit with a shank mounted ball bearing guide its all over-seas orders.
not that i dont enjoy it sometimes...thats how i came to know Steve at Colonial,John Hall,Bruce Dickey and a whole lot of other great dealers/friends , but still, it can get a bit frustrating at times.

"unfortuanetly, a not too often grumpy maker of fine wood dust",
Udi V.

[QUOTE=vachterm] tools as well LarryH.
i can get nothing but the simplest, most standard Stanley tools.
but if wanting small palm planes, spokeshaves, aggressive raps, extra long(paring) chisels, crancked neck chisels or even a router bit with a shank mounted ball bearing guide its all over-seas orders.
not that i dont enjoy it sometimes...thats how i came to know Steve at Colonial,John Hall,Bruce Dickey and a whole lot of other great dealers/friends , but still, it can get a bit frustrating at times.

"unfortuanetly, a not too often grumpy maker of fine wood dust",
Udi V.

[/QUOTE]

Udi,

Come on over the pond to the US! What's that old saying about bringing the mountain to Mohamed?

Regards, Steve

I'm guessing things are a bit better here than some places as far as shopping tools and woods locally, but the big chain stores have certainly wiped out a lot of the variation that we used to have; it is just sad. However, if I do need something in a hurry, shipping from Stewmac to here only takes 3 days!

I find having 2 or more instruments going at the same time is good. Whenever I'm waiting for the glue to dry / orders to arrive or whatever for one instrument, I can just work on the other one.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Heh, I know the feeling. I don't actually like making jigs much at all, but they're often the best way to do certain things. So I buckle down, do it, and hopefully get on with building soon after!

I like having several instruments going at the same time; for a first-timer, maybe not two of the same (odds are you'll make all the same mistakes twice), but I really find I like having an electric (or two) and an acoustic (or two) going concurrently. It's a 'switch' between them, sure, but it's fun.

Right now, I'm pondering some nice hand-cut rasps to replace/supplement the single so-so rasp I have, and I'm wondering what sized/shaped small files to throw in with the order, for shaping nuts and the like; the cheapie ones I've worn out did a lousy job, and I'm all file-less now. Decisions, decisions....

At least no one would ever accuse us of rushing a job!!!

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

[QUOTE=sfbrown] [QUOTE=vachterm] tools as well LarryH.
i can get nothing but the simplest, most standard Stanley tools.
but if wanting small palm planes, spokeshaves, aggressive raps, extra long(paring) chisels, crancked neck chisels or even a router bit with a shank mounted ball bearing guide its all over-seas orders.
not that i dont enjoy it sometimes...thats how i came to know Steve at Colonial,John Hall,Bruce Dickey and a whole lot of other great dealers/friends , but still, it can get a bit frustrating at times.

"unfortuanetly, a not too often grumpy maker of fine wood dust",
Udi V.

[/QUOTE]

Udi,

Come on over the pond to the US! What's that old saying about bringing the mountain to Mohamed?

Regards, Steve[/QUOTE]

truth is i was thinking about doing it.
i m currently studying electrical eng. and not liking it one bit. was seriously considering coming over to the U.S, maybe even take Ervin Somogyi's course or perhaps Bryan Galloup's school...
we'll see about that...
Udi.vachterm38761.4280787037