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Well this has been quite a year. Lots of work. A couple mishaps but my luthier business has grown exponentially.

The first three years it was a trickle of work. The next two were good years with full schedule but no back log beyond one or two guitars.

This years started out with a full summer build schedule and as of today I am now book till May-June 08 if I continue to build one at a time which has been one of my trademarks.

I had made the decision a few months ago to start figuring out the best way to build in batches with out loosing the attention to detail. Well now it is a must to figure this out or I will start to turn down work.

I guess this is a good problem to have but I did not expect it till years down the road.

What flabbergasts me the most is that there is only 30 of my guitars in the hands of commissioned clients and I am either going to have to batch build or start turning down work.

Michael, I guess those 30 guitars out there must be making a big impression of your work!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

congratulations michael!! if you have to have something to complain about then this is the sort of thing you want.

don't get bummed by the thought of doing things in batches. it really isn't unpleasant. you may have to build a couple of extra benders and molds but doing a batch of b&s, then bending a batch of sides, joining a batch of tops, etc., becomes second nature. i know builders who keep a stock of bodies assembled, less the trim, in their common wood combinationa, e.g., eir/sitka, eir/wrc, mahog/sitka, etc. ready so that all they have to do is install the binding and end graft. similarly with the necks in common laminations. all is any custom inlay, and so on. it enables him to give very good delivery times whilst still ensuring each guitar is just what the client wants. naturally, there are instances where he can't do this due to the clients choice of wood or trim details, but it certainly works well for him. it does require a good storage area though. at any given time he will have up to 15 or so bodies awaiting an appropriate order to complete.

You could also raise your prices to slow down orders.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

[QUOTE=Brock Poling]
You could also raise your prices to slow down orders.

[/QUOTE]

Actually I have had a price increase this year

Michael, Here is what I am doing. Maybe it will help you?

I first cut and radius all of my brace material in a batch. Since this is a no-brainer thing to do, I dont have to worry about details at this point. I cut the brace material into lengths for my bracing and then tape them together( blue tape) in batches... one batch for each guitar. This way, I have about 5 sets of braces ready and dont have to stop to radius each brace. This usually takes me a whole day to accomplish this, but it pays off in the long run.

Next, I choose the back and side sets I am going to build with and run these through the drum sander to get them all to the thicknesses I want. Again, this takes a lot of time, but since the sander is basicilly set up anyway, it all pays off in the long run. After all 5 sets are sanded to thickness, I join the backs... one after another... keeping the woods all together in sets.

I make my own heel and tail blocks and generally make these in sets of 10 from mahogany that I buy in big blocks. I also make my own kerfed lining ribbon out of mahogany that I purchase in big blocks and I make sure that I have enough to build the 5 guitars....generally 8 feet of kerfing per guitar.

Next comes the tops... same thing sanding to thickness and then joining them together.

At this point I have 5 guitar sets ready to assemble with the top and backs joined and all of the brace material pre-radiused.

I go ahead at this point and bend the sides now and one at a time. I dont have any problems with the sides coming unbent using the bending machine I got from blues creek. I let each side cool in the bender to room temp before I get it out of the bender. For 5 guitars, this is an all day job and I usually work on rosettes while the sides are bending and cooling. This is an all day job also, but something that doesnt require too much detail work.

So far I have all of the backs and sides joined and sanded to thickness, the brace material radiused, the neck and tail blocks ready, and all of the kerf ribbon lining materials ready to build and some of the rosette channels cut in the tops. None of this is considered detail work, so none of the guitars are suffering from a lack of attention to detail.

At this point I begin bracing the backs one at a time. While the glue is drying on the backs I go ahead and cut the sides to length and place them one at a time in the mold. I sand the tail block radius and then glue in the neck and tail blocks to the sides. I go ahead and glue in the kerfed linings also at this point.  When the glue dries on the back braces, I carve the bracing, clean up the back and glue it to the sides.

Once a back is glued to the sides, I can begin working on the next back by bracing it, then cleaning up the glue, etc.

I work on rosettes while glue dries.

to make it short, I try to work on another guitar while the glue dries on one of the others behind it. I am ready to glue the top on the first one while the 4th or 5th one is still getting the bracing done to it.

When it gets time to detail the first one, I generally have the box built for a couple more behind it. I do the detail work as required and try not to get distracted.

I think you see now how I do it.... I just try to stay busy with something all the time....maybe this will help you?

 

 

 

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Reguards,

Ken H

You're right on schedule, Michael, and it's only going to get worse (er, better?). In a couple of years you'll be faced with the decision of staying part-time or making lutherie your profession. Either way, you'll have to either turn down commissions or start a long waiting list. It's good to be thinking about it all now, though. I've heard that it's possible to jig up for higher volume, and still make unique instruments, so don't despair! Good luck, my friend!

I just cut and pasted your reply to Michael to hang in my shop...you have a very well-ordered system for batch building! I built my first 6 at once (not good for the learning curve!!) and very nearly had myself institutionalized! Thanks for a great post!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

In the past, I have built two at a time, but this time I built a batch of five. What I discovered is that I have to constantly remind myself that each guitar is an individual & needs individual attention & creative energy.
It is easy to slip into an assembly line mentality which is something I need to avoid.
It certainly is efficient to build multiples, but I will try to stagger the jobs more the next time around.
It's a bit of a drag to level finish on five guitars at once!
Next time I think I'll try three at once & see how that goes.
It sure is good to hear that success is knockin' at your door!
Best of luck,   Dan

[quote]You could also raise your prices to slow down orders. [/quote]

       Ha! It doesn't work that way! Raise the price people want a custom even more! Lower the price and people will think their cheap/business dies/problem solved!

       Just takes a little guts to realize reality!!!

     Besides, I think Micheal's just bragging anyway!!

Just KIDDING!!!

     Just be thanksful people like your guitars and everything will work out OK!!     

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

[quote]be thanksful[/quote]

   Now I'm talking like Popeye! Too many cartoons!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

[QUOTE=Billy T]   Now I'm talking like Popeye! [/QUOTE]
You am what you am. Time for some spinachk!

Ka Ka Ka Ka Ka !!!! Wooooooah!!!!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)