Official Luthiers Forum!

Ok - so I get my guitars back from Joe White and then need to glue on the bridge and do some final neck "tweaking".

I'm always nervous about putting some marks in the finish and have had it happen a couple times in the past.

Do you guys cover your guitars with something to protect them during these final steps??? I've used a piece of poster board cut to the shape of the top of the guitar with a oversized bridge opening - then taped to the sides.

Thanks

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P A U L B U R N E R
Burner Guitars

I'm just careful.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Good question. I just try to be careful, and end up buffing again a few times in various places. If you have done your own finish, it feels a little more under control. But the standard of perfection is ridiculously high, especially since it will be imperfect again after it has been played twice. Violin makers have it easy, and we should emulate them and convince our buyers that the imperfections are the charm that makes hand work more valuable..

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

AMEN!

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P A U L B U R N E R
Burner Guitars

Obviously, like Chris said you've got to be careful. It seems like a trip to the buffer (even a 30 second trip) is always necessary when I'm finished assemblying one. Short of buying a pedastal buffer, maybe some kind of small hand held buffer would be good for a final.........clean up.

Joe, if you read this, what's your thoughts on some type of automotive buffer and rubbing compound for touching up scratches and such?

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

If that's true...things are looking up for me.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

I have bristol board cutouts for each of my shapes. Once the finish is done and the neck is on then I always have the bristol board on the top when I'm working on frets or the bridge. I found this helps prevent a lot of the minor scratches that can be a problem. The bristol board is not thick enough to protect the finish from any kind of sharp objects, especially if it is dropped. So when working around the end of the fretboard I usually set some rectangular metal scrapers on top of the bristol board. That way if I slip or drop a file it won't damage anything.

Other then that I try to be really carful. Keeping a clean bench also helps. And I usually end up doing some buffing right before the guitar leaves the shop.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

I don't want to take anything away from Paul's desire to protect his guitar;
I've had the same concern with protecting my instruments.

But personally I find this fixation on absolute, high gloss
perfection that lasts, as Mr. Klepper stated, about 2 sessions,
to be neurotically obsessive. It's an obsession that works wonderfully
only for the collector who stores his instruments in a glass case and
never plays them.

I don't know where this all started but I sure wish it would stop.

There's a Japanese expression for the beauty of imperfection:
Wabi-sabi.

The idea is that something becomes increasingly beautiful
the more it is used, the more it takes on the small wounds and bruises
that any physical object is vulnerable to when put to good use.

On one hand, people pay exorbitant amounts of money for these fake "relics"
that try to mimic wear. On the other hand we have these current "state-of-the-art",
super-high gloss finishes that frighten us into intimidation.

I don't get it and I want to get rid of it!

I have an air powered Blue Point with a 3" 3M velcro backing pad that accepts 3.5" buffing pads. It has a two speed control switch and I also have a regulator on the tool to dial in the RPM I want. As for compounds, there are so many that will work well but it all depends on the material you are buffing.
http://image.snapon.com/international/pdf/at403mc.pdf

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jw ( o)===:::

If you are building for a customer he/she deserves the perfection but once it is delivered its theirs to abuse. I try to show my pride in craftsmanship on every build. I do my own finish but would even be more careful with one of Joe's finishes as I don't have the materials to touch up the poly he uses.

I try to keep all hard tools away unless they are in your hand being used, remove watch and rings, put some masking tape around the sound hole if you will be working inside or using bridge clamps and protect the top with poster board and towels. that said I have had to do a bit of buffing.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Sorry to be commercial.........

We use for our own instruments builds ............a red silicon mat cut to fit for each body style with the bridge, sound hole, and fret board cutout with our lasers....... Even with this you still have to be carefull ........... but it does protect from tool drops........ slips........... etc.

We do offer them for sale.......... surprised none of you have mentioned anything like this even from another vendor

Kevin Waldron

I had one constantly touring client who brought in every new guitar he bought (and he was always buying) to have me put the first ding in it, so he wouldn't be worried about keeping it perfect. He would pick out a tool like a screwdriver or a die sinker file, and I would put a small mark on the guitar in some out of the way place.

No, I didn't charge him - and he always went away happy.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Great story Chris! I always feel better after the first ding. Unfortunately, most of the people who have bought my guitars don't share this attitude. Shiny sells. Life would be much simpler if it wasn't so.
I take the same precautions previously mentioned, using bristol board on the top. I tape a scraper on top of the board, next to the fingerboard extension, if I need to touch up frets after the neck is attached.
For the soundhole, a length of 1/4" vinyl tubing with a 1/8" strip of material removed along the outside of the curve works great. Just spread the slit open & work it around the edge of the soundhole.
Another area that sends me (yes, obsessively) crazy is the peghead. I can't seem to get through stringing & setup without scratching the finish. These days, I cover the peghead with green painters tape as soon as the tuners are installed... Three layers thick, between the nut & the first two tuners.
If I'm using gold tuners, I even cover the knobs with tape.

Yeah, before we all go Native and start quoting ancient wisdom about perfection being only attainable by the Gods, not by us poor humans etc.:
where do you put the limit?
This is often an excuse for poor craftsmanship, laziness and low levels of attention.
I am afraid I have to disagree and would have the same attitude as Fred. It's a matter of pride in the work.
Personally I don't sand inside the box with 600 grit and get obsessive about places no one can see, I like to leave pencil marks under the top (I do not remove them…) and so on, but the rest should be immaculate.
If the owner puts dings on the guitar (and I hope (s)he does), that is her or his responsibility and I like to give them the choice.

As Filippo points out, it's a matter of getting into good habits: never carry a tool over the guitar, go around it, vacuum often. Learn how to touch up your finish invisibly etc.
I glue my bridges before gluing the neck (the neck is already perfectly set, obviously), the body alone is less cumbersome than the whole guitar. During fretting I use wide masking tape and 6x3 rectangles of flashing around the fretboard extension, the top is covered with craft paper.
Like others, there's always a tiny bit of buffing here and there after final assembly, fretting etc.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I didn't mean to negate the value of good craftmanship.

Amen.

Also, I use a piece of thin Lexan or similar, for the top, about .030" thick. It being a hard material, I have to be sure there's no foreign material between it and the top. I came up with an idea, which I'll use on the present build (if I can actually remember to do it!), to do as much work on the bridge as possible before gluing it on, like reaming the bridge pin holes, cutting string slots, and preliminary fitting of the saddle.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Aren't people a bit nervous about the finish on a guitar that comes from a place named Belt Buckle? :->

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Ah, yes, where do you put the limit? Or in colloquial American English, where do you draw the line? This is, BTW, something you can say in any conversation, at any time, if you have nothing else to contribute (unlike Laurent, who does). Try it; it really works!

Of course, it works in both directions. I do a certain amount of masking and vacuuming, etc. But I would not want to start doing everything possible like using surgical drapes at all times after the guitar has been buffed. Because once you have committed to achieving and maintaining perfection, the line runs away from you and you will go mad, and be found babbling with your nose to the buffing wheel and be taken away to a perfectly white room, which you will inspect for swirl marks.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

My favorite tip I ever got: never pass anything over a finished instrument.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

Don't even look at it!

I have 2 work surfaces, 2 benches essentially. One has the guitar and a carpet, and the tool that's in my hand, that's all. The other bench has the chaos. My guitars got better when I took up this system.

I've found that state of mind is very important when nearing completion on a beautifully finished instrument.
In other words, stay away from it if you've been fighting with the dog.

I use a cover over the top of my guitars after they are finished. The biggest probem I had was from ball ends on the strings during set up. I finally broke down and bought a sheet of VYCO which is a vinyl board cover material that is used by draftsman to protect their work. It's a 5 ply, 1.1mm thk., virgin vinyl material (not that I'm against non virgin vinyls) pliable, cuts easy with scissors and is reusable. Has enough density and is thick enough to protect against minor accidents. Other than that I use old bath towels on the bench and change them as needed.

Tim

I always put a bib under the working area when stringing a classical guitar. Even a sticky note will work just fine. Keeps you from scratching the FP with your nails, or the strings.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

And don't point either! It can't be played. No. no. That's it, you've seen enough of that one.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."