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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 8:34 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 10:44 am
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Location: Virginia
Oh to be human. Oten times the dumbest animals on the planet. Well, this one is anyway. After careful preperations of the back braces... Do ya see it?

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 8:43 am 
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First name: colin
Last Name: north
Country: Scotland.
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You didn't did you?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 8:46 am 
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You forgot to turn off the iron last night??


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 8:50 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2005 4:02 am
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Location: The Woodlands, Texas
First name: Barry
Last Name: Daniels
Looks like one brace was glued upside down on the flat side?


Last edited by Barry Daniels on Thu Apr 02, 2020 8:55 am, edited 1 time in total.


These users thanked the author Barry Daniels for the post: jfmckenna (Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:06 pm)
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 8:55 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 10:44 am
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Location: Virginia
Fortunately I use serviceable and reversible glue :D

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:22 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood
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Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2009 12:12 pm
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First name: Bryan
Last Name: Bear
City: St. Louis
State: Mo
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
I miss these mistake threads. They make me feel more. . . human. . .

I'm glad it was an easy fix!

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:45 am 
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Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2011 12:04 am
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First name: Chris
Last Name: Pile
City: Wichita
State: Kansas
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Focus: Repair
Status: Professional
I think the first time I was published in the old Guild of American Luthiers Quarterly was a mistake story. Embarrassing in hindsight. I made a terribly stupid assumption, and instead of doing the obvious to recover - I only made it worse. Sorry - no details, I'll never live down the shame.

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


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 10:06 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 10:44 am
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Location: Virginia
Bryan Bear wrote:
I miss these mistake threads. They make me feel more. . . human. . .

I'm glad it was an easy fix!


I got more angry with myself then what it was worth. 20 minutes later it was fixed.


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 10:15 am 
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Location: United States
First name: Joe
Last Name: Beaver
City: Lake Forest
State: California
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If you eliminate all the mistakes doesn't that make you a machine? Who wants that?

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Maker of Sawdust


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 11:20 am 
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Cocobolo
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Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2016 12:35 pm
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First name: Hans
Last Name: Mattes
City: Petaluma
State: CA
Zip/Postal Code: 94952
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Status: Amateur
We don't learn anything when we do it right.


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 11:37 am 
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I'm very big on marking all over my sides now before bending to make sure they're oriented correctly. [headinwall] gaah :D


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:28 pm 
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Koa
Koa

Joined: Sat Mar 09, 2019 4:50 pm
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Location: Goodrich, MI
First name: Ken
Last Name: Nagy
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I think it is a way to keep us from getting swell head disease. Works.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 4:46 pm 
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Koa
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Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 12:17 pm
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City: Escondido
State: CA
Zip/Postal Code: 92029
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Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
I once took a finished guitar to a fellow luthier. He had seen it several times while still being built. He had never commented on it before. His comment now?

"Wow, you really are good at fixing mistakes."

If I never made mistakes, I would never build guitars. Come to think of it, starting to build was probably my first mistake. :D


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 5:23 pm 
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First name: Joe
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James Orr wrote:
I'm very big on marking all over my sides now before bending to make sure they're oriented correctly. [headinwall] gaah :D

Been There, Done That.
It was head to the ironing board, take a hot iron, with steam, and iron away. It flattened much easier than I would have guessed. Back to the bender and what do you know? Perfect.

No machine made guitars here.

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These users thanked the author Joe Beaver for the post: Bri (Fri Apr 03, 2020 10:16 am)
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 7:05 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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First name: Bryan
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City: St. Louis
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Joe Beaver wrote:
James Orr wrote:
I'm very big on marking all over my sides now before bending to make sure they're oriented correctly. [headinwall] gaah :D

Been There, Done That.
It was head to the ironing board, take a hot iron, with steam, and iron away. It flattened much easier than I would have guessed. Back to the bender and what do you know? Perfect.

No machine made guitars here.


That truly is one of the classic blunders. One of the two I’m working on right now had a side ironed flat and Rene the the other direction. I bet 80% of us have made that mistake.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 7:13 pm 
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I glued the head block in upside down on one guitar. Doubly dumb because it was on a guitar with a cutaway so the head block was asymmetric. Should have been obvious that it was wrong.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 7:23 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 8:21 am
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First name: Brad
Last Name: Combs
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Status: Amateur
I’ve glued uke bridges on upside down. More. Than. Once. :D


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cbcguitars


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:39 pm 
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Koa
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Joined: Sun Jun 22, 2014 1:45 pm
Posts: 1445
First name: Michael
Last Name: Colbert
City: Anacortes
State: WA
Focus: Build
I cut a Manzer Wedge on the wrong side once. oops_sign


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:45 am 
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First name: Kevin
Last Name: Looker
City: Worthington
State: OH
Zip/Postal Code: 43085
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Status: Amateur
I installed a bridge about 1/4" off center - after masking, finishing etc.

Didn't realize it until I drilled all the pin holes.

Now I own the StewMac Bridge Saver.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:10 am 
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James Orr wrote:
I'm very big on marking all over my sides now before bending to make sure they're oriented correctly. [headinwall] gaah :D

All my sides have TOF clearly marked on the "Top Outside Front" before I start bending. Don't ask why.


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:33 am 
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First name: Ken
Last Name: Lewis
City: Mt. Pearl
State: NL
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
I once took a nicely bent EIR side out of the bender, venetian cutaway no mind, only to see "Show side" written
clearly on the inside. That wasn't recently tho.

If that isn't bad enough, a couple months ago I remember placing my last two finished goncalo alves bridges in a jar with
steel wool/ vinegar solution. This works for me to get a nice black bridge to use with ebony fretboards. So... a couple weeks
later I was hurriedly cleaning up the shop when I came across two rejects on the bottom shelf of my work bench. I vaguely
remembered seeing one or two lying around somewhere. I just quickly grabbed them and tossed them in the bin. Fast forward a few more days... I was in my basement humidity controlled glue up area and low and behold I found two more obviously not up to par near finished bridge blanks. That sinking, what duh! feeling came over me... I went out to the shop, rummaged to find the jar with the ebonizing solution...not there, nothing, nada. I couldn't believe I could be so absent minded.
Talk about your brain fart. Guess I need to set up to run a few more bridges.
Mind you I don't always do stuff like this... but I'm sure we all do.
We should have a competition to see who has the biggest/funniest faux pas.


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:42 am 
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Location: Southeast US
City: Lenoir City
State: TN
Zip/Postal Code: 37772
Country: US
Focus: Repair
Bending a set of Bubinga sides on the iron and ignoring the scorching thinking it would just sand out. I went ahead and glued on the head and tail blocks then started sanding. At about 40 thou I realized it was not going to sand out: time for new sides.

Drilling the hole for a fretboard dot on the wrong fret. At least it was Ebony.

Sanding through the rosette. Got to learn how to route out the rosette on a finished box and redo it.

And the list continues ...

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:53 pm 
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First name: Ed
Last Name: Minch
City: Chestertown
State: MD
Zip/Postal Code: 21620
Country: United States
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
I never make the same mistake twice. Why bother when there are so many new mistakes to make.

Ed


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:25 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

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First name: Ed
Last Name: Bond
City: Vancouver
Country: Canada
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Status: Professional
I do this one all too often...Image
It’s a lot easier to get the neck bolted on with the holes drilled.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:06 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 10:44 am
Posts: 6232
Location: Virginia
So far I'd have to say that the reverse Manzer wedge is in the lead for the dumbest... sry Michaeldc all in good fun :)


meddlingfool wrote:
I do this one all too often...Image
It’s a lot easier to get the neck bolted on with the holes drilled.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I just made that mistake, to correct that one I just measure up and use a step drill bit, no biggie. But yeah... Duh! Did it again! BTW that join is tight! I usually leave a little slop there and don't really care. How do you join that so accurately?


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