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Got a quick hit TIP! Something that is quick, easy and if you would have known it THEN you would have had a better result!
POST IT HERE!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Yeah.....

When sanding the rim in a dish sand it first without the kerfed linings. Once it contacts the dish all the way around install the kerfed linings 1/16 - 1/32nd" proud (sticking up.....) and sand the rim again in the dish.

It's much faster because you are not sanding through your kerfed linings during the majority of the profiling to match the dish.

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Ann Arbor Guitars

This may sound really stupid, but...

When you get a new tool (this goes double for power tools), test it out on some scrap wood to get familiar with it before you use it on an actual project. This goes double for all of those who like me, are very unfamiliar with the use of tools. You'll save yourself a lot of headaches and potential problems...

The reason I say this goes double for power tools is because while they do the job for you much more quickly when used properly, they also have the potential to destroy your masterpiece (or worse, your body parts) much more quickly if handled improperly...

Do some research or plan out the build. I have found that there is a schedule or order to build, particularly when starting. One thing should follow another. This keeps the process going better. When get into production with batches this helps I found that out in shops worked in and in my own building now. May jump from instrument to another, but if doing each one in a planned way or process, they just seem to go better.

I'll throw on a couple extra...

Safety above all else... Goggles, ear muffs, dust masks, etc. Use proper safety equipment at all times.

A piece of wood can be replaced. You body parts probably cannot. Yeah, it's a pain to reach for those earmuffs when running the router or bandsaw for just a minute, but down the road, your ears will thank you for it.
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Patience and perseverance are virtues. Everything is easy in your mind. The reality of it is not always as simple. Do not get discouraged when you make a mistake. God knows we all make mistakes all the time.

I am one who thought that with enough thought and care taken, my first guitar would come out perfect and I was rudely awoken from that fantasy when everything that could go wrong did despite the care that I took. Sometimes crap happens and you have to deal with it and with inexperience inevitably comes errors.
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If you are getting frustrated, step away, calm down, and go back to work when you're ready.

Frustration leads to lack of focus and aggression. These things can lead to mistakes that can easily cause more harm to an instrument and can also easily create a safety issue. It's okay to put down your tools and drink some tea once in a while. Don't be in a rush and always be in a calm state of mind when working.
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Listen to advice.

While it's important to think for ourselves, it's just as important to listen to the advice of people who've been doing this for a while. If 50 people have a certain opinion regarding something or think something is a bad idea, there's probably a good reason for it. It's a bit presumptuous at any point to assume that you are an exception to the rule.
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Ask lots of questions.

I'm a person that has a lot of pride and I was also never one to open my mouth to ask questions at any point in my life. As a result, I often learn things the hard way. Don't be afraid to ask questions when you need to. It'll save you stress.
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Don't take anything too personally.

Frankly speaking, a lot of people can be really abrasive and I know there are definitely people on this forum that rub me the wrong way with some of their responses and that's fine. Just because we are all interested in building guitars doesn't mean we will all get along or share the same views. As a well respected member of this forum once told me, sometimes building guitars is the only thing we have in common. Don't let any potentially unedifying comments disrupt your own flow and your own work. Once you find the answer to the question that you're looking for, move on and let the rest of them argue things out themselves. Don't allow others to demoralize you.

Great tips so far...

For me it helped/helps to document steps in the building process with a notebook and possibly with images. Especially when things go well or otherwise...

A tip that alluded me until my third guitar was to cut back the wood on the cheeks of the heal so that you are only
floss fitting a contact patch of about 1/8th" or so. Ill get some pics of this ASAP!
But its a BIG time saver and makes for a fine neck to body joint!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

If you ever think: "I have just the time to do this task quick before I leave the shop" DON'T do the task... When you think of leaving, leave... I have made my worst mistakes 5 minutes before I was to leave the shop!

Don't expect this is going to be cheeper then buying a good guitar.
Make life easier and make a nice mold.

Get ready for lots of mistakes. Sometimes stupid ones.

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Here is what a Parlor Guitar is for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEa8PkjO6_I

Amen to that..

Lance bro is this what you mean:

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Ann Arbor Guitars

Don't assume that photocopiers make accurate copies of parts drawn to scale on your original plans. I made copies of the headstock shape of my first guitar, cut one of these out and used it as a paper template to cut out my headstock. I ended up with a headstock that was not perfectly symmetrical, and later found that the copies I had made were just a tad off from the original drawing. No one else has ever noticed it when they look at the guitar, but I know it's there.

johnj

Copiers, nearly always, change the image size, and often different amounts in the x axis from the y axis. when making copies, you really have to check them carefully to make sure they are correct. Even when buying plans, you have to check the measurements to make sure they are correct. Never assume they are right, as paper changes as environment changes.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I've been aquiring an assortment of sanding "tubes" made from different sizes of pvc pipe and the heavy cardboard tubes that hold the drawing paper where I work. I glue a piece of thin cork to them and then use sticky back sandpaper over that. Works great for cleaning up the waist on the sides, cutaways and any inside curved surfaces like volutes. I have 2 grits of sandpaper for each size.

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Horton, MI

YES! Thats it!
Thanks Hesh!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I'm still in the middle of first but if I were to give one bit of technical advice to those about to start on their first this would be it. If you don't have the prior woodworking skills to make it properly then buy one instead. A poor mold will cause all kinds of difficulties later (like neck setting).

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Jeremy Douglas

Here are a few

1. Never skimp out on tools. There is nothing as expensive as a cheap tool. Live by these words, you will never regret it. I am ALWAYS sorry when I buy something just "good enough" to get by. I am NEVER sorry when I buy the highest quality I can afford.

2. When you are drilling your M/T necks for the inserts put the inserts in BEFORE you route for the tenon. You only need to crack a few tenons to learn that. It saves lots of time trying to repair them.

3. When routing your overhangs for the top and back, if you use a bearing guided spiral cutter and begin on the "peaks" and fall into the "valleys" you can virtually eliminate knocking a chunk out of the plates. So start at the upper bout and "fall" into the "valley of the waist. Then start at the upper bout and fall toward the neck, and the same process with the lower bout.

4. Keep it simple. Until you have a few of these under your belt, just keep it simple. Don't go crazy with lots of gingerbread details etc. These are all places to make mistakes. For me the first few builds was about getting pristine wood working, and the geometry for the neck angle right. There is a lot to learn. View it as a process not a product.

5. Don't cheat. If something isn't right and you know it... fix it. Nearly everything can be fixed, but ignoring it, or thinking it won't be noticable is not the way to go. Plates that aren't jointed correctly spell trouble, bindings that don't fit right should be fixed, neck angles that are off should be fixed, each of these are learning opportunities, and afterall... isn't that the point when you are building the first few?

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

I have yet to make a smart one.

Pat

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

"A tip that alluded me until my third guitar was to cut back the wood on the cheeks of the heal so that you are only
floss fitting a contact patch of about 1/8th" or so. Ill get some pics of this ASAP!
But its a BIG time saver and makes for a fine neck to body joint!"

Great tip Lance. That does make it easier to get a good fit.

Hesh has posted some very good tutorials. A recent one was on fitting the neck. Highly recommended reading.

Thanks Alan my friend!

Here is a link to the neck fitting toot:http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=15022%22

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Ann Arbor Guitars

After you thickness your top, back and sides, and before you bend them or glue on any braces, sand them with an RO or by hand until all the marks are gone from your drum sander. This is much easier done while they are flat on a table surface than after they are a guitar.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Good point but they are building from a kit so the sides should be bent and the back and top sanded already.

Don't assume that just because you purchased a kit that all the parts have been machined perfectly, or that you can use them "as is" to meet your needs. I built my first from a kit and the back and bent sides I received were .128" thick----I ended up doing lots of sanding to get them where I wanted them.

john

This may seem obvious, but keep your hands clean. After doing any task such as sharpening a chisel, etc., there may be all sorts of things on your hands that may not be easily removed from your beautiful guitar top. Along the same line is if you nick your hand - and you will - get away from your guitar immediately and bandage the cut, even if it seems very minor. You don't really want to sign your work in blood!

Chuck

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"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong"
- Joseph Chilton Pearce