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I really hate having to do things twice but it happens. Just respraying the top of my latest, this was after having it fully buffed out, strings on and started to set it up. The neck angle was just way to high although I was sure during construction that it was set right. Also the bridge was not glued on well and it was lifting a bit at the back. Both these errors left me with pulling the bridge & neck and then stripping the top, setting the neck again and now spraying for a second time.

There's my latest double take. What double takes have you all had to do recently??

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

My last one was carefully measuring for the bridge position, drilling holes for dowels, marking and gently cutting the outline of the bridge in the finish.
It didn't look right - then I realized I had set my patented "measuring stick" on the 11th fret instead of the 12th.....

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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.

Rod, I'm thinking about re-bracing that top we were discussing recently. It's pretty thin (.095"), and I'm just a little freaked that I don't have enough meat in the X.

I did that once....it resulted in putting a new top on a guitar that was basically done. The good thing about mistakes like this is that you will never repeat it again (at least you shouldn't). I added a few extra precautions to my bridge location process so that making this type of mistake is no longer possible.

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

Well ...

I made a really nice harp ukulele after:

I profiled the sides (not symmetrical on a harp uk) and happily bend them upside down, Needed a new set of sides. I had the instrument nearly completed (pore filled, mostly finish sanded. But there was some funky area on the top on the harp neck near the harp pegboard where I cut the binding channel by hand. I fixed and was sanding my fix when I sanded too far. So I pulled the top made a complete new one. Made and bent new bindings\purflings and re-topped it. It turned out great. Then I decided to try EM7000 for the first time and ended up with a blue instrument. .

Even worse in frustration removing the finish I damaged one of the rims (fixable but I needed to pull the back) The back was OK but it just looked rough by the time it was off and hey I had an orphaned back fro the side mishap ...

Ultimately I put it all back together (2 sets of sides, two tops and two back and two sets of purflings)

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Not enough band width to do this question justice.

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http://www.chassonguitars.com

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Wisdom is justified by her children

+1

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

I went from here.......

To here. Final Sanding time.


Being very careful of this thin spot that I had created early in the build but decided to live with. Can you guess where this is going?


To here.


To here after the redo.


This was a very quiet time in our house while I figured this out. I’m just glad I didn’t go about fixing the herringbone before I pulled out the sander.

Just finished re-profiling a neck tonight that I had just made too fat. Fortunately the neck was a bolt on so was easy to remove. Also stripped the finish off the top while I work on reducing the size of the sound hole - tapered sound-hole backing is making that a tough one.

Fat neck and big sound hole seemed like a good idea at the time but now I'm just wondering what was I thinking

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Thankyou so much for this post. It is so reassuring to know that you experienced builders sometimes go through the same thing that we beginners do. I'm getting ready to rout off the binding and re-bind due to gaps. I tried thinking of all the solutions to fix it without redoing, but it really just needs to be redone. I've been avoiding it now for a month. It's time to get back in there and just do it. Wendy

I just shot the sunburst, a couple hours ago, on the body from last week's thread on "re-topping a(nearly) new guitar....

One of my most memorable ones was a guitar that was done. Completely. Done. I checked with its owner to be sure someone would be home to receive it, then called UPS for a pick-up the next day. I had the guitar out of the case for one last cleaning to rid it of fingerprints and all when my wife calls me-in for supper. I put the guitar on the bench and went-in for supper. An hour later, I return to the shop to find the refractor(the plastic cover thing with all the sharp little "diamonds") from the fluorescent lights laying nicely on top of the guitar. I think to myself that that was a stupid place to put it, then realize I DIDN'T put it there. I gently lift it, and am greeted by a guitar top sporting about 30 or 40 little dents(and some NOT so little ones)! Off with the neck, pickguard, bridge, strip the finish, and start again......

Those who know me well(outside the public forums and the like), know that my vocabulary can be colorful and can make a lumberjack/sailor/construction worker/convicted murderer blush, at times. There's a reason for that.....

Rod,

How timely! From this afternoon:


This is routing binding off, then the top.


Off she goes.


I wanted to see if tops really look like that in drawings, so did a quick run with the bandsaw. Yep, that's how they look. It's being held up with an unfortunate BRW bridge blank I've been waiting years to find a use for. Notice the extra deep saddle slot.


Pat

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

I agree here James. Mind you this isn't a guitar for yourself is it......the worst that can happen is you have to do what probably all of us have had to do....re-top it.

Thanks for the company folks!!! Alain that's just a small sound port through the neck isn't it.....??

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Pat, I can find a use for that bridge!
Been looking for one with an extra deep slot. Didn't have the nerve to do it myself....
I admire your courage.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Let's see, still working on my first two. So far I have had to start over on:

Backs - made two that cracked
back braces - 2 sets each
rosettes - 2 each before scrapping them both
tops - new for each, with new rosettes
bindings - 2 each, top and back
Fingerboards - so far 1 each, but still trying to get the slots in the right place, so I may end up having to start over on those too.

Ain't this fun?

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

Oh, and I almost forgot the end of No. 2, where I bent the side wrong and almost sanded through. Made a patch for it, nicely decorative, on the outside.

Ouch. Had to get creative with that one.

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

Every experienced builder was once a beginner. And one doesn't get to be experienced in this business without making a lot of mistakes. This thread reminds me of a great article from Cumpiano http://www.cumpiano.com/Home/Articles/Articles/pedagog.htm Anyone who hasn't read this should.

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

Plenty of painful memories. Mine fit with the general trend: the screw ups at the end hurt most. Ruin a rosette, and you may have wasted a top. Drop a tool on a finished guitar, and...

I'm going to go on screwing up. I plan to start first thing tomorrow. But I have found some habits that improve my average. Some jobs require more attention. Some mistakes are more retrievable. I used to try to always work on the jobs with the most pressing due date. Working late into the night on a highly complex project is just a bad idea. Sometimes bad Ideas are the only option. Often, I can put in the long hours, the late hours, on more forgiving work. When my attention is at it's best, when I"m rested, and relaxed, I tackle the tricky stuff. I try to get ahead on these projects, so I won't be plunging ahead when I shouldn't. It doesn't mean I don't screw up, but I think it helps.

Mistakes test one's creativity. Guitarmakers are some of the most creative people I know.

Steve, it's really easy! Just don't tighten your router chuck like normal and you're good to go!

Pat

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

This is exactly why I don't recommend doing two right out of the gate...

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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

Thanks for the article. Everyone should have a look at this..

My last major kerfuffle was on a Wenge OM. I wiped the guitar down with a bit of DA and let it sit for about 1/2 hour. I started laying down coats of EM6000 and noticed a spotty haze or blushing under the finish. The conclusion of the forum was that I hadn't let the DA evaporate long enough. Only option.. Take it all off and start over..