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To expound on FankC’s post “I get so angry when...” Where he asks if we all build perfect guitars, all the time. Well of course we do.

But really everyone has things that they have issues with one process or an other. I am in build 28 and one issue I have to deal with each and every time is binding and purfling miters

The first guitar that I used side purfling below the binding I chickened out and did not miter the end graft purfling into the side purfling. But I have on 15 others since. While I can get right or near right now, I still have to work at it and I have rebound and purfed many times because the miters I thought were good before glue-up looked like donkey mush after. I have over come this to a workable point now by refusing to give-up

So I am inviting each to confess to their most troublesome problem area at this given point in their journey. And expand on how you address this issue. Not to point out everyone’s flaws, but rather possibly to aid others having similar issues. Also to show how the voyage is more important than the destination.
MichaelP38847.4230787037

My problem is that my "troublesome list" is way longer than the list of stuff that goes right.

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http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

Well, there don't seem to be to much action on this thread

Ill go!

I always struggle with getting the neck angle right. I seem to always get there, but its a struggle every time.

Secondly, getting a perfect (and I mean perfect) nut fit. I have never done it in one shot, I always need at least 2 nut blanks to get it right.

Thirdly, rounding over the sound hole edge, I HAVE to get a jig made like the one Charlie Hoffman has, that uses a round over bit in a lam trimmer with a template.

4th, getting time, I struggle most with getting shop time.


There are lots more, but off the top of my heads, these come to mind.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Scary stuff for me are purfling/binding channels, neck building and fretting,inlaying and miters all stuff i long to learn more about from more experienced builders.

Serge

My big nemesis used to be the dreaded 14th fret bump. I finally got that figured out a few guitars ago.
.
It seems that miters are trouble for us all. I go through a paintaking process to get them as close to perfect as I can, but sometimes they just don't cooperate.

Another one is the shaping of the heel. It can be difficult to get the symmetry of the two halves perfect. My first guitar had a stacked heel, and was really lumpy compared to my necks now. It's just one of those things that takes practice.

I also still struggle to get the neck/body joint perfect. If you don't get the sides perfectly flat in that area, it's chaos...

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I've only built one, and it was a kit, so I'm sure there are issues waiting in the wings! I expect that side purfling miters will be a challenge.

Just general patience is an ongoing one. I need to keep in mind that I'm just in the shop working, rather than having a specific goal for that session, like pushing to get the neck right. After all, for me it's a hobby.

I go days or weeks without even opening the door to the shop, so that's currently a problem. My wife and I both work full time, and with 6 and 9 year old kids, sometimes it's a challenge to even get time to eat. But there's light at the end of the tunnel, my new bribe program, which in my mind works like this: I just spent an hour getting the kitchen really clean, so that earns me at least an hour in the shop, right? It's in its formative stages, but looking good so far.

But this summer, I'm off for 5 weeks, two of which will be after school starts, and Maggie will be working, so those days are MIIIIINNNNNE, AAAALLLL MIIIIIIINNNE!! BWWWAHAHAH!!

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

[QUOTE=burbank]
But this summer, I'm off for 5 weeks, two of which will be after school starts, and Maggie will be working, so those days are MIIIIINNNNNE, AAAALLLL MIIIIIIINNNE!! BWWWAHAHAH!! [/QUOTE]

Pat, you ok bud ?

Lance I am with you on the nut fits. How do they do that in a factory setting?

TIME TO BE POSITIVE!!!!!
Today is my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!
No I have been married just under 13 years.
A year ago today I started my first guitar from scratch!!!!!!
Now I am on number 10...wooooooohhhh doggggieeeeee.
TOTALLY HOOKED.
I could dwell on how I carved into the CF rods on a neck or other bone
head mistakes, but why...
I have been trapped by a great hobbie!!!!!! Great friends!!!!!! An awesome
OLF group!!!!!!An understanding wife!!!!!! and more orders that I can deal
with. I am very blessed.!!!!!!!
Just my 2 cents.
Andy
Picts below are #10
An OM 14 ALL KOA!!!!! Left handed.

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Well, I've got two boxes done, two more in the works, and have just started carving necks. I am comfortable with most of the body construction, but the whole process of neck carving causes me significant trepidation. Now, the first one has turned out OK, but I never really felt like I was getting it. I'm doing another this weekend - hopefully I will become more at ease with the process.

-Mark

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Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
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Michael, not to pry but are you in a bit of a funk? If so, it happens to everyone, whether its building guitars, day jobs, you name it. I suspect you'll find you aren't all that unique in your frustrations.

My list:
1). Binding/Mitre joints (you should try doing some archtop f holes sometime )
2). Neck alignment and fussing with a tight heel/body fit (ya I know build some more accurate jigs)
3). Shop time - same reasons as Pat and a lot of others I suspect.
4). Bending cutaways
5). Neat fretwork

But hey I do this for fun -- so anytime things come together nicely its a big bonus and source of accompolishment.

Hey Pat -- I hope you enjoy your two weeks of shop bliss. I find its amazing how much you start getting done when you can go at it for a number of days in a row or not in a tired state after the kiddies are off to bed.

My list is too long for a thread!!!!!




mmmmmmmmm....................KOA!!!!azimmer138847.5562615741

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

[QUOTE=Serge Poirier] [QUOTE=burbank]
But this summer, I'm off for 5 weeks, two of which will be after school starts, and Maggie will be working, so those days are MIIIIINNNNNE, AAAALLLL MIIIIIIINNNE!! BWWWAHAHAH!! [/QUOTE]

Pat, you ok bud ? [/QUOTE]

Serge,

I will be, when I get that two weeks in the shop!!

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Na why you ask? MichaelP38847.5849305556

"Most troublesome area" would have to be finishing.
The problems mentioned by others have bothered me for sure.
But inconsistently. The nut on this one will fit fine, while the nut on that one was a problem.
Miters are that way for me, too.
But my regular enemy that resists my will on every try is the finishing.

My solution?

Tony Ferguson.


SK

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thanks, Anthony.

In looking into some scheduling issues at my daughter's school, I found an article (wish I could locate it) that talked about the need for uninterrupted working time in the classroom, where three hours uninterrupted was much more productive than a much longer period with only a few interruptions (I don't remember the longer period, but it was significant) but, more important, there was much less fatigue. I've found that to be true for me in the shop too.

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

My main problems are:

1. Side bending
2. Neck carving
3. Plate joining
4. Rosettes
5. Binding
6. Purfling
7. Bridges
8. Brace shaping
9. End Grafts
10. Fingerboards
11. Fretting
12. Nuts
13. Strap pin installation
14. Final setup
15. Intonation

BUT, my finishing troubles are over, and my finishes are second to none! (Tony does them)!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

Larry, your hilarious!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

[QUOTE]Larry, your hilarious! [/QUOTE]

You got Dat!!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

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

   




   I had almost twenty years of woodworking experience when I started building guitars but I always used very minimal finishes on my furniture. I don't really like the kind of finish you have to put on a guitar to be able to sell it, and so far I haven't figured out how to do it in any reasonable amount of time. I love building but finishing drives me insane, nearly causing guitar/wall meetings at high velocity.

                  Paul

Since I'm still on my first build, I can't dwell on any one particular point of the process because it's all been slow-go & a bit of a tangle. Much more difficult than I previously thought it was going to be before I even started. Not that I'm not having fun, I love it....

But one thing I'm truly having a hard time understanding...& 'I hope no members take this personally'...Is when someone tries to describe a process on a fix, or their technique on a certain problem part of the building process, or how they made a jig, I sometimes (most of the time), have a real difficult time comprehending what the heck they're try to say, tell me, or others. And I know it's not their intention, but my inexperience or dyslexia as a novice builder kicks in, and all I see is a bunch of words. Pictures do aid as a visual tool. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate everyone's efforts in trying to help, I know it's just me trying to figure out what you all are talking about sometimes!

I'm sure the more I do this, the more familar everything will become, and the more difficult issues will resolve themselves w/ experience....

Thanks OLF...

Rick, yes you will become more aware of terms and lingo. but in the mean time do not hesitate to ask for a simpler explination. None of us will mind a bit. You see when we answer a question we write as we think about it. If you are use to using certin terms then you tend to use those terms or discriptions as basic language.

I was lucky in some respect because before I ever commited to my first build I spent over a year researching techniques and reading anything and everything I could get my hands on. Add to that many years working with my grandfather in his cabinet shope as a youngster I grew up around wood working terms. MichaelP38847.7194097222

I seem to always (ok, so I'm on my second) get a gap between the binding and the purfling at the waist, top and back. I came up with a work around. I use a hobby knife to cut some shavings off some binding scrap and glue these in. If the fit is good it's an invisible repair.

Larry is not only hilarious .... he's more honest than me