Official Luthiers Forum!

My old machine shop mentor once told me 'never put your finger where you wouldn't put your dick'! There have been a few times when I was about to risk a digit doing something foolish when that mantra flashed through my mind. I still have all 10 digits and I am sure it is down to that!

I stand corrected -- if nothing else this thread points out how some members lack tolerance are totally opinionated, arrogant and immature.

If this thread has no value to you then you should just pass it by and quit making comments in it. No one really cares if you don't like it.

No one is breaking any forum rules here other than you...



So if you don't like the topic... just move on and don't read it.

And especially don't post your dislike for other members of this forum.

Bob

Covering half of an exotic beautiful guitar top with a piece of white plastic.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

I think I saw a Les Paul totally covered in pearls.... talk about lack of artistic creativity...

Then there's those Inlaidartist (ebay seller) guitars that sells really cheaply covered in inlays. I heard their guitar falls apart pretty much within a week because they used green wood.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Yes my high school days started in 1960-63 schools were different back then. Cell service sucked too.


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did they have cell phones back then?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Aye, that's quite an apt description of your input.

Guess I don't understand why someone who thought the subject was pointless would then subscribe to it and continue to follow it.

I like the topic. I particularly like the digression into the tool and machine mishaps. I always learn something from reading about them. Like one of the others (Nick, I think) I have no previous experience with woodworking or tools. I built my first guitar in two weeks under guidance from another builder and learned a little about a few power tools, then bought power tools and started using them unsupervised. I have given myself a severe manicure on the disk sander because when Woodcraft put it together they put the table on backwards, leaving a large gap. I was to inexperienced and ignorant to notice it or know what it would mean and my finger just followed the too-small piece I was sanding right into the crack. Before that, I thought of sanders as pretty benign. I'm very careful in the shop, but it's what I DON"T know (which is a lot) that gets me into trouble!

I agree with Beth,
Although I have learned a great deal from my mistakes, I much prefer to learn from other's mistakes! Thanks to everyone for sharing, you may have saved a finger or two,
Mike

There are no tools in my shop that I fear or would hesitate to use, but I have the utmost respect for them, and try to use them as safely as possible. I run thousands of bf of lumber over my table saw, jointer and planer, use chisels and hand planes on a daily basis, but when you take a screwdriver for granted, you can end up with a hole in your hand.
I use gloves most of the time, and since I started using bright red or yellow gloves, I am aware of where I put my hands.
Oh, although I didn't sell my radial arm saw 10 years ago, I did give it away!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

No they didn't Tai Fu maybe that's why the cell reception sucked. Good one:0)


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Glad to hear in not the only one that wears gloves.


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@ Beth,
I understand your little brush in with the sander. A lot of people think they are a benign tool that you don't have to worry about but they can and do bite pretty hard. In the 60's when I worked in a local furniture factory I had a friend who worked on one of the giant horizontal belt sanders. The only problem is he would drop acid and then come to work. He said it took the boredom out of his job... that is until he ground the end of his finger off to the knuckle... After he recovered and came back to the job he said when he did it he thought it was really cool that the sawdust was red until he realized it was his finger.

So that is one of the things that freaks me out is people who do drugs or are drunk while using powerful shop tools... or cars, or motorcycles or anything for that matter.

Oh and one other thing that bugs me are people who don't trim the ends of the strings at the peg. I played in a band where the lead guitar player would never cut the ends and leave them sticking out like a porcupine ready to stab anyone that came near him...

Bob

You make a good point Alex, the more you use any dangerous tool the more comfortable you get with them. It's when you loose the respect for them is when they are most likely to bite you.

I am just curious about everyone's dislike for radial arm saws. I have had mine for well over 30 years now and never had any problem with a dangerous situation like I have with my table saw. I mean, it doesn't kick back, you pretty much have to have your hands out of the way of the blade (one holds the wood and the other pulls the saw). I can see a problem only if you are cutting wood that is too short. But I have always had a rule of not cutting anything less that about 12 inches. If it is that small then the bandsaw is the tool of choice. However I did add a spring on my saw so it is self retracting. So I can see how someone may get bit if it didn't retract. Or if you are trying to rip wood with the head turned sideways. I only did that one time and realized that is not a smart thing to do. To me a radial arm saw is only for cross cutting and nothing more.

Bob

I have ripped and cross cut on my radial arm saw, without any problems in the 44 years I have had the saw. I have even ripped sheets of plywood, by myself without issue. The only time I ever had a scare was once trying to route the little inside circle out of a plastic spray paint can lid, and it got away from me and the bit nipped my finger. I knew before I started that I shouldn't be doing that! I log that up to immaturity. I had only had the saw for a couple of weeks at the time, and I was still fairly young and inexperienced! Not so anymore! I never let my hands get that close to work again.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

@Waddy, We won't even ask why you were trying to do that with a radial arm saw...



Lesson learned right?

Cheers,
Bob

Heck, I don't know about the rest of you guys and gals, but I'd like to know, Waddy! I imagine that you were using a router, not your RA saw!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Many years ago after doing something stupid -- getting my hands dangerously close to the jointer cutterhead -- I made a firm commitment to try and never let my hands get close to any blade. The only exception is my bandsaw when I'm using a very fine cut blade and then I don't worry as much but still exercise a great deal of caution. Since then, I have made efforts to create very safe holding jigs for all my routing/shaping processes and I'm very grateful that I've done. I also never pass anything small enough to cause potential issues through my jointer.

A second safety tip that I try and never lose sight of is to always have your body completely behind the chisel.

I was lucky in the beginning but now my safety is pro-active. I also occasionally lookup gory workshop photos every few months as a matter of habit. I find that is a really good way to continually keep a healthy level of fear of some of the tools we use.

Stay Safe Everyone!!!

I had the motor upright and a chuck on the back side shaft, designed for a chuck, and a router bit installed. It was a stupid thing to do, and has never been repeated. I did have a belt sander try to pull my finger under the fence, once! I repeat, once! Took a week for the swelling to go down. No damage, other than a bit of abrasion. My worst tool injury was with a sledge hammer, taking down some concrete forms. I missed on a swing, and my leg stopped the head!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

That sounds like my old Ryobi RA saw, Waddy.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

OWWWW

They let him come back to work?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Played in a band with a guy who did that. He said he left them long to poke in the bass players' eyes when he got behind the beat. He was referring to me, but in truth he was rushing the beat.

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

guitar wise: incoherent designs, too much somogyi, too much taylor, "celebrity tonewoods" championed by apex collectors for looks rather then performance. at least they won't be buying my stuff.

machine wise: i'm at one with machines -i have few hang ups (with industrial stuff though, not encountered in luthiery). although i did see one of our shop's greens trying to amputate his fingers with a 240V coil winder yesterday while his supervisor was off surfing the internet. i put a stop to that.

tool wise: i'm pretty good here as well. i do have to remember to cut away from myself every now and then though.

also there's a certain guitar forum owner (not lance nor jr.) that spams me near daily to buy some tonewood from him. he somehow cleverly eludes my spam filters -it's drag and drop straight into the trash everytime. what a pest.