Runningdog wrote:I tell my students (and myself, far too often) that every guitar is a collection of mistakes. The only perfect guitar is the one you're thinking about making next -- once you start selecting and cutting wood, perfection gives way to adapting and compromising.
Possibly one mark of an accomplished luthier is the ability to improvise around error. I've also cut sides a tad short or worked with short pieces. It can be an opportunity to create an interesting tail treatment. There's nothing that requires either a simple stripe or a traditional Martin-style wedge: you could use the cutoffs and some purfling to make a multi-piece tail decoration, or inlay a design (remember to leave room for a tail pin or pickup jack), or … whatever your imagination gives you.
Well I went ahead and trimmed the sides and made up neck/tail blocks and glued them to the sides. I traced out what the body profile would be. On this spruce top the outer line is a traditional L-0 (or L-00) outline. The inner line is my "prototype L-0 parlor hybrid" outline. The body length is dead on 19" long, and the lower bout is 13-5/8". I think I kind of like it!
I'll have to figure out what to do as far as bracing (same as an L-0 or modify it a bit??) and maybe the possibility of making it a 12 or 13 fret instead of 14th fret joint. hmmmmm What do you think?
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I love that tailpiece on the guitar RD posted! Classy.
Mistakes? Where do I start.....or where does it end? <smile>
The thing I've noticed is on my first build everything is daunting and I thought through more things and/or read up on "how to" more before starting a task. On the second, I assumed too often I knew what I was doing and made stupid mistakes I avoided on my first.
Similar to John's P.'s statement above, some of my worst mistakes we proceeding with a power tool with poor lighting. My advice to myself......take the extra 5 or 10 minutes and get the wood/guitar lit well before proceeding with a power tool. Most of my other mistakes are due to inattention/distration or rush through something because my wife/family wants me for some reason.
The dumbest thing I've done is drill a hole for a guitar strap on the WRONG side of the neck........you just can't fix stupid <smile> That was caused by a distraction......had everything in hand about to drill, my wife asks me about something and when I picked the neck back up I rotated it th opposite way. Remember I had everything setup previously........so I didn't think through the process again and just assumed I had it correct.
