thoughts

Talk About Anything Here, Anything At All
JLT
Posts: 296
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 9:13 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA USA

Re: thoughts

Post by JLT »

FWIW, I think that this forum is one of the best things around on the internet for guitar builders and would-be builders, and I thank Bill for starting it and John and Diane for keeping it chugging along.

When somebody asks me about what's involved in building a musical instrument, here is where I send them. There isn't a more helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable bunch of people on the internet and, best of all, there is no animosity at all for first-time builders. We were all first-time builders at one point, and thankfully most people on this forum haven't forgotten that.

As for me, instrument making comes and goes. There were years when I started nothing. Now that COVID-19 has kept me confined to my home and workshop, there's a spate of instruments that I'm either rebuilding or starting from scratch ... a tenor ukulele kit from Stew-Mac (hey, they were on sale and I heavily "customized" it), an Army-Navy style mandolin, a mandola whose soundbox I was never really happy with, and a 000 guitar. I've also re-strung a concert ukulele so that it has standard mandolin tuning ... a "mandolele"? And I'm seriously considering building a thicknessing sander.

This is what too much time on your hands leads to.
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: thoughts

Post by MaineGeezer »

JLT wrote:... best of all, there is no animosity at all for first-time builders. We were all first-time builders at one point, and thankfully most people on this forum haven't forgotten that.
I find, and I suspect most people do, that building a guitar can be quite a humbling experience. I don't think anybody ever knows, completely, how to build a guitar. There are always more questions. And there is always the thought when working on a guitar, in my mind at least, that when I least expect it something completely unforeseen is going to rise up and bite me. When somebody asks a question, or describes a disaster that they need help getting out of, my thought is nearly always either, "I had that same question once," or "I had that same thing happen to me, only worse." We all need help, at one time or another.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
ruby@magpage.com
Posts: 1564
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 8:03 am
Location: Chestertown Maryland

Re: thoughts

Post by ruby@magpage.com »

Well said Maine.

"When somebody asks a question, or describes a disaster that they need help getting out of, my thought is nearly always either, "I had that same question once," or "I had that same thing happen to me, only worse.""

What I think is - I never make the same mistake twice because there is such a broad array of mistakes to make, who make one twice. So I am going to pay attention to the answer if I haven't made that particular mistake yet.

And remember, it's not a mistake unless you can't fix it

Ed
Ed M
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: thoughts

Post by MaineGeezer »

From Guy Lautard in one of his "Machinist's Bedside Reader" series:

"The best craftsmen never seem to make mistakes because they are masters at recovery and cover-up, and keep quiet about it."
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: thoughts

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

MaineGeezer wrote:From Guy Lautard in one of his "Machinist's Bedside Reader" series:

"The best craftsmen never seem to make mistakes because they are masters at recovery and cover-up, and keep quiet about it."
ain't it the truth! There are no mistakes, only learning opportunities.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Skarsaune
Posts: 239
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2018 9:12 am

Re: thoughts

Post by Skarsaune »

MaineGeezer wrote:From Guy Lautard in one of his "Machinist's Bedside Reader" series:

"The best craftsmen never seem to make mistakes because they are masters at recovery and cover-up, and keep quiet about it."
Man, I need to dig out my copies....love that series. Thanks for the reminder.
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