Tuesday, November 29, 2011

This Hobby Really Requires Patience!

This Hobby is definitely not for everyone.  It requires the Patience of a Saint sometimes.  Every cut you make, every piece made by hand invites the ultimate screw-up.  You can make a beautiful part, and glue it to something else, and realize it's off kilter a bit.  Guess what ... the whole instrument is trash.  You cut 20+ fret slots.  Miss one by a hair ... trash!  I'm amazed at how many points there are to screw up on these.  Fortunately I've got lot's of patience.  That doesn't mean I don't screw up!

Sometimes I toss the piece.  Sometimes I can make a design change and make it work.  One thing I won't do with this is patch it up and make it work.  When you are selling something to someone you don't want stuff swept under the carpet.

Bloopers?  I had one this week.  This pic is a Three String Tuna Can resonator I've been working on.  I was just finishing up a few things before glueing everything down and getting ready for final assembly.  I finished up slotting the 3 string slots in the nut.  Notice anything odd in the pic?

When I finished slotting the nut, I looked down and realized the cool tailpiece I had crafted by hand was for a 4 String Guitar.  It has Brass inserts for the strings, and is cut perfectly to fit into a slot I cut in the Cigar Box.  Fortunately I hadn't glued the tailpiece in yet (I've learned from experience!).  So, you see a new tailpiece I started, and the original will find a new home in a 4 String Guitar in the future!  Got Lucky.


Yes ... I do make mistakes ... don't we all?

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