Official Luthiers Forum!

Alright, I've indulged in a few customer bashing threads lately.
It feels good to commiserate with fellow luthiers but it has me thinking we need a little yang with our yin.
I thought I'd start a little redemptive thread about the vast, vast, majority of folks I work for.

Feel free to add stories of gratitude for the customers you've had who appreciate your efforts.


A few weeks ago, a customer of mine showed up with a heavy box.

I have fixed up a couple of cellos for him. Now retired, he has time to spend on the things he finds truly important. Grandkids and music. ( who's gonna argue with that?) It turns out, he was a wooden boat builder from back east. Near where I used to goof around as a kid on the Chesapeake bay. Everytime he comes in the shop, we wind up talking for too long. He's an older gentleman with a lot of great stories.It feels like he's a long lost family member. I could listen all day.

Out of appreciation for the work I've done, he set the box down and asked if I had any use for what must be his last stash of tools that made it to Colorado with him. A bunch of old Wetzler clamps and a giant Japanese slick.
What a nice gesture and "your damned right I do!"
Anyone who's had the pleasure of using old Wetzler clamps, already knows the answer to the question," do they make clamps like they used to?"

Getting to make friends with folks like Don makes up for a lot of grimy fretboards.

Nice story David and I do know about and covet those Wetzlers. Nice slick too.
L.

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Very cool David, all we ever get are CDs of the artists we repair for but it's the thought that counts or so they say...

Had a customer give me a double CD set once.
It was for an MLM selling "de-toxifying" suppositories but I think that one might belong in the other thread.

I tried those de-toxifying suppositories, big disappointment. Not only did they not work, they tasted terrible!

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

only Bryan

In all seriousness all of my customers, so far, have been great to deal with but they have to call for an appointment to get into my shop and I don't advertise.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

That's awesome. I want to see some closeups of that tsuki-nomi (the slick)!

I've had several really fun customer gifts. One of them was a guy who needed a serious crap ton of work done on his main strat. I did the work, and after he had paid he plops a brown paper bag on the counter with a bottle of nice scotch (Aberlour) in it. He said that it was my tip.

Another cool one was a customer with whom I discuss Japanese culture. I am a student of Japanese woodworking and he showed up one day with a book for me by Toshio Odate that discussed the traditional tools that were/are used by shokunin.

Hey Dan,
Even with a hollow on the back, it's going to take some elbow grease to get the slick into shape. I think the boat building environment tends to be a rough and tumble, gett'er done, kind of place. Hence the large slicks and clamps that can put a serious squeeze on without complaining.
There was an old American Lutherie article about classical builder Manuel Velazquez. A couple of pictures showed him with a slick, ripping off thick peels of of wood, roughing down a neck. There was a pile of necks on the bench like he was just going to knock out a dozen in an afternoon. I was always impressed with those photo's. Less experienced builders would be messing with little shaves and finger planes and he had the skill and confidence to just lay into it with a fat chisel tucked under his arm.

Around here there used to be remnants of an old "six pack economy". Especially in the outdoor rec community. A quick little job like getting a ski drilled with a certain jig or bearing races pressed into a bike, were done for some small talk and brew of choice dropped off later in the day. Maybe not as efficient as Ama$an prime but a lot more fun.

I miss the six-pack economy. That's the only way I kept my bike fixed when I attempted a season of desert racing.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

David, thanks for the pics, that's a very nice slick! Most of the ones I've gotten ahold of in the past were in MUCH worse shape, that was a fine gift he gave you.

It's funny you bring up using a slick to make a neck. I actually have an old ship builders gouge (2" wide) that I repurposed to cut the curves on things like table legs and such. I don't really build guitars but I could easily see it being used in an efficient manner.

That is really nice. Good stuff there...

Its pretty cool to develop those relationships with people... Its seems like we are losing the idea that other people are humans and that treating other people well (if for no other reason) is a fine way to ensure you are treated well in the future.... We forget that with our instant internet culture....