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Todays goof.
I epoxied my fingerboard to the neck and after it set up real well I noticed that the truss rod would not turn. I did apply enough force to twist the head off the rod, so I know for a fact it will not turn. Especially now that I can't get a wrench on it. Alls fixed now, but what a waste of time.

Probably my worse goof, all time, was to glue on a bridge backwards. I don't know what I was thinking. It just happened. Of course the holes for the bridge pins were drilled through and when the bridge was turned around, there was no way to cover the holes up. I thought about making a really big replacement bridge and then just took the top off and started that part over.

John:
Thanks a lot for making me laught that much! I thought Vince had the best yet with the sides notched on the wrong face, but gluing a bridge backward!?! I can't help but laugh when I picture yourself realizing your goof and just starring at the newly glued bridge, wondering how the heck it got glued this way! Please don't be offended or insulted, I know too much we can all goof real bad, yours is just the funniest!

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

The scalpel was there because of poor planning. I didnt have enough strips of binding tape cut prior to starting the glue up. Halfway through I had to cut up some more strips.

Yep...poor planning and just plain good old stupidity.

Oh I am not offended Alain. I can laugh about it now that a few years have passed and my mind seems to be functioning reasonably well. There for a few days after it happened, I was considering medical intervention and had serious doubts about whether I had the mental acuity to build guitars. I remember looking at the bridge before glueing it on and thinking that something was not right. In retrospect its still scary, but at least I now heed those little voices that give warning more closely

I been there, not the scalpel cut finger but not having enough tape cut when doing the binding job (I do my binding by CA now so it's not really an issue) but I made this to help

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

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speaking of CA
I once had a puddle of ca that I decided to wipe up before it set. I wrapped several layers of a T-shirt around my index finger and proceded to do the wiping. Of course the glue soaked through the shirt, catalyzed with a puff of smoke that raised the temperature of the shirt and my finger to near ignition point. The shirt was stuck tight to my finger and giving me a second degree burn. I soaked the whole thing in water to stop the pain, trimmed the shirt away as closely to my finger as I could and wore the rest as a bandage for about a week. I finally had to sand the remainder of the cloth off my finger.

Cool Rod. Nice, simple and very usefull.

I know what new gizmo I'll be making next week! (And I just happen to have a metal saw blade ready to be thrown away!)

Thanks for letting us know about that!

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Makes me think of a story I may have read here, where someone spilled CA onto their pants, not knowing that it soaked through to the chair.

I was holding some CA-glued pieces on my bench. Unbeknownst to me, the glue had migrated to my finger and the bench. I was a prisoner and the only one at home. The solvent was just barely out of reach, but I managed to skootch it closer with a nearby wood scrap.

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Thanks Rod. I'm going to have to make one of these because I know me well enough to know that I will do exactly what Lawrence did, but I'll need to have it stitched closed.

Not too terribly long ago I was trimming with a chisel in an awkward position, so I switched hands and chisel positions, to better get at the offending piece of wood. As I was beginning to cut I had that crystal clear moment that I know we all have experienced, that seems to last much longer then it actually does, when you realize that you shouldn't be doing this and that it is going to hurt. I shouldn't have been and it did. I cut the pad of my thumb from the nail to the joint crease down to the muscle. It was kind of interesting to look at for a moment, and then it started to bleed and make a mess. I keep butterfly bandages in the first aide kit just for moments like these. Could have used stitches, kept breaking it open, but one of those aluminum splints work rather nicely to keep the pressure off the thumb and acts as a reminder not to use it until its healed. And no, it wasn't in the shop. I was replacing a door and molding that that dog ate through because she had a temper tantrum. Anyone want an Anatolian Shepard? Sweet dog, no brains.

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Aoibeann

Thanks dave,
Its not as bad as it seems it was just one of those guitars that realy did not want to come together.
I striped the biding and started again and is has come out just fine this time and the guitar is looking realy nice.
i will post pics of her when she is finished .

I just wasted some stunning spderweb rio binding on the job but it could have been worse.

Thanks for advice and offer of help,

joel.

This is what I get for not checking the thread in a few days. That's great work, Rod. Thanks for the tips, too! The balloon idea is really cool.

As a side affliction of the Luthiery Bug, I suffer terribly from WAS, and TAS.

I am seen often scouring car boot sales for old Stanley planes, and have managed to tool up quite well from these places. A known fact is that some of these planes are still sharp y'know...

Why O why did I then slice my pinky open recently examining a #5 Stanley, the other day? I know they are sharp...I had to hold my finger in my mouth and run to the toilets to stem the copious bleeding and stop the public from freaking out at the sight of the red stuff..

I generally find I make most mistakes later in the day when I am tired. If I have to do something that requires more concentration, I will often do them earlier in the day. Cutting a nut, fretting, complex electronics.etc. I once removed the electronics from an acoustic guitar, got distracted and had to leave my bench. I came back later and re-installed the same system I had just removed.