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Ahh. I want to have the guitar done by Saturday. Should be no problem. I finished the tailpiece. I finished the slip on saddle. I need to turn a tailspin, put the tuning machines on, put the frets in, fit the bridge, and set the action and intonation.

I decided to do the tuning machines. I just watched a video yesterday where I found that the bushings on the top are pressed in first. Who knew? So I checked the counterbores, and they were tight. Finish must have dripped in. I ran the dumb reamer I made in, but I should have made a solid one. I measured it with a Starrett small hole gauge, and it seemed to be 8.9 mm; the bushings are 9. Should be fine?

The sucker got stuck. But wait, don't order now; there's more. Trying to beat it out it wasn't coming, and I might have lost my composure. Maybe a little. Pounding on it unsupported, I broke the head off! Clean. Pop on some glue and it is fine.

But wait, there is still more with this deal!

I put a small stone grinding bit in my Dremel, and cleaned the holes up better. 8.95 mm. It looks all clean. One goes in nice. Then another. Then the next is almost down. Another smack, (it's easier to do now that it is off the neck, and can lay flat on the floor) and it splits the head a little. Really? One more does that out of the next four. On the last little bit again!

I glued the splits up. The tuners should hold it together. I put the frets in. I'm going to print out a blank Sudoku grid to do my Jigsaw Sudoku, the puzzle of the day. If I'm going to beat my head against the wall, I might as well do that.

It's half done, but the little 3" square piece of cardboard is too small to work with. A full page is easier to see.

Tomorrow is a new day. Nothing is wrecked. God is good.

But no gory photos.

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Why be normal?

When things start compounding like that I just come back tomorrow or after lunch or something g ha
Glad nothing was wrecked


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Sounds like you need a smaller hammer....

I don't hammer the bushings in-I press them in-much less of a pucker factor......

Like Brad, I press fit the tuner bushings. They don't need to be very tight to stay put.

Go slow. Take your time. Be patient.

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George :-)

You can use an F body clamp to press fit the tuner bushings in. Still, you don't want the holes so tight that it requires much force. If the hole is a tad oversize you can always glue in press fit bushings with a little epoxy.
Rushing to complete a project usually ends up in disaster. Instead start on the next one you have on the "list" (we all have a "list"). As you get caught up in it, finishing the first one will lose its urgency and you can do the rest of the steps in an unhurried manner. It works for me - I have tons of unfinished projects hanging fire!

I made a press device out of a spool clamp. Cut off a hardware store reamer to clean out residual finish from the countersunk hole. I usually get it so after being firmly pushed in by hand it is about 1/32” proud and press it in the rest of the way with the device.

Here’s a video I made a few years back.

https://youtu.be/Pm9wlrsH5M8

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I wasn't really hurrying. I work quickly on everything that I do. But I only work a couple hours at a time. I don't do anything downstairs until I'm done with my blog; maybe 11 - 12:30. I do get distracted; (like looking on forums) and puzzled on where to go sometimes. Then lunch; our dinner; and maybe do something outside. In winter there is nothing to do except blow the 9 inches of snow off the driveway. It isn't even Thanksgiving yet. A week later and there are just some green patches under a couple of pine trees.
Never seen anything like it.
Oh yeah, I never did like winter.

F body clamps! I bought some of those! They are hanging on the other side of the wall. I'm learning an awful lot on this project. I learn stuff every day, but this is like overload. I probably should be sure to chamfer the edge of the counterbore too. I did chamfer the edge of the slots for the frets.

I also have to cut the fret slots deeper. I had to go back over them after getting the fingerboard radius correct, and flat after gluing it on the neck. It made the top wider on some.

I do have a bunch of projects going on all the time. 2 unfinished violins/violas, 4 that are started. A round backed, fluted baroque guitar mould waiting for warmer weather for gluing up. And more in my head. If I have a little time I can grab a little project. A coat of varnish, or doing some finish work. The raised fingerboard on the arch top is close to violin work. I might like to make another small Stradivarius baroque, but this time make it for me, and not 7 year olds. I have the form, the stock; it should be an easy one; but I will learn a lot, and it won't use up any "real" wood. Very light bracing; maybe add in a little curve on the plates for strength, and so I could have a little curve on the fingerboard. I think I like that better than the wide, flat classical fretboard.

That would teach me about getting the neck/fingerboard part right on a flat top. Bracing is another story.

Can you tell that I am having a lot of fun?

Today will be a 12-12:30 day.

Terrance, I just watched that video. Just as I said, chamfer the edges, use a real reamer. Too bad I didn't watch that on Saturday! I like the press idea better than the f clamp. Thanks guys.

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Why be normal?

Pressing with the spool clamp - I like it! Learn something new every day.

TK, why do you need to cut the reamer? Are you trying to make a step so as to keep the rest of the hole as snug as possible?

Pat

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Pat

Guitar making is definitely not for the faint of heart that's for sure. You often times have to roll with the punches. I've not had a bad day like that in quite some time, knock on wood, but I've been there. And still till this day almost 70 guitars in I almost ALWAYS ding something at the last minute. Weather it's an idiotic think like leaving a nut file on the nice carfully protected soft cloth covered carpeted finishing work bench and placing the guitar down on it, Doh! Or just going for one final touch up on a French Polish finish and running my fingernail in the top... and so on.

If anything it teaches you how to get good at repair

I cut the step cut before finishing with the sized StewMac reamers. The cut off reamer is just to clear the finish residue from the step cut.
The actual hole below the step is 1/4” so an uncut reamer would grab in the 1/4” hole before it contacted the stepped hole for the bushing.

That make any sense?

If you are doing a lot of tuners with bushings the StewMac reamers are great and make life a lot easier.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.