I felt like an idiot, then like an idiot for feeling like an idiot.

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Bryan Bear
Posts: 1375
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 1:05 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

I felt like an idiot, then like an idiot for feeling like an idiot.

Post by Bryan Bear »

I recently got back to a rim that sat for a couple months. It is a cutaway on a shape that I have not made with a cutaway before. I carefully measured the mold and cut a slit that would allow the cutaway side to extend past the rim outline so that the bass side and heel block could glue up flush to it locking in the cutaway location at the edge of the fretboard. I glued up the rim and linings, verified that the cutaway location was just where I wanted it and the project sat for a while.

When I came back to work on it, I measured again to verify the cutaway was located properly. It was at this point that I realized it was not. I had used half the width of the 14th fret width from the centerline to locate it. When I came back and remeasured half the nut width from the centerline I was 6mm off.

Was this a catastrophic failure? Could I recover? I though about it for a while and decided I could fudge the centerline and no one would notice. If I moved the centerline at the heel over 6mm and used the normal centerline at the tail wedge, the bridge would be less than 1/8” (side to side) from the correct location. It would still hit the X brace legs and everything should be mostly okay. I was relieved when I realized that the angle of the new centerline meant that the bridge doesn’t shift by nearly as much as the offset I made at the heel.

I remarked a centerline on the heel block and started working again. The next day, I realized that I was right all along. I was supposed to be using the 14th fret measurement. Using the nut measurement was a total brain fart. I had walked away from this project for days because I was so mad at myself but it was right all along!

The bright spot out of all of this is that I realized how much fudge factor there can be for locating the cutaway. I always stressed about that but I now realize that I can just position the neck relative to the rim and not worry so much. Not that I will be sloppy or anything, it is just nice to know that if I use a different fretboard width that is 1 mm wider or narrower, that won’t really matter much at all at the bridge location so I don’t need to alter the mold.
PMoMC

Take care of your feet and your feet will take care of you.
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Dick Hutchings
Posts: 105
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:39 am

Re: I felt like an idiot, then like an idiot for feeling like an idiot.

Post by Dick Hutchings »

Glad it all worked out Bryan. I know where you're coming from. Between my day job and family, it's tough to get any rhythm going. I'm probably more of an armchair builder and love reading these stories.
Dick Hutchings
Gilbert Fredrickson
Posts: 291
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:07 pm

Re: I felt like an idiot, then like an idiot for feeling like an idiot.

Post by Gilbert Fredrickson »

Emotions are like thoughts. We should have as few as possible.
Matthew Lau
Posts: 607
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2012 2:03 am

Re: I felt like an idiot, then like an idiot for feeling like an idiot.

Post by Matthew Lau »

LOL. That's a good quote, Gilbert.

Hey Bryan,
I totally feel you. I have those moments all the time...especially when I'm under high stress (which is most of the time).
I try to follow checklists, protocols, and keep solid documentation.
Some days, I can only do the bare minimum.
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