Getting a late start

[Scot Forester]

I just discovered this forum and I wanna thank y’all for all the excellent information I’m gleaning. I’ve been slaving away in computers, networking, programming and telecom for 40+ years and getting ready to retire and do what I enjoy which happens to be assembling wood, strings, pickups, tubes, speakers and more. I’ve built many amps and assembled a few guitars. I buy the inexpensive and mod the heck out of them, refret, rewire, change neck profile, refinish, etc. I’ve not done one from scratch yet. That’s the next phase. I’m sure I’ll have lots of questions and maybe some answers. First question…. Am I too late for the party???

[Bryan Bear]

You're not too late to the party but traffic is fairly slow these days. The great news is there are the MIMF libraries here that have a to of info to read!

[JC Whitney]

Welcome.

You'll find there's a great wealth of folks with years of experience and wisdom here (not me), friendly and willing to share. With apologies to Field of Dreams - If you post it, they will come.

[Mike Conner]

You are not too late! I followed a similar path, working as an engineer 40+ years, doing "serious" woodworking projects through the years along with lots of guitar setups and minor repairs. Followed some good advice: Retire _to_ something more than retiring _from_ something. About six years prior to my planned retirement I tooled up and took a shot at building a pair of archtop instruments - a guitar and an octave mandolin. I figured, if I didn't enjoy it, or if they just sounded like cardboard boxes, I'd have time to find another path.

However, they sounded pretty good and I had fun trying, mistakes and all. I've continued building and learning, and have been able to bless a few folks. I've tried to be intentional about documenting what I have learned, but haven't always succeeded.

The information available on this forum was invaluable to me. I've tried to give back and share what I have learned.

Go for it!