Thanks: 0
Likes: 0
Needs Pictures: 0
Picture(s) thanks: 0
View Poll Results: How many guitars have you made?
- Voters
- 7. You may not vote on this poll
Multiple Choice Poll.
Results 61 to 75 of 77
-
25th October 2006, 11:04 AM #61
$3000 for a guitar building course is not unreasonable. If we assign $500 for materials then that leaves $2500 for tutorage. $2500 divided by 80 hours comes to an hourly rate of $31.25. Quite reasonable when you consider you pay $45 plus an hour for a plumber to fix a tap washer in your laundry.
I did a 3 week course in NZ a few years back which cost me $2500 for the course. Materials were fairly good quality (AA spruce tops) and sides were pre-bent and tops glued up and rough sanded close to final thickness...a fair bit of work involved in both tasks on part of tutors. The tutors were two luthiers with years of experience...Paddy Burgin a well known Wellington luthier with a track record and Dave Freeman a Canadian luthier who runs his own luthiery school in Sakatchewan as well as being an active builder of fine instruments.
The course had 12 people and ran for 3 weeks, 6 days a week and most days wed be in the workshop for at least 9 hours each day. That equates to roughly 200 hours (some days were 10 hour days).
60 to 80 hours to build a guitar in a class of 3 with one tutor is not impossible. On the course I did there were 12 people and 2 tutors...1 tutor per 6 students. In a class of 12 you're going at pace of the slowest students.
Just my ten cents worthWhatever note you blow youre never more than a semitone away from the correct one....(Miles Davis)
-
25th October 2006 11:04 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
- Join Date
- Always
- Location
- Advertising world
- Age
- 2010
- Posts
- Many
-
25th October 2006, 11:14 AM #62Member
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
- Posts
- 67
Hi Kiwigeo,
Yes thats for the quick hr rate calculation. We had to do all the work, absoulutely nothing was done for us ( in this level course).
Looking forward to making a classical or now accoustic bass next year.
I also posted in the Events area (Did not think anyone would give replies obviously while I was away they all got very excited - as have I)
All good
Fiona
-
25th October 2006, 11:14 AM #63
"..you pay $45 plus an hour for a plumber to fix a tap washer in your laundry"
I paid 2 builders 55 bucks an hour each to shoot nails into framing timber....could have hired the gun and done it myself. <shrugs> Its all relative I guess.
If you never made a mistake, you never made anything!
-
25th October 2006, 11:34 AM #64Senior Member
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Location
- melbourne
- Posts
- 221
Martin, I don't know about that. ..Although I did have a lot of opportunities to do lots of different tasks over the 4 years i was there.....and to do certain procedures repeatitively and quickly. There is alot of stuff i have not done at all..
Its certainly guitar making on speed.....like you said before 200 hours for one of your non fancy ones ....where as i think we would be working somewhere around 10 hours or less for basic model......but a CNC is roughing necks and making and slotting fingerboards.....
To give you an idea...when i was in assembly.....my job was to fit necks, radius F/B ,plane the fall-a-way, glue on fingerboards ,fret the neck ready for dressing, shape the neck and final sand neck ready for paint, cut slots in the face for any piezo system and output jack, fit and glue in nut...and we were expected to complete 5 guitars a day...which was guitar making at a rapid rate of knots..... and in there somewhere you had to keep your tools sharp ....you get it down though .sometimes i could fit a dovetail neck in less than 5 minutes others would take 40 minutes of frustration to get a tight fit with the right angle....you had one eye on the clock .which could be quite stressful..you knew exactly where you were supposed to be and it was a race to get to certain tools before the other assemblers otherwise you'd have to wait.....which there was no time for ...
In the prep department i started in we used to start the week on a 100 grit hard belt sander truing up the solid timber bodies (not ply) to prepare for cutting the the binding channel which involved lots of different routers and jigs because of the many models . Then we bend all the binding and bind the guitars ...then scrape the binding down ...then knock the binding down on the face and backs on a slack belt sander....then do any abalone inlays and backstrips and sand that down....we'd also cut all the dovetails in the necks and bodies ready for assembly.and then if thats not enough we'd have to final sand all the guitars from the previous week that we'd sent to the assembly department ready for paint shop...3 of us on a good week sometimes would do 100-120 guitars.
Now ....I've just spent 2 weeks making an outside mold and its still not ready.....
so there is a lot of stuff i have never done like finishing which is the one thing that seems so far removed from anything i know.....i know nothing about bracing....or carving a neck without half of it being done by computer routers....i've never bent sides .....or made the body for that matter...
sorry for the long story on basically saying I'm envious of the guys that can do it from start to finish thats the goalLast edited by gratay; 26th October 2006 at 09:37 AM. Reason: wanted
-
25th October 2006, 12:06 PM #65Banned
- Join Date
- Jun 2005
- Location
- Earth, occasionally
- Posts
- 886
The question was under the other thread you were using and was about what booth number you were on So much to do.... Not much point in answering him now.
I have never said the guitar was not real, just that the pictures I saw showed a better quality unit than I would expect from 60 hours of construction. If I understand you correctly, this was made totally by you, which means it is not represenatative of what you said was incorporated in the course you've been selling..(sorry enthusiastic about.)
Last comment, I've got a real world to find
-
25th October 2006, 08:55 PM #66Senior Member
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Location
- melbourne
- Posts
- 221
Hey Fiona,
I was just looking at the guitar making site and was wondering who is "Thomas Lloyd" ?
cheers
-
25th October 2006, 11:02 PM #67
Myguitar
Had to step off my lurkers box to say hi and compliment the guitar you made ....Having seen it up close at the wood show....well it is a very nice piece of work. I walked up to the stand whilst you were taking questions from a bunch of young 11-14 yr olds on the saturday and I have to say your enthusiasm and patience with the kids was exceptional.
-
26th October 2006, 07:09 AM #68Whatever note you blow youre never more than a semitone away from the correct one....(Miles Davis)
-
26th October 2006, 09:11 AM #69Senior Member
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Location
- melbourne
- Posts
- 221
Ok...thanks martin,
I really like carson - crickmores work as well...beautiful guitars
I have 2 friends that play crickmores ...ones got an om style and one has an archtop ...both sound amazingLast edited by gratay; 26th October 2006 at 09:39 AM. Reason: did
-
26th October 2006, 09:41 AM #70Member
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
- Posts
- 67
Thanks guys for the feedback. Yeah the school kids were like vultures. You can tell the ones who play electric they charge in and ask loads of questions and there are quite a few who actually are busting to make an acoustic. The lollie bowl on the stand was like bees to a honey pot.
Thomas Lloyd is a family name(sentinmental value) Chris Wynne is the luthier. Phil Carson Crickmore was the person that chris did his first work of art with ( hee hee ). He still has the guitar and it is still holding together!
I still dont quite get it that I actually made my guitar but other students have said the same thing. It is such an amazing experience and not being a player I dont get reminded enought that I made it.
Chris keeps it and plays it. Looking forward to next years adventure!
-
27th October 2006, 06:12 AM #71Banned
- Join Date
- Jun 2005
- Location
- Earth, occasionally
- Posts
- 886
This is the scourge of Melbourne speaking,
I have spoken to Chris Wynne, regarding the history of Fiona's guitar and he has satisfied my concerns.
Therefore, I wish to say the following,
It is one helluva guitar, beautiful timbers and excellent finish. It is a tribute to Fiona's ability as a student and wood worker and also to Chris' ability as a tutor and Luthier. I am only sorry that I did not get play it.
An excellent, tasteful, unit created in amazing time.
Well done Fiona.
Regards,
Rob
-
27th October 2006, 08:51 AM #72
Good to see you got things sorted there Rob. Was getting a bit lost with some of your posts.
Whatever note you blow youre never more than a semitone away from the correct one....(Miles Davis)
-
27th October 2006, 09:39 AM #73
Good onya Bob...
If you never made a mistake, you never made anything!
-
27th October 2006, 09:43 AM #74Member
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
- Posts
- 67
Thankyou Rob for taking the time to chat with chris. I am sure he was very polite in giving you the info you needed. Sorry you had to go to that degree and I could not support your enquiries.
I only wished you had come into the stand and had a chat. Several other woodies did and told me thier (code) names just to catch up and of course check out what other students had done. as well.
All good. Brian d is another student on projectguitar.com that is posting a great report on what and how he is making his guitar. Lots of pics and running comentary. He is making a classical in blackheart sassafrass. Arrrrh! (Pirate noise)
-
27th October 2006, 10:08 AM #75Banned
- Join Date
- Jun 2005
- Location
- Earth, occasionally
- Posts
- 886
Just a simple thanks would have done Fiona.
Sorry but I don't need to know what other students are doing until it appears here.
Take care
Rob
Similar Threads
-
Guitar Timbers
By Auskart in forum TIMBERReplies: 8Last Post: 4th June 2006, 09:45 PM -
Aussie timbers for chip carving
By starr in forum WOODCARVING AND SCULPTUREReplies: 1Last Post: 25th May 2005, 05:31 PM -
What Aussie timbers do overseas people know?
By echnidna in forum WOODWORK - GENERALReplies: 38Last Post: 7th March 2005, 05:41 PM -
Bending Aussie timbers
By jacko in forum TIMBERReplies: 1Last Post: 26th February 2004, 08:36 PM -
aussie timbers
By Paul Freestone in forum TIMBERReplies: 0Last Post: 6th July 1999, 07:00 PM