My Worst Oopsie

sequoia

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With the revival of the old Vegan Uke thread, I was going through some old pictures of the build and came across what has to be my worst nightmare oopsie which I had long forgotten. I was trimming down the top with a coping saw as I used to do when I inadvertently cut into the sides. There were harsh, profane words said such as “Oh shucks!” or “goldarnit!”. There was nothing for it but to go into total hide mode.

oopsie.jpg oopsie 2.jpg

I was totally screwed as the cut was too deep to sand out and it went across the grain lines. This was a custom uke and the customer had picked out the wood so there was no going back. I did my best and filled the gash as best I could. Funny, but she never noticed it, but I know it is there and see it. The only good thing about it is that it was on the “down side” and the player doesn’t see it. Bad memories.
 
Nice save! Well done, that man.

John Colter
 
From my own experiences I cannot believe that that is your worst Oopsie...come on now be more honest :rolleyes:
 
From my own experiences I cannot believe that that is your worst Oopsie...come on now be more honest :rolleyes:

Okay, okay... Then there was Goofy Uke. The top slid when I glued it down and put the soundhole off center. I was going to keep it as a private player but just couldn't stand to look at it. It went into a closet to hibernate where I would occasionally find the deformed thing. I finally stripped it for parts and burned the rest.

goofy uke.jpg
 
My worst one was on an electric guitar. Back around 1980 my shop was in El Paso, Texas. In those days you could go across the border for a cheap lunch and fill up your tank with 20 cent a gallon gas. Good times! I was one of the few luthiers in town that would do weird stuff. I really thought I knew what I was doing. Youthful bravado! Anyway, a player brought me a Gibson Explorer electric guitar, one of those odd shaped solid bodies, and ask me to bind the top with white plastic. No problem, I can do that! Easy, right. About half way around the body, my router foot went right into the output jack hole. Interesting! Not my exact words at the time. After some consideration, and probably several beers, I decided the only choice I had was to cut about 1/2" off the body, parallel to the original shape. I did that, bound the body, and did a black sunburst because I was also unable, or unqualified, to match the original finish. Bottom line is the owner never noticed the change of shape and i shamefully never said a word. There is now a collectable, one of a kind Gibson Explorer out there somewhere. Always fun to hear builder's stories.--Bob
 
...I was trimming down the top with a coping saw ...

Id recommend to just buy the cheapest lam trimmer you can find ($25 at harbour freight) and put a flush cut bit in it to trim the back and top.
 
With the revival of the old Vegan Uke thread, I was going through some old pictures of the build and came across what has to be my worst nightmare oopsie which I had long forgotten. I was trimming down the top with a coping saw as I used to do when I inadvertently cut into the sides. There were harsh, profane words said such as “Oh shucks!” or “goldarnit!”. There was nothing for it but to go into total hide mode.

View attachment 128119 View attachment 128121

I was totally screwed as the cut was too deep to sand out and it went across the grain lines. This was a custom uke and the customer had picked out the wood so there was no going back. I did my best and filled the gash as best I could. Funny, but she never noticed it, but I know it is there and see it. The only good thing about it is that it was on the “down side” and the player doesn’t see it. Bad memories.

If I did that I would be tempted to cut it all the way across and fill it with a piece of contrasting wood, the repeat it on the other side.
Am I nuts?
But I think it looks pretty darn good.
 
My most recent was a black mesquite and cedar soprano. I slotted the board with the stewmac template. Went through the entire build, laid out the bridge location with my normal method and glued it down. It was a pretty nice little uke but it played almost a half step flat at the 12th.

I slotted my nut where the first fret should be. Still working on how I am going to salvage it. Reneck or have a 13ish scale soprano with a new top or a bridge with a big footprint.
 
Wastella, wouldn't it be easier to accept the position of the bridge and the length of the neck and change just the fret board?

John Colter
 
Wastella, wouldn't it be easier to accept the position of the bridge and the length of the neck and change just the fret board?

John Colter

Yup, that is probably the easiest way to fix it. Popping off fretboards is very doable with a hot separation knife and a bit of patience. Throw the old fretboard onto the trash heap of history and make a new one.
 
I don't know why that hadn't occurred to me. I have popped a fretboard before and have a pallet knife ground for that purpose. Thanks!
 
Tip :eek:ld:: For removing fretboards, put a hot clothes iron on the frets over the place you are removing and set the heat setting to immolate. The heat from the iron is transmitted through the metal of the frets through the fretboard and helps melt the glue in the middle.
 
I was trimming down the top with a coping saw as I used to do when I inadvertently cut into the sides.


I cut my thumb with a Dremel rotary blade. The trip to the ER the next day earned me a bill of $5,997.00 for a quick wash and bandage. I was eventually able to work it down to $75.

In the uke world, my first attempt to shape a block of mahogany into a neck resulted in a neck that was too thin. Fortunately, that block provided enough wood for two necks.
 
One of the downsides of Spanish heel construction is that you have the neck installed when you cut the binding channels. In an earlier build of a concert uke, I glued some thin wood shims to each side of the neck thinking that I could carefully rout up to the neck and stop when I just nicked the shim. Only on this side the router bit "bit" and ate right through the shim. I was able to pretty well hide the goof by insetting a matching piece of the neck wood.

Oops.jpg
 
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Ouch! I can totally see how that could happen. Bad things can happen fast with routers as we all know. Would love to see the "after" picture of the fix.
 
This was a cherry concert, given to a friend. The repair is not invisible, but no one complained.

Oops_2.jpg
 
Good effort.
A couple of white dots on the side of the fretboard by the 12th fret would distract the eye and make the mend even less visible. You'd also have to put white dots on frets 5, 7 and 10 as well to make it look as though it wasn't an afterthought.
Miguel
 
Here's another good goof. I sawed the scarf joint in this koa neck the wrong direction. The only way to salvage it was to place the joint in the middle of the neck. It worked out fine in the end. There is a CF reinforcement in there too.

Scarf_oops.jpg
 
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