If At First You Don’t Succeed…
Some people never learn. I know … because I’m one of them. This past week, having vowed (once again) never to build another guitar or banjo after 10 attempts that resulted in a couple of ‘keepers’, some maybes and the rest just testimony to prove the old adage ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try try again’ a bogus aphorism as useful as Qanon logic.
When we built our palace up the hill, I tried to learn the art of drywalling. Buddies told me I’d eventually get the hang of it, keep going. A couple weeks later and not only didn’t I see improvement, the mud and the tape were worse than when I started. Patience, you see, isn’t’ a virtue in my book. Instead of drywall we put cedar floor to ceiling. I hope never to handle a piece of gypsum board again as long as I live.
So when I swore off luthiery, what did I do? No, I didn’t build a piano if that’s what you’re thinking. I built an instrument stand to put some of my half assed acoustic guitars and banjos on, but halfway into the first one I thought why not make a music stand too, kill two birds with one table saw.
You know, of course, the first one was a little less than the vision I had at the start. Okay, but nothing to write home about … so I modified a bit of the design and built a second one. Which, in some way better, some ways worse. Don’t ask me why, but yeah, you guessed it, I built yet another one, figuring mistakes made but lessons learned. Course, being a so-called artist, not a furniture factory, I redesigned every time, apparently for the challenge and obviously for the aggravation.
The third one was actually better than the first two, even though I rebuilt half the second. As the finishing is drying below me here in the shack, I’m promising myself to stop. You know building more instrument stands. Although … that piano sounds challenging.
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Tags: Drywall and Acoustic Guitars, Knowing When to Throw in the Towel, Woodworking for Dummies