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Top 10 List - Habits of Highly Effective Full-Time Luthiers

erikbojerik

erikbojerik

Sep 11, 2005
1,643
9
Gaithersburg, Maryland
#1
Here are the Top 10 personal habits and philosphical outlooks of highly-effective full-time luthiers, as compiled by the home office of Erik Hauri in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Please feel free to add to this list, as your experience and creativity warrant.

#10 - gets used to negative profit for the first 10 years
#9 - lifelong renter (or lives with parents)
#8 - shoots for 1,000,000 miles on the car
#7 -develops an eye for good garge-sale lawn furniture to outfit the crib
#6 - simplifies culinary scope to rice, peanut butter and top-ramen
#5 - cultivates a social life with pets
#4 - gets to 30 with 8-1/2 fingers
#3 - gets to 40 with no hearing in the ear that always faces the dust collector
#2 - gets to 50 with wood-dust black lung
#1 - gets to 60 with a brain the size of a raisin thanks to nitro

:bassist:
 
#7
erikbojerik said:
#10 - gets used to negative profit for the first 10 years
Click to expand...

5 maybe... more than that is just due to bad business practices!

erikbojerik said:
#9 - lifelong renter (or lives with parents)
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I rent, but my partner owns a home. This is typical in some areas/professions. My brother is a professor in Brooklyn and he rents too... and he's 62. :)
erikbojerik said:
#8 - shoots for 1,000,000 miles on the car
Click to expand...

We have a new car. :) Of course it's the wife's new car... Luthiers need trucks or vans.

erikbojerik said:
#7 -develops an eye for good garge-sale lawn furniture to outfit the crib
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Hey, you have a workshop right? Make your own stuff!

erikbojerik said:
#6 - simplifies culinary scope to rice, peanut butter and top-ramen
Click to expand...

That's called "having a family"!

erikbojerik said:
#5 - cultivates a social life with pets
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I love my cat!

erikbojerik said:
#4 - gets to 30 with 8-1/2 fingers
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I still have 10.

erikbojerik said:
#3 - gets to 40 with no hearing in the ear that always faces the dust collector
Click to expand...

That's almost true.. but not from woodworking.... always wear earplugs!

erikbojerik said:
#2 - gets to 50 with wood-dust black lung
#1 - gets to 60 with a brain the size of a raisin thanks to nitro
Click to expand...

I just turned 50 last week. My health is great. It's important to use respirators and dust masks!
 
#8
MNbassist said:
#11 Has huge piles of scrap wood lying around the house and swears that it might be useful
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eleonn said:
I thought that I was was nuts!!! ...I nice to know that I'm not alone!!! :p
Click to expand...

T2W said:
no you guys arent alone, I got 27 species in my bedroom, from small tiny scraps to big boards. and number 12: if youre too obsessed with building, get ready for countless marriages and divorces.
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Son of Magni said:
hmm...
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I have some scraps ...SOMEBODY STOP ME!

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NOTE: I have actually been able to get a neck or two out of my scrap pile!
 
#11
waseok said:
By the way don't u kind of discourage young luthiers? well i read this and kinda thinking that i don't want to be a luthier...its fun, but working for negative profit? :(
Click to expand...

You should be able to break even... with anything in manufacturing the key is making things quickly and inexpensively. The longer it takes you to do something, the less money you are making. This is why the big time builders are going to CNC.

We make patterns for everything, even if it's a one off wooden pickup cover. You never know when you might need it again, and after the pattern is made it's a breeze to make another one.

The other thing is to try and figure out how to minimize waste. I remember visiting a shop of a well known bass maker, and he had this pile of wood scraps from where he cuts them from the back of the neck. I try to use a 1" piece of surfaced wood (really about 3/4") for my necks, and waste almost none of it. Cut-offs from the top become the headplate, etc.

And now I make my own pickups, so even though thats time consuming, I can do it in my spare time at home and save some $$$ on pickups. Next up will be bridges. :D

Lately we also do full scale drawings before we start on a project.

Measure twice, and cut once!
 
#13
waseok said:
By the way don't u kind of discourage young luthiers? well i read this and kinda thinking that i don't want to be a luthier...its fun, but working for negative profit? :(
Click to expand...

Think about this, how many people will spend lots of money on a bass made by a company/luthier that they've never heard of? How many instruments do you have to make and sell before you get name recognition?

It's clear that for a good while any new builder will be selling at a discount from what they'd like to be getting. But over time you will develop both your skills and your fan base, and if you are good enough you can make a living at it (or so I've heard).
 
#18
John Wentzien said:
#1 misconception--"Musicians have lots of money to buy stuff!!!"
(especially full-time musicians)
Click to expand...

#2 misconception--"Musicians need a lot of stuff to be good musicians"

You really don't of course. How many basses can you play? Don't get me wrong, I have a bunch, but I play one or two of them regularly.

So you need maybe 2 good basses and a good amp. That's it.

People get into this pattern "If only I had [blank] I'd be [blank] and have [blank]". So if only I had an XYZ bass, I'd be a good player like such-and-such, and be famous!" No... wish it were that simple! :hmm:

I have a customer that would rather buy a dozen crappy Squiers and have me modify them, then save all that money and have one exceptional bass made.

Seems silly to me! :D
 

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