Truth be told and my apologies to fellow Americans here but I am betting they are well aware of this too, but most Americans are egocentric nationally so their knowledge of other nations and histories is vapid.
I find other cultures and histories fascinating and human nature being universal, see historical trappings that other nations have made in the past (such as the UK, among many) and use my knowledge of history to forecast future events here, since we are for the most part too ignorant of history and culture other than our own to NOT make the same mistakes that nations have in the past.
Plus my old job was a mini-UN. I had 40 engineers in my international team. 6 were American born and bred. That coupled with a lot of travel has blessed me with picking up some of the idiosyncratic nuances of other cultures.
That way I am not perceived as just another "loud-mouthed "oozing superiority" American Jerk" when I come to visit. 😉
I mean, GB taught us about empire overextension and how NOT to trade with de-facto colonies. Does it appear that we have collectively learned our lesson? (rhetorical question).
Rule #1: If you want to be accepted as a neighbor then when in Rome, do what the Romans do. Leave your superiority complex in the trash when abroad. In fact, leave it in the trash period. We all bleed the same color blood.
@petejb Yep, building guitars is one of a few things that keeps me going and semi sane. I’m juggling a lot of things in life right now but it’s all good stuff, it’s just taking a lot of work to get there. I do try and cut myself off from the wider world but I do need to know what is going on and read the writing on the wall.
I did the same as you in terms of looking for a way to learn guitar building a few years ago now and found this website and Mark’s wonderful courses; I’ve never looked back. I was in a deep depression at the time and needed something to help me out of a big hole, the multi faceted world of guitar building was and still is, making guitars. This place saved me and continues to do so.
I see you are quite the expert on building amplifiers, that’s definitely something I would take an interest in one day. My knowledge of electrical stuff is pretty much zero and my soldering skills are not that good either. I wouldn’t know where to start but I may buy a kit one day and hope I don’t blow myself up.
I look forward to watching you build a great guitar. 👍
Practicing now on a pine guitar. I have all of the jigs made but out of too much excitement I cut out the body BEFORE engaging in any routing steps. Ugh. Follow directions, right? But, a decent craftsman should be able to adjust accordingly, I still have the blueprints with the centerline so I am pretty sure that I can work around this out-of-proper-order error.
I'll post pictures later of my progress. I am going to master all of the methods and techniques on cheap pine first, THEN move on to the african mahogany, which is not cheap!
Oh my goodness I am having a blast though. My wife was not happy with the $1,300 US bill for the thickness sander but I am! Darn, should have bought one years ago. I cannot believe how powerful a woodshop tool that is. Can a planer take off fractions of a millimeter? Maybe, perhaps, coarsely, but a thickness sander can.
Went with quality. As I like to say "Buy quality, cry once". Bought a Jet. Darn good equipment.
So now my woodshop is nearly complete (missing a lathe, but I do not need it for these projects). I have:
A radial saw, table saw, spindle sander, thickness planer, thickness sander, scroll saw, bandsaw, jointer, router table, drill press, every luthier tool under the sun except for the fret saw jig that I am waiting on, tons of hand tools, tons of hand powered tools.
SERIOUSLY considering retiring early from engineering and getting into guitar-making and custom cabinet making. I have saved enough so I just need a nominal income stream. Cabinet making will bring in higher demand but guitar-making will bring in higher happiness.
I have never had so much fun in my near 6 decades on Earth. THANKS MARK. Had I not stumbled across your Udemy courses I would not be reconning this path.