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After over a thousand instruments, I still screw up

Well, I had a serious brain fart today. I'm making the Mini Taser Teddley Bow. I made the one string humbucker and cut the mounting holes for it and made the rear cavity to access the pup. Next was a cavity to access the jack and the hole to mount the jack, then drill the wire route hole. I did that, then resanded the wood (2X4s) and applied 2 coats of the vintage Fender butterscotch stain, and a coat of clear lacquer.

I was feeling pretty good, a great few hours work. Then I noticed it. UH OH, I really screwed up. Major goof. When I did the cavity and the hole for the jack I put it on the wrong side of the guitar. The jack was in the wrong spot. The jack was now on the top edge of the guitar. I'm an idiot.

What now? This is a real head scratcher. I don't want to trash it after all the work to form & sand the wood into that sexy shape. Making it left handed is out of the question as this one has already been claimed by a good friend. I have to salvage it.

My solution is to plug the jack hole with a dowel, make another cavity and redrill the wire route. I'll then fit an entire back cover (from a cigar box).

I'll sand down the edges of the back cover to blend with the curvelature of the body, and sand down the dowel plug so it fits in seamlessly. There's a little sanding clean up around the cavities. I already showed it to my friend via Skype, he's cool with it and we had a good laugh.

The moral of this story? It doesn't matter how many times you've built an instrument, you can still screw up big time...

Hope y'all got a laugh out of this!

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I used a magic marker to make the dowel plug look like another knot. I used a Padron cigar box to make the back. I'm happy with how it came out!

What mistake?

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Permalink Reply by Hollis Fenn on May 20, 2017 at 1:22pm

I feel your pain. I drilled a hole in my last box for the jack, then realized it was in the wrong place. So I drill another. Nope. Wrong end of the box. So I drill another. Oh yay, that's it! Same solution as yours, cut some dowel plugs and glued them in. My third build. In another hobby I've done hundreds of builds and found a new way to make a mistake on just about every one. I won't give up up, just keep plugging away

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Permalink Reply by Kigar on May 20, 2017 at 2:52pm

I have mixed feelings between 1) I am sorry about your problem and 2) and I am glad it is not just me! It looks like a cool guitar and a good save, but always remember to say - I meant to do that

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Permalink Reply by Jim Morris on May 20, 2017 at 3:16pm

Excellent save Ted, and thanks for sharing the story. I'm only up to about 200 builds and should know better but I still make similar mistakes. Part of this, for me, comes from continuing to work when I'm tired but really want to get it done by a certain date. Figuring out a creative fix is a cool adventure in itself.

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Permalink Reply by Lonman on May 20, 2017 at 3:49pm

nice rebound, love the color and shape

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Permalink Reply by JL on May 22, 2017 at 1:47am

There is always a creative way to deal with a oopsie...a quick brainstorm on extra holes: psycho knob, active EQ, battery box, compartment for picks and/or slide, cell phone holder mount, flask holder, spare string compartment, resin or chalk drawer, set-list holder, ipod holder for drum-machine accompaniment, business card slot, 1/4in cable storage, eye-bolt for playing strap and/or wall hanging, ...