As I grow older, I increasingly reflect on my experiences and how they have contributed to my knowledge and understanding. I am also seeking ways to capture and pass my lessons to others. Many of my accomplishments were made possible by the generosity of those who took the time to educate and train me, and now, I feel compelled to pay it forward and help the next generations. Since most of my work relates to software and business, which can be challenging to demonstrate easily, I began exploring ways to bring these concepts to life using tangible, real-world examples.
I decided to use a hands-on project to demonstrate the value of experience and education. The project ended up being building an SG guitar kit from Leo Jaymz. The first kit was an excellent learning experience. I went into the process having prior DIY and crafting experience, including restoring a 1971 Corvette, fine jewelry craftings, blacksmithing, bladesmithing, doing many household repairs, flooring, cabinet making, etc., but this was my first time building any musical instrument, even from a kit.
During the first build, I noticed some minor flaws, and when I contacted Leo Jaymz, they graciously provided me with replacement parts and a replacement kit. This provided me with a substantial opportunity in the education and experience series. I could take my education, hands-on experience, and recently gained experience with this kit and get a second shot.
For the second build, I addressed the mistakes from my first attempt:
Despite addressing many issues from the first build, I encountered a new issue with the body developing a minor fracture due to a glue seam aligning with the bridge and tailpiece bushing drill-outs. However, the guitar remains very playable, and I injected some CA glue into the crack as a preventive measure.
After building these two kits, I feel more secure in attempting a more expensive kit or understanding what to look for when purchasing a used or new instrument from a name brand. The sense of pride and accomplishment from using something you built with your own hands is incredible.
For anyone considering building a kit guitar, I suggest being more aggressive with body shaping, sanding, and prep and testing stain penetration, as the factory-provided protective finish goes quite deep.
Circling back to education and experience, I came into both builds with theoretical education and hands-on experience from various woodworking projects. However, I still ran into issues due to my lack of specific experience, hands-on education, and specialized tools and shop setup. The amount of learning and hands-on education provided by this experience was invaluable and supports the notion that theoretical education cannot replace hands-on education; they are complementary and synergistic.
Moving forward, the education and experience series will explore new aspects while still having some tie-back to musical instruments, as my playing ability is novice at best. The next series of articles will show that, in many cases, no theoretical knowledge can prepare one for real-world needs.
If you have strong opinions, please share your thoughts on education and experience using the Google form link below. I also welcome you to use my scheduling link at the bottom of this post to schedule a time to talk about this topic directly. I plan on using this blog series to kick off some videos to be posted online.
Thank you very much, and I'll see you on the next one! Google Form: Education and Experience
