Error trying to make bootable Mavericks USB drive MBP 5,3 running 10.9.4 trying to make a bootable USB 2 drive b/c my wife's HDD on a similar MBP failed. New drive in the mail. I tried using a 4-5 yr old Lexar 8GB and got this vague error.

Since I just bought a new SanDisk 16GB I'm thinking maybe I needed a newer drive, but no go, same error. Have tried to erase, partition, repair, etc both USB drives in Disk Utility.
There is an automation tool called DiskMaker X. All you need for the program to work is the disk image that you are trying to make a usb of. It does all the work for you. Just make sure that you have a full image and not a partial one.