Official Luthiers Forum!

Some of you will know that I recently published a book about my approach to instrument making, and I found writing a rather enjoyable process. So much so I already have a few ideas kicking around for another. This is where members of the forum could help.

It seems to me like there are now so many amateur makers out there, many producing some very good work. I'd be really interested to know what many of you "get" from lutherie - in particular, those of you who do not do this for a living, but as a hobby. What brought you to it? What have you learned, about the trade and about yourself since you began? How do you feel about the time you spend making, or the time you spend not making?

If you've been building for a few years, how has the experience changed? Has your relationship with lutherie changed over the time since you first got the bug?

A lot of questions, but I'd like to know. It would really help with the chapter I'm on with at the moment!

Nigel

http://www.ypdbooks.com/photography/366 ... 00333.html

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nigel

http://www.theluthierblog.com

Its a bit of an escape, if I need to calm down or just have spare time on my hands then its a great outlet I'm fairly new to luthierie, but I hope to do it for a living after college and university I am hoping to do a university degree course in Instrument Building too, although I have already started making guitars. I just feel calm and content while I'm in my little workshop planing, sanding and chiseling. That's what I get out of luthierie.

Tom Dodson

Another way to get to know stringed instruments, as well as bring some new ones into the world. I love music, but it's always been about the instruments. I love looking at them, listening to them, playing them, and most of the time, building them. Each project I've completed has really just been a stressful and slightly less expensive way to get the instrument that's "missing" from my collection. If you plan on doing this for a living, this is an effective way to start, because if you finish it but can't sell it, you have no problem keeping it. If you plan on keeping it from the start, than the motivation is there to make sure you get what you would want. For me it started out with curiosity. I wanted a bass, this seemed to be a good way to try this out and maybe get a decent bass out of the process. After that I wanted an electric guitar with a certain pickup combination and body shape, but my intention was to sell it. Got that, and unfortunately I still do! Next time round it was "Gotta get a better mandolin than my plywood Fender jobby" So I built me a better mandolin. Took a try or three but got one in the end, and it was still cheaper than something as good, and it would be nigh impossible to get a mando with the specs this one has. Working on an octave mandolin now. It will be very unique and still a bit less expensive than something with similar features, despite the fact that I'm on my third rim assembly, third neck, and fourth fingerboard. It is true, building is less expensive than buying, but only if you already have the equipment.

Stress Relief is a big one , Its me and the wood and over 5000 othe luthiers here watching .. Seriously , Ive said before that ive done wood working my whole life , furniture , cabinetry , toys , u name it . I am no major craftsman , but what ive done has turned out nice . Guitars have been a much more challanging aspect and I love the challange . Its kinda like golf i think , When I finally learn how ....... I will quit !

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The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

As a hobbyist, I get many things from building – too many to describe here and expect anyone to read this whole post. A great way to relax, a unique connection to music and the wonderful feeling you get when you bring a pile of wood to life. Many aspects of designing and building instruments fit my personality. It seems that every facet of instrument construction involves finding a balance between opposing objectives to attain the end goal.

When I first began this hobby, I was reluctant to try various steps of the process. I seemed to always be looking for workarounds for the tasks that seemed impossible to do. I slowly started incorporating these things and repeatedly learned the same lesson. It can be done just like it says in the book (or on the forums), I just have to breakdown and try it. I have gone from the assumption that a mere mortal like me could never build a guitar, to the attitude that given enough time and experience, I can (will be able to) do even the most complicated features. I like to keep my old attitude close by so I am not offended when people see my work and say it looks nice then ask if I hang them up for decoration. . .

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Luthrie is a sop for my creativity. ....Though I'd prefer to reserve the title of "luthier" to those who make acoustic instruments and have many times my knowledge and experience on the subject.

I'll have to make some money at some point but I'm semi-retired from selling a business so I have the luxury of time to improve as a builder. Being, and to some extent, identifying as an artist, I've always needed a focus and outlet for creativity. As a songwriter and home recording enthusiast I was fairly prolific when I was younger. I also did a lot of drawing and some painting as a young adult. In my business I gravitated toward, and exclusively did the research and development for my company. When the business was sold I had the opportunity to do the one thing I wanted to do since I began playing guitar...to build them. My business forced me to acquire and learn to use cad and cnc equipment which established a methodolgy for building guitars.

Sometime before I started building guitars I began to see myself as goal oriented and methodical. This isn't something I noticed in my youth or most of my adulthood but as I grew in knowledge and capability in my business it started to dawn on me that I had the ability to focus on projects...and see them through from the beginning to the end (thanks Dad). It occurred to me about ten years ago that I had the tools, knowledge, and disposition to buiild electric guitars (my true love) at a high level and although the tooling and part creation represented no particular challenge to someone who created processes for 20 years, there was still a large body of knowledge to acquire and apply.

Interestingly, since I began building I haven't written one song or recorded anything but short clips of guitars I built. I seem to be able to only focus on one creative effort at a time. In my business I did research projects which took several months to complete and there would sometimes be many months between projects. During the projects I couldn't compose or record music. Knowing that I wouldn't even start them. Between the projects I was able to finish recording projects. Since I started building guitars, however, there has been no real downtime and I haven't written or recorded a single song in three years. I play guitar a lot, laying down a passage on a phrase sampler and playing lead over it, but I call it "research" now.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

As a retired orthopaedic surgeon I find musical instrument building to be a perfect substitute for the operating room. I get all the same feelings, especially when I get into trouble!

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Stress relief is a pretty big one for me too. I find that I am able to clear my head of all the busyness of my normal life. As an artist, I also find that it's a great way to express myself through careful design and construction.

It's my therapy.

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-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
Instagram | YouTube

Since the income I get from lutherie can easily be ignored, I'll answer.

It structures my time, prevents me from having too much of it free, and staves off boredom, while allowing me to think that I have brought something positive into being, and as a result feel good at the end of a day.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

It gives me a reason to think....think about how to fix all my errors

I agree.
When a client leaves my shop with a guitar that he/she loves it's a real high.
Even if it's a repair .
I still have not made my best guitar yet!
So I keep on trying!
It's a vocation for some -hell for others.

Mike

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Mike Collins

I am 56 and have spent most of my career as an electrical, hardware and software engineer. I love the joy of designing and building things and thinking through design and execution processes. As a very senior engineer I currently have few opportunities to actually build things. Guitar building as a hobby is giving me that part of my life back. Opportunity to solve hard problems, opportunity for creative challenges, ability to show off accomplishments, unlimited opportunity to learn and refine skills, the ability to be part of a specialize community …
Also I am one year away from my youngest daughter going off to college; I have been a very active parent. I need a product endeavor to fill the whole.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

And sometimes it's the same person!
Oh, I thought you said "vacation" - Same answer!

Fulfilling a, nearly, 30 year dream to build classical guitars.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Eats my wallet
Eats my time
Hurts my hands
Hurts my mind
I think I used to have a wife
Somewhere in my life
Now she's
Yonder far
Bill collector took her
With the car

Luthier dreams
Luthier woes
Lost his soul
So it goes
His mind is buzzing
With long lost tunes
But he's just high
On lacquer fumes
Long shop nights
Without a muse
Got them Luthier blues.

Hmmmmmmmmm,
Alan D.

Almost TO TRUE to be funny

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

nice thread folks...

how i got into this? too much spare time and hands that need to be busy. a love for music and its purveyors and lack of substantial talent to make it. a mid life crisis that came early in my thirties and a wife that is supportive. a need to direct my tendency to over-think things into a practical and mensurable endeavour that´s not too demanding. finally, lack of love for wealth.

what do i get from this? all that i need. probably less sex than before, though.

cheers,
miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

I have always loved to create things with my hands, this all started for me a couple of years ago when I wanted a 12 fret triple 0 size guitar but didn't want to pay 4 grand for one...so I thought lets try a kit guitar , so I purchased a Stew Mac 000 and have since become somewhat obsessed, so much for the 4 grand I didn't want to spend??!! I get an enormous since of accomplishment with every new method of construction I learn and with every guitar I finish. I work hard at my regular job so this is a great release for me, I find it mentally challenging and very relaxing , and the thought of learing a craft centuries old makes it humbling as well.

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MK5acoustics.com

I like building things out of wood,
and have been a carpenter for 36 years now.
So, I have the tools, knowledge of wood,
and have built about 17 guitars, elec and acoustic.
My legs just seem to carry me into my tiny shop,
and I keep chipping away at it.
There's nothing like stringing up a new build,
and hearing what it sounds like.
So far, so good!
I'm happy with my results.
Plus, people say "you built that!?".
Yup...

I can say little that hasn't already been said, except for this. When I first started trying to build guitars four years ago, it was about building something for myself that I could never buy. At this point, it's not all about the final product anymore. It's about the process. I don't think that would make sense to anyone that hasn't been there. I'm not sure it makes sense to me, but I think what I'm trying to say is that the shavings and sawdust are probably as important to me at this point as the finished guitar.

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David Morris

Why?

Hardest dang thing I've ever tried to do.

If I ever get that last 5 or 6 percent I'll probably quit...

Mikey

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The Biggest Little City, Nevada
www.hammondguitars.com
I love building guitars!

What brought me to it? My interest in building guitars started as a desire to give my wife, Kim, a special anniversary gift. I love listening to her play guitar and sing. Fortunately, she loves to play for me almost as much as I love listening to her. It works out well for both of us! Kim's guitar was not a high end instrument to begin with and it was starting to show some signs of wear so I decided to build her one for a gift. Thus the journey began.

Kim is an artist (http://www.kimeshelman.com) and I build frames for some of her work. So I had some woodworking experience but nothing to prepare me for building a guitar. Realizing that I would need some quality instruction if I were to make this gift a reality I began researching luthier classes... not as easy to find as one would think! Long story short I finally found Rick Davis and Cat Fox at Sound Guitar Workshop. I signed up for their Into to guitar making class, a build from kit class. I had not even finished that first class when I signed up for their scratch build Intermediate guitar making class. That was it, I was hooked.

What do I get out of it? That is the best part of all. While I thought the gift was for Kim, it turned out to be for me. When I enter my shop my mind set changes. Its not longer about how do I make a $, its how do I make the best guitar I possibly can. Nothing else enters my mind. When that changes, it will be time to stop. I only have a couple of guitars under my belt right now, but I have a couple in process and a waiting list of customers. I am fortunate that my day job pays me well so I do not need to earn a profit off of building. If I did, I am sure the day that I start worrying more about profit margin than building the best guitar I can would come much sooner. I hope that day never comes.

Building is also an incredible creative outlet. I am an engineer by trade and have always enjoyed art, music, and other creative endeavors. Building is the perfect combination of them. My wife and friends call me an artist and say I have found my artistic medium. I like to think they are right.

I've always been the kind of kid that took my toys apart and put them back together. I like to see how things work.
When I started playing guitar, that was no exception, I HAD to learn what made them tick, acoustic and electric.
I learned how to build electrics, and parlayed that into making a living, so for me, luthiery was a way to build a business repairing and maintaining instruments. Over 10,000 repairs later, I've quit the music store, and am going back to school to start a new career, and return guitar building to hobby/semi-professional status, and build more as opposed to trying to keep track of repairs. At one time I had 70 guitars backed up, and was working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I couldn't take it, and had to make a change.
Now I have enough of a customer base to work from home, and even have time to build instruments, with six instruments currently commisioned, a mix of acoustic and electric guitars, and an electric bass.
So for me, luthiery has been a source of stress, joy, and a means to provide for my wife and son.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

What does it do for me? The Escape from the day job which is stressful... but like many its also a passionate affair - I joke with my wife that its replaced the part of the mid life crisis that makes some seek out fast cars and other women... I lust after a fine quality chisel or a stunning piece of wood... guess I am strange

How I got into it? well I have played (Badly) for about 30 years - and first had the chance to enjoy a fine handmade instrument when i found a Tom Mates in a stroe in London in '88. I finally owned a Martin D42 in 2000 and these last few years like many have owned and sold a number of fine instruments... I was also lucky to work close to by to Guitar Junction in Worthing for a while, which specialised at the time in vintage instruments and also those interesting ones by many individual and small factory shops - getting to play and own some interesting things. The Acoustic Music Company in Brighton also has a huge array of US makers guitars such as Sheppard, Charis, Klepper (yes THE Howard) and even teh odd second hand Sobell from our shores etc... all wonderful instruments, all in different woods - and thats what I wanted to try...

Like many players who dream of making a guitar, I always expected to make only one for myself - so I went to David Dykes and found lovely Macassar ebony set, little realising the effect it would have on blunting tools! BUt I was laso luky to meet David Whiteman, the UK classical builder, and He agreed to let me work with him 1 evening a week for a couple of years to build a steel string. I think it was David's personality and love of the instrument as well as being stiunned by his skill that fed the passion... so much so that when teh first was build No 2 started straight away, again wih David - as it happened I made way too many mistakes and had to take it apart and reuse the parts on a Tenor which has just been completed. I have since moved to SCotland and have space for my own shop which is in teh process of being completed - but What I find interesting is that I was not put off or frustrated by tehy mistakes - just became more determined to learn more patience and improve my skillls to build better instruments - mostly as it will mean I can own a 'harem' that would be way to expensive or justifiable, and use exotic woods, but also because of teh un in it... that day when you string up is always fun .

Like many I came to this too late in life so will never have the skills to make instruments that would allow a career in this field - especially not with the financial commitments that I have picked up along the way.. I also wonder if it would also be just as stressful as any other job given the financial struggles of many builders, the needs to be involved in the financial management, narketing and teh rest of the stuff associated with running a small business... as a hobby its cool, as a job... would it be the same? That said I do envy those you when young took the plunge and learned a traditional craft rather than take a more convential path. If I was 17 or 18 again I would like to think I would have had teh balls to apprentice somewhere rather than the Degree...career route... that said As a hobby, It just might be teh best of both worlds

I agree with the things that most people have said above - especially about focusing on the process rather than on the product. I have a demanding day job, but the way that you get absorbed into a luthery project is a wonderful antidote to the stress that follows you home from work. I also love the way a half-made instrument just sits and waits for you on the bench even if you don't get back to it for days or weeks. And you can pause in the middle of a bad day and think of the bit of carving or clamping that you are going to do tonight or this weekend and it gets you out of the moment.

A further thing that I really value is the community of kindrid spirits that gather across this extraordinary medium of the web forum. I visit my favourite few websites on a daily basis. There is a great generosity of spirit and a totally selfless sharing of ideas on most of the forums. It makes me feel really good about the positive aspects of humanity. I imagine that it would have been extremely hard to be a hobby luthier in the days before online communication - especially if you are in a fairly remote location. But now there is a wealth of fantastic information at your fingertips.

Nigel, I have been inspired by a few of your youtube videos. My last 3 guitars have had soundhole bindings because I saw you do one. Everyone who plays those guitars comments on what a cool feature it is and says "how did you learn to do that?". Well, you taught me. We have never met, and I live in Australia. How cool is that?
(BTW, just ordered a copy of your book)
Cheers
Mark

lutherie , gives me a sense of accomplishment, that I do not get from any other activity ,except raising children.I was first exposed to lutherie 40 yrs ago , when I had 2 handmade guitars built for me.That sparked my interest. I slowly began to acquire tools, wood instruments $$, schooling (cabinetmaking)) etc etc.The rest is commentary.