Official Luthiers Forum!

Next Teusday, I will find myself in an unusual situation (I will be in possession of several hours of time all to myself). I'll be leaving Rockton Illinois early in the morning but will not need to be back in St. Louis at any particular time. Can anyone recommend a stop or short detour between these two towns worth visiting? Maybe a must see music shop or a lumber yard with good prices. Heck maybe one of you will be In your shop that day and want someone to pop in for a tour.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

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

If you want to divert into Chicago suburbs, Owl lumber has three stores which often used to have a huge selection of mahogany good for necks. They have lots of other wood, too, but I think you are better off getting other wood from luthier suppliers.

Just south of Rockton is the bustling metropolis of Rockford, Illinois, home to Jim Worland. A super nice guy and professional builder of all sorts of guitars. Dennis K would flip if he saw Jims harp guitars. East of there is the town of Merango, this is where you would find Martin Brunkalla, another full time builder who aside from guitars is quite accomplished at building violins. Both have websites so you can look them up and see if they would be available.

I'll be in the shop Tuesday if you want to drive a bit further. Not a tremendous amount of lutherie happening at this time but there's always some stuff kicking around to look at. One of the Owl stores is only 20 minutes away from me so we could swing by there.

Almost forgot The Hardwood Connection in Sycamore, IL. They've got Ancient Kauri if you have the funds.