Builders Poll

[Woody OKeefe]

1) Name
Woody O'Keefe
2) Location
Prescott Arizona
3) Years building
I started in 2008 after lurking for a year
4) Guitars completed
1 and 1/2
5) # of Kits plus # of scratch builds
1 kit from John Hall. 2nd from purchased components.
6) Purchase or build necks, bridges, FBs, etc.
Purchase necks etc.

7) Other info you feel is important for all to know
I am a senior working musician and my kit from John Hall turned out so well sonically that I use it for all my gigs. This hobby has taught me patience and is extremely rewarding.

[Dan Bejnarowicz]

1) Name: Daniel Bejnarowicz (known in the old forum as Danielb
2) Location : Lake Zurich, IL
3) Years building: I started in 2007 and am still working (cant seem to leave good enough alone.
4) Guitars completed: 1 and 1/2 + a Uke in the works from scratch (Walnut left overs)
5) # of Kits plus # of scratch builds:
1 kit from KMG (OOO deep body; Love Ken's process!).
2nd from Bill Cory's "Chinese" trial kits. OM Hog. Needed to replace the majority of components (used the sides and back... thats about it. Outsourced everything else except carved my own neck.
3rd: Uke - still working out the details Concert body size tho.
6) Purchase or build necks, bridges, FBs, etc.
One carved neck, but purchased bridges, FBs, etc...

7) The KMG kit took me 3 years to complete and im still not happy with the finish!!

[rgogo65]

1. Name
Ray Ussery

2. Location
Penrose, Colorado

3. Years Building:
Three years.

4. Instruments Completed:
Guitars- (3) Custom Telecaster styles

5. # of kits:
(1) 000 African Rosewood/Adi from John
(In progress)
(1) D Cutaway Mahogany/Adi from John
(In progress)

Scratch builds:
(2) Custom Telecasters (In progress)
(3) Completed (Bought necks)

6. Bought/Build:

See number 5. above

7. Other Info.

I'm a retired Operating Engineer. Newly relocated to Penrose Colorado From a 43 year stay in Bullhead City Arizona.

I came from a musical family. My Father played guitar, bass and fiddle professionally during the 20's and 30's, mainly Jimmie Rodgers style of music.

My Mother was a Big Band Era musician and singer, playing Hawaiian Steel Guitar in the late 30's early 40's.

I have played guitar over 60 years, I also play bass, 5 string, mandolin, lap steel, Dobro, drums and the musical saw. I've been known to hurt a piano, but I could never really play one.

We had a family band my Son, Daughter and my self for 20 years and played most weekends during that time.

I've had the pleasure over the years to know some of the best guitar players to grace this planet, Merle Travis taught me my first six-string Harmony cord when I was 10, but sadly not much else rubbed off on me. =:)

I'm here because Bill Cory is a friend of mine and only lives 35 miles away and I LOVE the concept of building, my heath has slowed me down, but it hasn't dampened my will to build!
I'm not the "Sharpest tack in the box," But I'm sticking around here if you'll put up with me!

My previous handle here was "RAYRAY" but hey, all my friends call me Ray! I will enjoy hearing from anyone!

[deadedith]

David Bagwill from Medford, Oregon
62 years old, retired from the Title Insurance game.

Just finished KMG kit #3, starting KMG kit #4 on Tuesday morning. The first 3 turned out very well, sold #2 for the cost of the kit, this third one maybe the same or a wee bit of 'profit'. If you can call working for $.10 an hour making a profit..:-)

No previous woodworking experience, so it is a testament to Ken Cierp's product and mentoring that the instruments have turned out well. Been a player for many years, mostly playing electric , as fast and loud as I possible could. Then I developed tinnitus - who coulda guessed? :-)

Was converted to acoustic when I first heard the solo acoustic album by John McLauglin (1970 or so?) - I went right out and bought the exact same Ovation guitar he was using, turns out he plays better than I do...but the acoustic seed had been planted.

Goal - to build a perfect acoustic guitar - by which I mean fun to play, fun to listen to, lasting in value.

I have appreciated everyone's input to the Forum, and I hope to contribute something back as I gain experience.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

1) Name: Kevin Sjostrand, 55 yrs old, still working in the oil and fuel business. Hope I get to retire some day.

2) Location: Visalia, California in the central San Joaquin valley, only 2.5 hours from the beach, closer to the Sierra Nevadas

3) Years building: I started my first LMI kit in Feb of 2008 after stumbling upon Bill's forum and deciding that "Hey, I think I can do that too".

4) Guitars completed: I have finished 3 dreadnaughts. I am starting number 4 tomorrow, another dred, but with a cutaway, of Macauaba and sitka.

5) # of Kits plus # of scratch builds: My first build was a LMI serviced kit. I caught the bug and wanted to do more of the work, so my second was a LMI unserviced kit, so I guess it was a scratch build. I made the neck; a scarf joint/stacked heel affair, made the rosette, made the bridge, bent the sides, etc. #3 was a scratch build with a top off Ebay, but most of the other wood and parts from LMI. I picked up the B & S wood at the Healdsburg festival in LMI's store. That was great fun. The neck was made from one piece of Sapele.

6) Purchase or build necks, bridges, FBs, etc. : I am making my necks, bridges, fretboards from blanks; rosettes too.

7) Other info you feel is important for all to know: I am not much of a player. Started in the folk era, but didn't progress much and didn't continue playing. This is an amazing hobby that 3 years ago I would have never thought I would be doing. I sold #2, gave away #3, #4 will be given away to my son-in-laws brother, #5 should be for me, and #6 I hope to give to my pastor. After that, I have no plans, and may be done.....but I doubt it. I enjoy the forum and conversing with you all, and hope to meet as many of you some day as possible.

Kevin

[Ken C]

Name: Kenneth Casper

Location: SE Michigan

Years building: Guitars since 2007 / General woodworking since the mid 70's

Guitars completed: Six acoustics and one electric as of 9/1/10

Kit or scratch: The first acoustic and electric were kits

Purchase or build necks, bridges, FBs, etc: I don't make my own necks, but do make most everything else including fingerboards, bridges, bindings, and sometimes purflings. I also do my own finishing.

Other info you feel is important for all to know: I work in finance and have always found woodworking a nice diversion from my regular routine. I have built all sorts of cabinets and furniture, many with string or other inlays, but I exclusively build guitars now. I like the fact they are smaller and more manageable, I can use a wide variety of exotic woods, they provide plenty of opportunity for detail with inlays and purflings, and people find them much more interesting than a table, bed, or tambour mantle clock. And everyone knows, a person just can't own enough guitars!! I do play, primarily electric, and will do a few gigs a year with some local chaps, but I don't consider myself an accomplished musician by any stretch.

Ken

[John S]

1. John Shannon

2. Milford, OH (just outside Cincy)

3. First build begun in 2008

4 & 5. My first, which is fully completed, is a SM 000. I am in the process of spray finishing my second, a parlor kit from LMI, so hopefully it will be completed in the next month or so. My third, an OLF OM, is pretty much a scratch build (the neck & fretboard were purchased) that I'm building for my brother. I've just finished the body on that one and am starting on the neck.

6. Up to this point all of my necks have been purchased. However, I've acquired the tools/jigs for making a bolt on M&T, and have glued up some neck blanks, so a scratch neck is probably in my future. If my addiction persists I may also have to buy the jigs and templates for slotting fingerboards. I have both bought and made rosettes and headplates. I've bought pre-made inlays, but may try my hand at cutting my own.

7. I'm a 60 year old research professor who has played acoustic since high school (an unrepentant folkie). Some hand surgery in 2007 made playing a little more difficult (and it's hard enough as it is), so I thought I'd commission a guitar built to fit my hand. After pricing some of those (ouch!) I came across Bill's article in AG and decided that maybe I could build something suitable myself, which would allow me to dovetail two of my greatest interests, music and woodworking. I'd built a dulcimer from a kit back in the 70's (which I still have) and had always been intrigued with the idea of building a guitar. Bill's stuff and all of the information available on line in forums like this one made it a reality for me. I do this purely for the enjoyment of it-- and like everyone else here, I've found making music with something that started out pretty much as a box of wood pretty cool. Ken said that you can't have too many guitars, which is undoubtedly true, but he forgot to mention all the neat tools you get to buy!

[kredwards]

1. Name: Kent R. Edwards

2. Location: Mendota Heights, Minnesota (Read St. Paul)

3. Years Building: Started my first build this July.

4. I am installing the fret wire on my first. I hope to start the finishing soon.

5. #1 and only so far is a LMI serviced kit

6. I would like to build my next guitar from scratch. I was extremely intimidated by the idea of building a guitar. Bill Cory and Ken Cierp assured me that I could do it and would love it. How right they were, at least about the loving it. We will see how the first build sounds in about a month.

7. Though I have made a couple of mistakes and have had to learn a great deal, I have enjoyed every minute of the process. Well, actually, I did not particularly like the moment that I realized I had made the neck block too short after I had the box closed. Charlie Hoffman advised me and assured me that the fix was OK. He told me that the much of the art of guitar making is learning how to fix your mistakes.

[Eddie]

1) Name: Eddie Monroe
2) Location: Fort Worth, Texas
3) Years building: over 2.
4) Guitars completed: Nearly one -- in 2 years. No kidding. It spent several long periods under my bed when work got crazy. I just glued on the fretboard this afternoon.
5) # of Kits plus # of scratch builds: This was an unserviced classical kit from LMI. I had the fret board slotted but nothing else was serviced.
6) Purchase or build necks, bridges, FBs, etc.: I have done everything except the fretboard slotting. Shaping the bridge and fretting are the only major things remaining.
7) Other info you feel is important for all to know: I had a cheap guitar when I was in service and college but never really learned to play. A couple of years ago my youngest graduated from college so I decided to get a nice guitar since I had all that extra money. I was looking through a bookstore for something tell me what to look for to purchase a good guitar when I found Cumpiano and Natelson's book on building guitars. My immediate reaction was that I would much rather build one than play one. I could have bought a really nice guitar for what I spent on tools but I'm hooked.

[Ken Hundley]

1) Ken Hundley
2) Wilmette IL (10 miles north of Chicago)
3) 5 years building
4) Started 22, completed 6
5) 3 kits, everything else scratch
6) purchased and built necks, so far the purchased have worked out better. I make my own fingerboards, and have been experimenting with bridges. Have not completed one of my own that I really like.
7) I also like to build machinery that I don't have, like side benders, thickness sanders, and such. Good projects for winter months when gluing and finishing is not important. Also how I started scratch building.....built the machinery, then decided to use it. Went and got some lumber resawn to 1/4" thick, sanded it to my personal preference, cut tons of sides, backs, and tops, and then started making neck blocks and tail blocks and other parts. I have just as much fun making guitars as I do playing them, but I don't think I will ever make the same one twice.