Stewmac Dan Erliwine

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Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Stewmac Dan Erliwine

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

This is kind of a long story, so bear with me.

I have a 1965 Gretch Country Gentleman on the bench for a repair to the back of the neck. The brass knob on the tool storage in the case, under the neck, had dug into the finish. The guitar had just come back from a luthier in Connecticut, who did an excellent job of replacing the old cracked cellulose bindings, an expensive repair. The guitar spent 2 years in his shop, so I was recommend to the client since I'm local. I do no advertising. Everything is word of mouth.

I told my client that I could minimize the damage, and make it less noticeable. But the knob had gone down into the wood. Short of refinishing the neck, it wouldn't disappear. I didn't recommend refinish. It would affect the value of the instrument. He agreed.

The guitar is 55+ years old. Except for 3 tiny chips in the finish and this damage, it's pristine. I wanted to tread carefully.

I'll post the repair and techniques in the repair section of the forum
I'm not done yet. But, I got to the point where I could send an update with photos, to my client.

He sent the photos to the Connecticut luthier. The Connecticut luthier is a member of a video group with Dan Erliwine. For newbies who don't know, Dan Erlewine is one of the top luthiers in the country. He's a product developer at Stewmac and he's written a lot of books. He does videos about luthiery.

First, I received an email from the Connecticut luthier, which said:

Hi, 


 
I was sent some pictures by Bill Adkins concerning a repair on a Country Gent I repaired for him and I wanted to drop a note and say that it looks amazing and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about the technique you used. I respect trade secrets though and if you prefer not to, I would totally understand.
I wrote him back and told him that I didn't believe in secrets. I'd gladly share what I've done. He called me asking if I'd consider joining the video group.

Then, I received this email:
Diane: That touchup on the Gretsch is great! Ian sent it to me. Where did you learn that trick, or did you come up with it yourself? Thanks, Dan Erliwine
To be honest, I didn't know I had a trick. I just used common sense.

Those videos that Ian spoke of are the Stewmac videos with Dan Erliwine featuring other luthiers.

It's strange. I'm shocked and a little scared, to be quite honest. Maybe this is a one time freak incident where I just got lucky. I'm not equal to people like John Hall or Dan Erliwine.

But, it was nice of Dan to write me. But most of all. I'm glad my client is happy, because after all, that's the name of the game.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
TEETERFAN
Posts: 342
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2018 12:43 pm
Location: Kansas City, MO

Re: Stewmac Dan Erliwine

Post by TEETERFAN »

Wow, that’s pretty incredible. Dan’s book on guitar repair was the first book in my luthier library. You put a lot of heart into your work and artistry. People notice. I look forward to your repair post on this. Good job!


“I can live for two months on a good compliment.”
Mark Twain
Kevin Doty
Kansas City
BEJ
Posts: 171
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:38 am
Location: Seattle

Re: Stewmac Dan Erliwine

Post by BEJ »

Good story, don't know about being lucky but maybe by sharing info with these folks you can find out why your methods are successful and how to be repeatable.
Maybe a future video with Dan in one of his Tips vids, too kool.

Bruce,
Stray Feathers
Posts: 677
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 11:39 pm
Location: Ladysmith, BC

Re: Stewmac Dan Erliwine

Post by Stray Feathers »

Diane, congratulations on being recognized by some respected people in the business. I have to say, I am not surprised. In the time I have been on the forum, you have shared some real challenges in your own guitars and in repairs. I've seen some amazing things, and the word that keeps coming to me is "creativity". Others have recognized that, too, and it's a sign you are becoming a leader more than a follower. Way to go! Bruce W.
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