MAKE AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR

April 12-18, 2025

Building your own guitar can be one of the most rewarding crafts. It consists of precise joinery, creativity, and music all in one package! Students will be guided through all the critical elements of making an acoustic, steel-string guitar. Materials will be high-grade, quality, solid woods only. Because of the obvious time limitations, prefabrication of a few parts will be necessary, and John will supply these. Students will learn the start to finish process of the craft and art of musical instrument construction. By the end of the week, everyone will have completed their own hand-crafted, acoustic guitar that is strung and fully playable. The application of a protective finish will be discussed so students can complete the project after the class ends. Participants should have some experience using hand tools correctly such as chisels and planes. If you ever wanted to make a guitar, this class will be the chance of a lifetime. The hours are long, and the challenge is great, but the satisfaction will be tremendous and will create “sound” memories that will last a lifetime.

GUITAR JIGS AND FIXTURES: BENDING & BINDING

June 7-8, 2025

Guitar side bending and binding are two of the most difficult and intimidating operations in building a guitar. These jigs make a challenging task easy and will be the centerpiece of a guitar shop and will redefine how the work is completed. The bending machine will conform to any guitar body form and can quickly and easily be changed from one design to another. The binding machine holds the guitar body steady while routing a vertical channel around the domed back and top of the guitar, making the binding process flawless. Time will be spent demonstrating how to properly use these two fixtures. All the wood parts and the custom metal parts will be provided but bring your own hardware.

BUILD A WOODEN GUITAR STAND

July 26-27, 2025

Proudly display your acoustic guitar with a custom-made wood guitar stand. Don’t trust your expensive instrument to a cheap metal or plastic stand that is neither elegant nor stable. This guitar stand displays graceful lines and will provide unmatched stability that will give you peace of mind as it cradles your treasured instrument. The guitar stand is made of solid wood. The student will be provided templates to create the flowing curved parts of the stand. This project will also provide an opportunity to put some handskills to work as you cut and fit the peg head hook by hand.

MAKE A BACKPACK GUITAR

July 28-August 1, 2025

A backpacker guitar is a small guitar that is designed to be very portable. While it is small in stature, it has a nearly full-scale length with a reduced body size. It is lightweight, durable and is shaped to fit into the smallest places. The size makes it a great option for traveling, backpacking, or sitting around the campfire. It is also a good size for small children who might have a difficult time playing a larger instrument. Students will be using high quality instrument grade woods such as spruce, mahogany and rosewood. In this class participants will make all the parts from scratch, including fret slotting and neck carving.

GUITAR SET UP & REPAIR

September 13-14, 2025

This class will be packed full of information about how to set up your acoustic guitar for smooth playability, make your own minor repairs, and maintain it for a lifetime of performance. There will be many demonstrations showing the actual steps to replacing a nut, truss rod adjustment, replacing worn frets, and removing and replacing a bridge, crack repair, replacing a top, doing a neck reset, etc. John will spend significant time discussing string compensation and how to tune your guitar in to perfect pitch. Bring a guitar along so you can follow along with the demonstrations. John might even use some of them as examples.

MAKING AN “A” STYLE MANDOLIN

October 11-18, 2025

Are you looking to advance your musical instrument building skills? Building your own mandolin from scratch will not only challenge and hone your skills but will elevate you to the next level of lutherie. Students will learn new skills and techniques in instrument building. From carving and tuning the spruce top and curly maple back, to making the curly maple neck with its tapered neck joinery, participants will experience the joy of creating a beautiful instrument that sings! Students will make an “A” style (teardrop) carved top/back mandolin with traditional “f” holes. The materials will be high quality mandolin materials, including a solid Adirondack spruce top with highly figured curly maple back, sides and neck. By the end of the week, students will have completed their own hand-crafted mandolin that is strung and fully playable. The application of a protective finish will need to be completed after the class ends. Since this is an advanced class, participants should be experienced in correctly using and sharpening hand tools, such as chisels and planes. Please note that this is a very physically demanding class that requires standing most of the time. There is very little that can be completed by sitting.