Lutherie
Guitar making is boatbuilding writ small- wood heated and bent over jigs, disparate elements kept in balanced tension, and narrow tolerances. And like a boat a stringed instrument is not made to sit idly. I’ve played since childhood, but my introduction to lutherie came much later when I happened across a copy of Irving Sloane’s Classic Guitar Construction in a used book store. It details the building of a Torres-style classical, the seminal design dating to 19th century Spain. I built mine on the cheap. The top was made from cedar shakes taken off an old cabin and planed to 3/32”. That along with rosewood (off-cuts from a furniture project) and maple from a downed tree gave me just enough stock to complete a pair. Like the pursuit of any craft this guitar making is work in progress. Between the jeweler's precision required for a mosaic rosette and the steady hand needed to carve the heel there are enough disciplines at a luthier's bench to challenge a musician for a lifetime without ever playing a note. My interest in making instruments and other noisemakers continues today with similar projects, most recently cigarbox guitars and restored amplifiers.