All my instruments are handmade.  I try to buy my tone woods wisely and from time to time found EBay to be a great venue for some of my purchases.  I have a Performax 37" thickness sander which is a beast of a machine and extremely accurate.  I join my plates using the old “wedge method” (hopefully some pics to come in "shop photos").  I build on an open work board which is a bit slower, however, gives me the control and ability to see my head and tail blocks so as not to worry about things being "square" or lined up properly when gluing up sides and the back.  I hand scrape all my backs and sides prior to glue up and bending.  My necks are carved with a rasp and a lot of hard work.  I make my bridges (Madagascar rosewood, Brazilian and Indian rosewood, Ebony and any other you may request) using a standard Martin replacement bridge for a template and shape them using my trusty belt sander with very good results.  I hand cut my binding and purfling channels with a laminate trimmer jig and also use an old violin purfling cutter and chisel as needed.  All my brace wood is Red Spruce and Sitka.  I use hot fresh hide glue for all top braces except for the "x's" where I use LMI's white instrument makers glue.  I am fortunate enough to have about 50 guitars worth of the Red Spruce most of which is over 12 years old as of 2007.  I have various tone woods but mainly keep in stock Cocobolo, Curly Walnut, Indian Rosewood, Brazilian Rosewood  and some of the finest Honduran Mahogany I’ve seen.  Please check out some of my shop tour photos as they come up.

 Starting in 2005 I began to use hide glue for the top bracing and a varnish finish very similar to those of Rattlesnake, Dudenbostel, etc.  I loved the varnish finish so much I have decided to make it standard on all my guitars unless lacquer is requested.  I do believe, however, it is a good idea to use lacquer on the back and sides of a guitar that is going to be used allot for "gigs".  Lacquer is harder and more resilient than my varnish finishes.  I think it is always a good idea to varnish and french polish the top for optimum tone, however.  The option is up to the individual customer, however.

 In September 2004 I purchased a farm and moved.  It took until May 2005 to get my new shop up and running and I’m still not quite finished.  My shop is 30' x 24' with two different work areas.  My main work area is 14' x 24' and my power equipment/"dusty" area is 16' x 24'.  I’m now able to produce about 4 or 5 guitars per year.  Currently my waiting period is about 12-18 months due to the orders on hand.  Hopefully by the end of the year 2008 I will be up to about 10-12 guitars per year.  If you are interested in having a guitar custom built to your specifications I do require a 30% deposit up front and the balance upon completion.  I do give a 48 hour approval period for stock models but I’m not able to do that on custom orders.