Official Luthiers Forum!

I am sitting down finally after a long but very eventful day. The open house was more of a success than Brenda and I could possible hope for. All seemed to have a great time. This open house would never of happened if not for the work and help of a few people.
I have to thank Jim Hall , Ralph Gotowetski , Todd Stock , and last but l least Jim Warwick. Thanks again , this was very rewarding and I hope all of the 22 attendees had as much fun as we did.
Jim will be posting some photos soon as he was the official pic taker. I have to thank
GRIZZLY for the Gig bag
Stewart Macdonald for the scissor clamp and tuner press.
Bill Cory for his book on building a guitar kit.
BOB CEFALU of RC Tonewoods sent a great set of Cuban Mahogany
Tomarkin Supply kicked in a set of Grover sta tite open backed tuners
I know all the prizes were appritated. Again thanks to all that helped. to those that didn't make it , there will always be the next one. It was a great time of sharing and I am sure you will have some great posts about this.
thanks again for helping us with this
John & Brenda Hall

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

And thanks to you too, John and Brenda. I had a great time at my first OLF meet and look forward to doing it as often as possible. It was great to meet a bunch of you for the first time.



Jim Kirby

p.s. The crazy Mapquest route was 35 minutes faster than my simpler alternate to get home

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Thanks for a great time today John and Brenda. It was a first class open house, and I don't just say that because I won the Cuban Mahogany back and sides.
John

As usual, John and Brenda are GRACIOUS hosts. Thank you guys. You contribute to this craft greatly. And I always appreciate you more each time I'm over.

Here's a couple pix I snapped... Rob Mock's carving work, and Jim Warwick's guitar. Rob is apprenticing under Jim Warwick. Rob told me he's run a music store for years, but doesn't really play guitar. IIRC, he doesn't (or didn't) build either. BUT, his gifting is in carving. I hope to see more of his work. Keep an eye out for him.

The guitar with the lady in the soundhole is Jim Warwick's luthier skills, punctuated with Rob's carving. (Can you guys post a photo of the headstock to show the hair? And maybe a BETTER one of the front? PLEASE!?)

PS sorry for the low res 2mpix shots

Holy smokes thats some serious carving!

Sounds like you guys had a blast up there!! Thanks for sharing.

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Reguards,

Ken H

The carved guitars and amp are super cool... love to see more!

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Gabriel Regalbuto
Carlsbad, California
Freedom 35!

I had a great time at the Blues creek homestead yesterday , I want to thank Brenda and John for putting up with us all day, thanks to everyone one that did demonstrations for us newbies ...I learned much and met some nice people, it was good to actualy meet some of the people I have been corresponding with here at the olf , and that have been helping answer some of my questions ! I look forward to the next event ... Jody

Sounds like a great time - I will definately make the next one (missed yesterday - however, after spending half a day in the emergency room, my Wife is fine - combination of Braxton-Hicks (false labor) and a virus lead to alot of cramping, nausea and pain. As this is my 5th, I thought I was a veteran and seen everything).

Glenn

John, I'm glad that your get-together was a success, it sure sounds and looks like it was. I'm waiting for you to share some more photos.

The carved guitars and amp are amazing. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before. There are the meticulously carved rosettes in lutes as I've seen in Colin's photos but the guitar bodies are really quite original. That is a level of skill and talent that obviously wasn't acquired in a short time. Just the effort of creating the design is amazing aside from the work to carve and finish. Thanks for sharing.

Peter

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Peter

I'd like to echo the thanks to John at Blues Creek - I've been a long time lurker, but am using my first post to say thanks. Not only were the demonstrations fun and informative - I've been thinking I've been doing adequate French polish, but watching Jim - I have a lot of practice ahead - but the interaction with everyone else was what made the day. Am looking forward to other gatherings. Bill Tolan.

My thanks to John and Brenda as well, gracious hosts and the kind of people none of us meets enough of.

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Mark Joy

mjoy Guitars

Yes, it was great. Many thanks to John and Brenda, as well as to the other guys who helped put it together, did demos, etc. I got a lot out of it and enjoyed meeting all of you.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Hey Chris,

Congrats on the first guitar. I came out great. Also thanks for the wooden plane making demo. I'm going to get blades, and make some planes. I have some lovely wood from Bob, and would like to make something from the scraps. Can't wait to get into it.

If anyone down your way is coming up to Harrisburg area, I hope you'll consider youself invited for shop time and a meal.

I also want to add my sincere thanks to John and Brenda. Like Mark said, the world needs more people in it like you guys.

It's truly inspirational to see up close what other builders are doing--there wasn't a bad guitar in the house. Different sounds, different approaches, different aesthetics, but all good. I'm standing here in my shop as I write this with renewed motivation to keep pushing for the next level, whatever that might be.

So thanks also to everyone who attended (some of you drove astounding distances to be there!) and shared your work, and a little bit of yourselves. It's a real privilege to be a small part of this community.

Is it just me, or does anybody else get way more out of these cozy get-togethers than large symposiums?

Regards,

Jim

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

thanks Jim, for making it cozy! We all came away with something, including the ability to contribute something. Thanks for the F.P. demo. I look forward to the next opportunity to get together. Maybe Todd will host the next one. (ducking, running, and hiding...)

Oh yeah ... Todd R told me he had a HUGE shop and would just LOVE to host the next event

(Todd ... kidding, of course )

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

Actually, I will think about hosting a get together at some point. My shop isn't huge, but it's not tiny either, and my house could certainly accommodate a group of about the size we had at John's. I'm up here in Ithaca, NY, so it might be more of a northeast gathering. Also, it would be an event of a somewhat different nature, as I don't have some of the things that John has to offer, such as the ability to bang out demo after demo of various aspects of guitar construction at lightning speeds. Still, it could be a very good thing. I will let the seed of the idea take root...

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

I wouldn't mind doing this again. I do like going to other peoples shops as you can often get some good hints in doing things and creative space saving. I am so glad that so many seemed to have a good time.
It is alot of work . I can assure you , the shop is allways that clean. LOL to be honest , I have been in the shop going on 4 years. I did get the windows cases the week before the open house .
You forced me to do alot of finish things and organizing that I needed to do. Todd and Jim were a big help with the demos and the others that help Jim hall and Ralph . I can't say enough
thanks
john

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I finally got around to uploading the pictures I took Saturday:

http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x257 ... se%202008/

I'm glad I'm a better luthier than I am a photographer.

We have a very low concentration in the general population, so it's great getting together with so many of you.

Jim Hall

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If you can't do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly.

Hey Chris

Maybe we can talk Todd into a smallish "invitation only" get together. He's got a deck and wraparound porch and a big lawn for volleyball, big ugly guitar launch (now THAT would be the highlight of the day) or maybe a campfire (possible zoning restrictions on the fire), making a sharp stick demo, weissenborn stuff, etc.

Well, if Todd doesn't go for it, we can just do what we usually do. Invite ourselves LOL. Just get 10 - 15 guys to do it together!

(Ducking & running through several zip codes...)

Yup. Has to be. I actually have very full head of hair, too.

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

Probably weak batteries in the digital camera

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If you can't do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly.

Thanks, Jim!

Man, I gotta do something about that stomach

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu