Hello from Wisconsin

[Eric Knapp]

Hi, everyone.

I'm not retired, yet. I am a wannabe guitar builder with an extensive woodworking shop in Wisconsin. I was a pro furniture maker in my young days and still have all my tools. I left that field to become a computer guy and my shop has gone too dormant. I have wanted to make guitars for a very long time and I am going to do it at whatever level I can. I have lots of wood that might be usable for instruments and I'm looking forward to learning and making.

I see some serious pro makers here on this forum and it looks like you are into helping lowly newbies. Sweet! I posted my first sort of building project over on the archtop board. It's a rebuild of an old archtop and I'm looking forward to playing it. I used to play guitar and this might get me back into that too.

-Eric

[Jim McConkey]

Welcome to the Forum, Eric! We have everything here from complete newbies and wannabes to seasoned professionals, and we pride ourselves on maintaining a Forum where sharing the knowledge is goal..

[Eric Baack]

from one wannabe to a newbie, welcome!

[Eric Knapp]

Welcome to the Forum, Eric! We have everything here from complete newbies and wannabes to seasoned professionals, and we pride ourselves on maintaining a Forum where sharing the knowledge is goal..

Thanks, Jim. That's really great to hear. I don't know much in this area and I'm willing and excited to learn.

-Eric

[Eric Knapp]

from one wannabe to a newbie, welcome!

Thanks! I'm glad I'm not the only one. It's wonderful to be able to connect with others with similar interests. Finding some knowledgeable folks who like sharing is a huge benefit of the Internet era.

-Eric

[Mike Conner]

Hello Eric!
Your story is kind of like mine. I am on the down hill roll towards retiring after 38+ years as an engineer. For more than 20 years I have maintained an on-off woodworking home shop that might be loosely defined as a self sustaining hobby through custom furniture, cabinets, etc. I also have a lot of experience with instrument setups and minor repairs, which is a big help in getting your creations to play reasonably well.

I finally acted on my desire to build a couple of years ago. As I did my first builds I composed a detailed journal, and have continued to update it as I build and learn more. This and other internet resources have been a wonderful source of information, and my Journal is an attempt to give something back, especially for someone considering building.

I just posted the Fourth Edition of the journal. You can find a link to it here:
http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=3905

Can I ask you to look it over and see if it is helpful to you? When you start building please share your lessons learned - even the "opportunities for improvement". I know how much I appreciated the build threads and detailed answers to questions - and I still do!

Good luck with your archtop project. You will find it is a slippery slope and you will be hooked deep before you realize it

//mike

[Eric Knapp]

Hello Eric!
Your story is kind of like mine. I am on the down hill roll towards retiring after 38+ years as an engineer. For more than 20 years I have maintained an on-off woodworking home shop that might be loosely defined as a self sustaining hobby through custom furniture, cabinets, etc. I also have a lot of experience with instrument setups and minor repairs, which is a big help in getting your creations to play reasonably well.

Ha! That is a very similar experience expect for me being a software engineer. It's really cool to connect with others like this.

I finally acted on my desire to build a couple of years ago. As I did my first builds I composed a detailed journal, and have continued to update it as I build and learn more. This and other internet resources have been a wonderful source of information, and my Journal is an attempt to give something back, especially for someone considering building.

I just posted the Fourth Edition of the journal. You can find a link to it here:
http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=3905

Can I ask you to look it over and see if it is helpful to you? When you start building please share your lessons learned - even the "opportunities for improvement". I know how much I appreciated the build threads and detailed answers to questions - and I still do!

Wow! That's a great writeup and I'm looking forward to digging into it. I'm a college faculty member now and I write things for my students all the time. Not about guitars, though. I'm sure your journal will be immensely helpful and I'll let you know along the way.

Good luck with your archtop project. You will find it is a slippery slope and you will be hooked deep before you realize it

//mike

Thank you for the wonderful welcome. This is my last week of classes. After finals next week I'll have some time to focus on starting this project. I think I'm already hooked even before I start.

-Eric