Official Luthiers Forum!

It was not a very nice one sadly but I always do the hardest first. Did three yesterday morning, I'm part time now unless we get swamped and then I'm more time. The new shop is great and much nicer than the old shop. Had a good time and then a nice country drive back home.

Today I have three more waiting for me (we have a back log to clear so I am working every day until I have surgery). The first one is an Anderson and then a Suhr, then a Foggy Bottom acoustic parlor so I'm happy about that. It's a lot more fun working on nice stuff and rewarding too since they are capable of more.

Thanks everyone we are back in the saddle again fixing geetars

Froggy Bottom makes nice gutiars…

Congrats Hesh!

Still need a pic of the shop doggy

Maybe sometime in the future after things settle down you and Dave will consider offering your setup courses again!

Hi Leo I don't know if Dave wants to teach anymore. It was fun but a LOT of work for both of us because we have so much that we want to include in what we conveyed. The folks who came to our classes while we had them will attest to 10 - 12 hour days on your feet most of them time.

So yes on the shop doggie pic and I'll take his/Dave's temp on classes but I suspect he's done with that for at least a while. We have so much work to do too we make more just repairing guitars. When our business was new and we did not have the customer list we now have we taught and created tools looking for other revenue streams. None of that is necessary anymore for us.

It would be a wonderful setting though for a retreat if he ever teaches again.

Dave is telling me to bring my ghillie suit and Sony camera and 600mm lens there are lots of deer, birds, foxes, coyotes, bobcats and more on the property. There is a 250 acre game preserve behind us.

I like the idea of a shop on the property. Well, it isn't yours. You will still have interaction with people. I hope the location works well for you and Dave.

I had to look up ghillie suit, always just thought; Camouflage. I've seen all the critters on your list in my yard, except the bobcats are just feral barn cats. I have seen things that look like large ferrets; but they move amazingly fast, and it was always when the weather was horrible.

You mentioned hummers in another post. If we don't have the feeder ready, or if it is low, or bees get in it; they fly right up to the door wall, and tell us. Only 1 hummer at a time at the feeder or they will fight. They will even hide in ambush. Maybe we need another feeder?

Have you seen their mating dance in the sun?

Have a great day. It's finally like spring out.

Can you tell I'm sick of winter?

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Why be normal?

I can add bears, mountain lions, skunks, possums, ringtailed cats, turkeys and fishers to the list of wild animal sightings on my property in addition to those already listed. I back up to several thousand acres of BLM land. Makes for some exiting times for the dogs and chickens...and us. Don't forget the squirrels.

Hey Ken yeah we have some great wildlife here in Michigan.

Yes I have seen the hummer dance and I am about ready next week to put my feeders out for them.

Moving the business was the best thing we ever did. Our overhead was tens of thousands a year before and now it's a 1/3 of that. So we can relax a bit more now and don't have to be worried about being highly productive.

Thanks Ken.

Sounds beautiful Carl. I was stationed there for my work half a year at a time for nearly ten years. Used to visit the redwoods and the Alpine Road west of Sunnyvale.

Beautiful country for sure.

I remember you saying you built your first guitar on the table of the hotel you were at there. If it was 1990-91 and the Summerfield Suites, I was also there for the Loma Preita disaster response while working for FEMA. They had good bathroom exhaust fans for pot smoke...ohh and a good breakfast.

Yeah the important things were covered LOL. My first guitar was built in the Residence Inn in Sunnyvale. I remember asking the manager if he minded if I brought in a band saw and thicknesss sander. His reply to me was that if I had any idea what some people do in these room I would realize that I'm not trouble at all.