Guitars built
with fifty years
of knowing how.
Five strings. Six strings. A lifetime of making things that last.
It started with sore hands and a Jacob Collier video. DAEAD tuning on a five-string changed everything — more range, less reach. I've been building since before CNC existed, and now I use both. The machine handles the thousandths. The hands handle everything else.
Why five strings?
My old hands aren't as agile as they used to be. When I saw Jacob Collier play, the five-string DAEAD tuning made immediate, physical sense. More musical range. Less physical reach.
I've been working wood since before most CNC machines existed — cabinet making, architectural millwork, custom work of every kind. Fifty years of knowing how wood moves, joins, resonates, and fails.
Now I use a CNC router alongside hand tools. The machine handles the precision work. The hands handle everything else. The result is more consistent than I could manage alone — and more personal than a machine produces on its own.
Design &
Precision
Every body and neck starts in CAD. The CNC router cuts pockets, contours, and inlay recesses to within a thousandth of an inch — the kind of repeatability that used to take a master jig-maker a week to set up.
Materials &
Selection
Domestic hardwoods — walnut, maple, cherry, ebony — selected for resonance and figure. Fifty years of handling wood teaches you things no book captures. I know what it sounds like when you tap the right board.
Fitting &
Finishing
Neck pocket fit, nut and saddle work, fret leveling, final setup — all by hand. The machine sets the stage. The hands close the gap between a good instrument and one that feels inevitable.
ToolPath
Advisor
The CNC feeds & speeds calculator I built for my own shop — and every hobbyist who's tired of guessing. Calibrated for MPCNC, Shapeoko, X-Carve, Onefinity, Carvera. Free. No account. No login.
Open ToolPath Advisor