Guitar workshop gives sentimental values to students
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 07/21/2008
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Last week, amid the smells of varnish and sawdust in a humid manufacturing lab, a group of guitar enthusiasts from across the country worked diligently in the hopes of making mechanical music.
The 2008 Purdue Guitar Manufacturing Workshop took place last week, with 27 participants turning blocks of wood into quality electric guitars over a five-day period. The workshop attracts all kinds of people, from high school students to professionals to retirees. What unites the group is its interest in guitars.
"By building on that natural enthusiasm, you get a lot of learning opportunities," said Mark French, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering technology and a staff member in the workshop.
Taking the workshop doesn't mean one needs to have in-depth knowledge of manufacturing. French said anyone who had "the potential to get a C in high school wood shop" could do fine in the workshop. Although people do make mistakes in the manufacturing, they typically can be recovered from.
French himself has been making guitars for 18 years. He said mistakes always happen; they just get smaller.
He also teaches a guitar-making class in the spring semester. MET 490G, "Instrument Manufacturing and Technology," is open to all Purdue students; in fact, French tries to reserve spots for students who aren't in mechanical engineering technology. The course regularly fills up.
In three years, no one has ever dropped the class.
For the participants in the workshop, their time making the guitars is limited to five days rather than a semester; however, those are five long days of sanding, scraping, shaping, designing and finishing. Experts from Fender and Stewart-MacDonald, leading companies in guitars and guitar parts, were on hand to help out.
Ten- to twelve-hour days of physical work may not seem like everyone's idea of fun, but for those who took the workshop, the effort was worth it.
Michael Glass, a student at the University of Texas, called the experience "the best vacation I've ever had in my life." He said that class is a great value, with great materials and professors.
"Every little step is pretty painstaking," he said, filing down metal pieces for the fretboard.
One high school student who participated was Peter Scharf of Dayton, Ohio, who went through the workshop with his father, Jim. Along with being a good bonding experience, the workshop also let Scharf make an original instrument.
"I got to pick everything out; it's totally custom," Scharf said. "It's the only one like it."
The guitars came in all designs, from a retro turquoise style to bright Smurf blue to clear-coated. Many of their makers said they would hold sentimental value for their creations; Randy Barker, a power company executive from Richmond, Ind., said he might pass his down to his kids and grandkids.
Barker has been playing guitar since he was 13. He has been in the opening acts for musicians such as Luke Bryan, Chris Cagle and Jason Aldean. The workshop was the first time he'd made a guitar from scratch.
"If I'd known it was this much fun, I would've done it years ago," he said.
He's already bought another neck, body and fingerboard to make another guitar.