Hello from Wisconsin

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Eric Knapp
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Joined: Mon May 02, 2016 2:01 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA
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Hello from Wisconsin

Post by 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
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Jim McConkey
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Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:00 pm
Location: Way north of Baltimore, MD

Re: Hello from Wisconsin

Post by 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..
MIMForum Staff - Way North of Baltimore
Eric Baack
Posts: 640
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 4:28 pm

Re: Hello from Wisconsin

Post by Eric Baack »

from one wannabe to a newbie, welcome! :)
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Eric Knapp
Posts: 620
Joined: Mon May 02, 2016 2:01 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Contact:

Re: Hello from Wisconsin

Post by Eric Knapp »

Jim McConkey wrote: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
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Eric Knapp
Posts: 620
Joined: Mon May 02, 2016 2:01 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA
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Re: Hello from Wisconsin

Post by Eric Knapp »

Eric Baack wrote: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
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Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:12 pm
Location: Murphy NC
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Re: Hello from Wisconsin

Post by 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
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Eric Knapp
Posts: 620
Joined: Mon May 02, 2016 2:01 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Contact:

Re: Hello from Wisconsin

Post by Eric Knapp »

Mike Conner wrote: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.
Mike Conner wrote: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. :D I'm sure your journal will be immensely helpful and I'll let you know along the way.
Mike Conner wrote: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
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