Guitar School Adventures Episode 1: Sanding and sanding with more sanding.

On March 9th I left my home in Medina Ohio to attend the Galloup School of Luthrie in Big Rapids Michigan. These are the tales of my weekly experience as I become a more rounded guitar craftsman. Week one - March 9th-14th The drive took about 5 hours and 30 minutes. I filled my car with The Wonder Years until I reached Michigan, then It was Pink Floyd all the way to school. When I arrived I was presented with my work bench and a binder that was filled with a condensed but organized treasure trove of procedures, measurements, tips, tools to buy places to go and checklists. We signed a few agreements, went over rules, checked our benches for all the tools we'd need, took a tour of the shop and made general introductions. I was introduced to my house mate Martin from the Netherlands and we got settled into the house. That was just the orientation, this week was filled with so much information it was easy to get lost but I hung on pretty well. First day was pretty much just a step by step demo/lecture on how to refret a guitar. The following day was AAALLLL SAANDING! We sanded our electric guitar bodies and necks to prep them for the spray room. My forearms were super stiff but it will be all worth it in the end... hopefully. Im told that even the slightest imperfection in the wood from improper preparation will show up in the lacquer finish afterward. Tuesday was more filling and sanding but once we were finished our necks and bodies were hung in the spray room. We got a chance to practice refrets on the dummy guitars. Mine went pretty well considering it was my first attempt. Wednesday was my first experience using the spray room. we sprayed an amber burst finish on our guitars, and waited till the next day to start the gloss lacquer coats. Continued working on my refret, by this time I had the frets on and started preping them to get leveled and recrowned. Day ended early with a "blow out" where they basically sprayed down the shop with an air gun. A film crew were coming in the next day to record some segment about the school. Thursday was spraying of the lacquer coats. This was a little frightening because the coats need to be perfect. If its too thick the lacquer cracks, if its too thin you end up sanding right into the wood. Film crew rolled in and filmed their segment. SIDENOTE: Cute redheaded girl was operating the boom. First time id seen a girl in person for days, it was like meeting a girl for the first time in kindergarden. Friday I was feeling pretty good until one of the teachers knocked my refret dummy onto the floor while I was in the spray room. "Thats why you need to lock your guitar in the vice when you arent at your bench." Lesson learned but it demoralized me until lunch. We sanded our guitar bodies before applying the next coats of lacquer. Over all its what I expected and a little more. Im looking forward to starting the acoustic next week. Stay tuned. Much love G,