Guitar Making

My favorite woman and I eloped to Northern Ireland last week, there'll be more posts about that here on my other blog.

While we were there, we got the chance to meet George Lowden and tour his small guitar building facility in Downpatrick. I also ordered a guitar from him, it will be a custom S-25 made with a "Lucky Strike" LS redwood top. That should be ready in six months or so.

I apologize if you're on dial-up, I'm about to post a lot of pictures. Most are self-explanatory, I may add a few notes under some of the pics.


Here's a table display in the Lowden Guitar office.


This is the outside of the office located in a business park north of Downpatrick. The shop is across the parking lot.


George and I at his office.






David Pierce at the workbench, he was fun to chat with. You can tell these guys really love what they do.




This is Wes Grierson, he actually just arrived last night in Northwest Arkansas to play some shows at the university where Joy works and maybe at a local church.
































I thought this was brilliant. It's a bicycle innertube sewn to a piece of plywood. They use this to attach the back and top to the side assembly, it keeps even pressure all around. You can see it in use in one of the previous pictures.


This is George's fret slotting machine, it's been in service since the late 70's.






Two motorized radius dishes for sanding the profile to the side assembly.


He uses washing machine motors and pulleys for the motorized sanding dishes.












George at his bench.






George at his bench again, I think he was working on a pickup installation.