Build a Vet a Guitar 2015: Mission Accomplished

Build a Vet a Guitar

2 days + 50 volunteers = 12 guitars. Build a Vet a Guitar 2015, held at Vondriska Woodworks in Hammond, WI, was a great success. Volunteers worked together to assemble 12 acoustic guitar kits, with completed kits going to Guitars for Vets. G4V provides an acoustic guitar and ten lessons for injured vets. We’re thrilled to support this organization. Check out the Build website for more info on the Build.

Here’s a video that provides an overview of what our two days looked like, and pictures of specific steps of the process.


Guitars for Vets

Installing the binding and purfling was one of the trickier tasks. Patience, careful application of glue, and paying attention to the multi-strand purfling are all very important.

Build a Vet a Guitar

The resulting detail is a very nice touch on the guitars.

Guitars for Vets

We personalized the headstocks with some beautiful veneers.

Build a Vet a Guitar

We also added a G4V medallion to the heads. The ability to add these personal touches to the instruments is one of the things that makes this event so fun and rewarding.

Guitars for Vets

A wipe on gel finish made getting uniform coats on the guitars fairly easy. Believe it or not, we were putting finish on the guitar bodies and necks late Saturday afternoon. A must, since we’d need most of the day Sunday to get them set up with strings.

Build a Vet a Guitar

Looking good and ready to break for the day.

Guitars for Vets

Day two was all about the small details, like drilling and reaming for bridge pins…..

Build a Vet a Guitar

…adding tuners….

Guitar Build

…installing nuts and saddles, and checking the action of the guitar. WWGOA editors David Radtke and Paul Mayer are checking the string height using a credit card as a gauge; a nice trick for set up.

Build a Vet a Guitar

We filed nuts, as necessary, to get the string action just right.

Guitar Build

And in the midst of all that building, we found some time to play guitars, too.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who put in their time make Build a Vet a Guitar 2015 a success. And thanks to the sponsors who underwrote the event. Zero out of pocket expense for Guitars for Vets. That’s a win!

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One Response to “Build a Vet a Guitar 2015: Mission Accomplished”

  1. Ron

    Fantastic job one and all! And for a wonderful cause. I truly wish I could have been there. Thank you everyone.