I've recently just finished with a big push at work getting ready for the La Conner Guitar Festival in northern Washington state. Now I've got just a moment to take a breath, it made me wonder what y'all do with your lives. If you like give us a glimpse into your day - bonus if you have pics. Of course this is just to fill up space until more sports come along, but I think people would be interested.

Here's a couple shots of instruments I've built lately. I understand most of you aren't craftsmen, but I find all jobs interesting, so don't be embarrassed to post about yourself.



















So, this is just a glimpse at my work - well really the result of a lot of work. What you got going? Accountant, Missile Commander, Student, Cruise Salesman? Just curious.

Those are some pretty sweet guitars. If I ever learn how to play, I'll probably.. by something used from a pawn shop because I'm cheap, but those look like works of art. Pretty sweet craft skills. Now that Gibson is going bankrupt, here's your chance to seize the market, become a billionaire, & put your name on every building at SFA.


I do a few things: I'm building my own healthcare recruiting firm. I do some startup consulting for sales & biz dev to help pay the bills. And my side project is that my wife & I are working to launch a subscription box company for nursing home residents that sends them personal care products.

Also, thanks to Ed's urging, I'm considering going into comedy.



TLDR: Entrepreneur who finds himself pretty funny.

Thanks for the acknowledgement, Texan. I hope you remember me again when you'll need to hire an agent as your comedy career takes off and you leave those other trivial endeavors behind.

I retired a few years ago as a Training Superintendent at a large petroleum refinery in Houston. Now I am a part-time home-based cruise travel agent, affiliated with Expedia.com. Although I am certified to book any type of travel, I choose to limit myself to only cruises and associated airfare needed to get a client to their cruise port. I limit my travel activities in order to... 1) Enjoy my personal life with my family, my dog Sadie (a Bichon), our lake house on Toledo Bend (which allows me to attend SFA home games occasionally), and my six miniature horses (my "expensive pets"), and 2) Give Nacluth and Tall Texan as much grief as possible here on the Sawmill.

I have a BS from SFA and an MSOE from the University of Houston, but I have loyalty only to SFA. Axe 'em!

That's probably more than you wanted to know, but that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Ed Stiles
"edstile"
"SFA Jack Fanatic" on Twitter


P.S. FANTASTIC work, Ryan! You have a gift!

Cool stuff Tex! Personal care box for nursing homes sounds like a great business idea. I hope that takes off for you.

Now for a catchy company name...hmm...Gray Apron...Depends-able...Granny's Chest...Proxy Care...

I'm sure I'll get a good idea soon.

Ed, if you do number 1 as well as you do number 2, then you should be pretty happy.

My grandfather worked for 40 years at Shell. I'm glad you made it out of there with your health. As much fun as I have building guitars, being in the travel game sounds like fun too. My other dream job would be as a travel guide. I'm still trying to find the time for my wife and I to get a cruise from you. One day...

Thanks for the kind words.

That's cool that you get to work with SFA. Maybe data networking isn't as fun as lutherie (guitar building), but it probably has its own perks that I can imagine...like a salary. My buddies and I used to build computers back in the early 90's and a couple of them went into data technologies. I could have easily followed them, but life swung a different way for me. Sounds like you've had a good career of it if you've made it that long. Thanks for sharing.

Wow djsfw57, that is a solid teaching career. I'm impressed with anyone that can handle being around children for so long. I play competitive disc golf, and there is a fairly large deaf community that plays. I always feel ashamed when I try to communicate with them that I never took at least a beginner's ASL class. Maybe one day soon.

By the way, you say you graduated in 79, but your signature line say SFA class of 75. Maybe all those years of teaching has had more of an effect than you realize?

What price range are those guitars?

SFAJack_76 said:

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Met my wife at SFA. My brother met his wife at SFA. Beyond us four, both our kids and one niece have degrees from SFA, so the purple runs deep.

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I like the cut of your jib, 76.

Jacks4460 said:

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I am looking to get into the Athletic Dept. at SFA somehow.. I have a lead and I will continue to work it. I realize the pay isnt great but I truly believe this is something that I will get up every morning on fire to want to do well..


Tall Texan you make me belly laugh dude..

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After reading virtually all of your posts over many months, you obviously have a great love for SFA and lots of experience in the business world. I really hope you land that job in SFA Athletics.

And don't encourage the Texan. That'll just make him a worse comedian than he already is.

edstile said:

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Jacks4460 said:

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I am looking to get into the Athletic Dept. at SFA somehow.. I have a lead and I will continue to work it. I realize the pay isnt great but I truly believe this is something that I will get up every morning on fire to want to do well..


Tall Texan you make me belly laugh dude..

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After reading virtually all of your posts over many months, you obviously have a great love for SFA and lots of experience in the business world. I really hope you land that job in SFA Athletics.

And don't encourage the Texan. That'll just make him a worse comedian than he already is.

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Thanks Ed. I have one son I need to get graduated from HS (soph) and I am wanting to see who we hire for AD. I saw the marketing job that was posted last month but my son is still my main priority for now. His mom and I were divorced when he was 3 and the Lord has blessed me with him wanting to live with me since the 8th grade, so I am gonna focus my attention on him.

Nice SFAJack_76, my uncle used to run a local sawmill here in town and my stepdad still runs a log truck for IP. The lumber trade can be hard going, but at least you picked the right school. Hope you enjoy your retirement!

Yeah, sorry I couldn't help you with all those guitars. I will say Austin Vintage has a pretty good reputation, so I bet you didn't get shafted too much. Lefties are a hard market though we build them from time to time.

I have a geology degree as well. The first half from SFA, but I graduated from a school up north. I hope you get in with athletics. We need people who are pumped about making SFA the best. Good luck!

nacluth said:

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Nice SFAJack_76, my uncle used to run a local sawmill here in town and my stepdad still runs a log truck for IP. The lumber trade can be hard going, but at least you picked the right school. Hope you enjoy your retirement!

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I have zero musical ability, but our son plays bass. MTD is his preferred instrument, but he likes a Moollon that he was awarded when a band he was in a couple of years ago was performing in South Korea.

I have had one MTD come through my shop, and it was nice. Never seen a Moollon though. Pretty awesome to have it awarded to him. While I've built acoustic basses, I have never made an electric. I bet that would be fun. If y'all ever catch a game together in town, swing by.

nacluth said:

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Cool stuff Tex! Personal care box for nursing homes sounds like a great business idea. I hope that takes off for you.

Now for a catchy company name...hmm...Gray Apron...Depends-able...Granny's Chest...Proxy Care...

I'm sure I'll get a good idea soon.

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Way ahead of you there NacLuth, we went with Gal & Geezer for the company name. We wanted something cheeky & easy to remember.

Should have the first round of products going out by June 30th. We're also going to use my wife's expertise in working in geriatric settings(graduate of SFA's Speech Therapy program) to create educational videos that help families navigate the senior care environment. Huge need & will serve as great marketing for the product.

nacluth said:

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I have a geology degree as well. The first half from SFA, but I graduated from a school up north. I hope you get in with athletics. We need people who are pumped about making SFA the best. Good luck!

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How did you get into making guitars? I took a geology class at SFA & I don't remember a single thing about "luthing? Luthering? Lutheraning? Luthery? I givue up, guitar crafting" being in the curriculum.

I mostly remember 101 types of rocks that all look the same.

nacluth said:

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. If y'all ever catch a game together in town, swing by.

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Will do. However, since he and his wife live in NYC, they aren't around much. .

We were just up in Woodstock for a show in October and we'll be back in 2019 hopefully. Lots of people came up from the city. If he's got a good setup/repair guy, chances are I'm friends with them. Guitar world is small. I'm confident we'll cross paths sometime.

TallTexan said:

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How did you get into making guitars? I took a geology class at SFA & I don't remember a single thing about "luthing".

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My emphasis in geology was hard rocks, but moving back to Nac after graduating, everything here is soft rock geology - specifically petroleum geology. While there's plenty of money in it, it didn't flip my switch. I've done a lot of odd jobs, but mostly made ends meet as an electrician.

One day, my good friend (who was also the pastor of the church I was attending) was repairing guitars at the local music store. I knew he had been building guitars since the 80's, but watching him work made something click in me about how interesting it was. I told him, "If you ever need help doing this, I would be interested." He just chuckled and said, "I don't think so."

Despite his rebuff, we remained friends, and then one day several years later, he asked me if I might be interested working with him while he tried to expand his business. I said yes, and started in 2007 helping out knowing nothing about the craft except a book I had read. For years, I don't think we knew if we would stay open for the next few months, but we've always had work. Our guitars have gained more notoriety, and we can honestly say we build some of the best in the world. I love going to work every day. What a difference a decade can make.

nacluth said:

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Wow djsfw57, that is a solid teaching career. I'm impressed with anyone that can handle being around children for so long. I play competitive disc golf, and there is a fairly large deaf community that plays. I always feel ashamed when I try to communicate with them that I never took at least a beginner's ASL class. Maybe one day soon.

By the way, you say you graduated in 79, but your signature line say SFA class of 75. Maybe all those years of teaching has had more of an effect than you realize?

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I never even noticed that. I didn't even know I had a signature line until you mentioned it. I can be very non-observant when I get home from work. LOL I graduated from high school in 75, and SFA in 79. And I teach high school, so that makes it much easier. If I were teaching little ones, I would have quit years ago. LOL

Well I play some (mostly lead guitar) and your guitars sound as nice as they look. Superior craftsmanship.

Glad you found your passion and doing what you love.

Thanks for sharing Guys.
I graduated from SFA with a B.S in December 2017... Yes, I know I'm really old. Now, I have a lot of free time on my hands. So i spend a lot of it on here. Unemployed and trying to decided what i want to do in life. I've been a hardcore SFA basketball since my freshmen when we beat VCU in the tourney. Been to dozens of games at the sawmill. Seen atleast five buzzer beaters live and it doesnt get any better than that.

So that's a bit about me

Thanks SFAXE93. Feel free to come by and play anytime.

sfa17, what would be the job market you're looking for?

nacluth said:

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TallTexan said:

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How did you get into making guitars? I took a geology class at SFA & I don't remember a single thing about "luthing".

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My emphasis in geology was hard rocks, but moving back to Nac after graduating, everything here is soft rock geology - specifically petroleum geology. While there's plenty of money in it, it didn't flip my switch. I've done a lot of odd jobs, but mostly made ends meet as an electrician.

One day, my good friend (who was also the pastor of the church I was attending) was repairing guitars at the local music store. I knew he had been building guitars since the 80's, but watching him work made something click in me about how interesting it was. I told him, "If you ever need help doing this, I would be interested." He just chuckled and said, "I don't think so."

Despite his rebuff, we remained friends, and then one day several years later, he asked me if I might be interested working with him while he tried to expand his business. I said yes, and started in 2007 helping out knowing nothing about the craft except a book I had read. For years, I don't think we knew if we would stay open for the next few months, but we've always had work. Our guitars have gained more notoriety, and we can honestly say we build some of the best in the world. I love going to work every day. What a difference a decade can make.

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That's pretty awesome. Putting Nac on the map, one guitar at a time. I'll have to stop by next time I'm in town.

nacluth said:

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Thanks SFAXE93. Feel free to come by and play anytime.

sfa17, what would be the job market you're looking for?

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I got a B.S in psychology (don't ask me why). But i want to change fields. Maybe go back to school and
get a Masters in business or maybe something in I.T like cyber security (which wouldn't require me to go back to school but get certifications and hands on experience.)