Many musicians write their own lyrics and a few compose their own scores.  Rick Andrews takes it all one step further and builds his own beautiful guitars.  His music is truly grassroots, or maybe that's tree roots, but either way the results are incredible.  Rick's love of music and woodworking have melted together to produce custom guitars of rare quality and sound.  That's Rick to the left, creating another fine one-of-a-kind instrument.

Woodworking is an Andrews family tradition.  Rick's Grandad, Dad and two brothers have all done woodwork.  His Dad is still an active craftsman.  Woodwork has been one of Rick's interests since childhood and the picture to the right shows his son, Jeff, beginning his career as a woodworking craftsman.  Jeff has a few years to go, however, before he catches up to his Dad's approximately forty years experience.

Danny Andrews (left) and Gerald Andrews (right) make beautiful music together in the Andrews workshop.  Even with a nice size shop, extra hands and a large amount of equipment, it's still easy to spend over forty hours per week in the shop.  The delicate nature of the woodwork Rick and his craftsmen do, would make it hard to give up any of the tools they have.  But, as any woodworker will tell you, there are always one or two more you'd like to have.  Rick has a new heat bending iron and a moisture meter on his wish list.

The pictures above show the superior craftsmanship, exotic wood and pearl inlay of the guitars created in the Andrews workshop.  You'll find this one offered on the auction.  Rick has many favorite woods, but curly quilted and fiddleback maple are among the best for guitars, because of their stability and great beauty.  Some of these beautiful instruments are finished with water base lacquer and some with hand rubbed oil/urethane finish.  Both finishes are beautiful, durable and user friendly to the environment.  Rick says other great woodworking tips can be found at Luthiers Mercantile.