The OM Build: A 7-Session Acoustic Guitar Build

There is a moment every builder remembers: the first strum on a guitar you put together with your own hands. Hosted by Daryl vanderGroef of the Utah School of Lutherie©, The OM Build is a guitar building class in Logan, Utah, built for people who want their own handmade acoustic but can’t give a craft 150 hours. In seven sessions and 29 hours, you’ll brace, close, bind, fret, finish and set up your own OM (000) acoustic guitar.

Daryl prepares a semi-finished kit to your specs before you start: sides bent, top and back joined and thicknessed, and the neck shaped with its fretboard ready for frets. Those are the steps where first builds most often fail, so they arrive done to his shop standards. You do the work that decides how your guitar looks, plays and sounds: gluing, bracing, closing the box, binding, fretting, finishing and setup. It’s for players, woodworkers and the endlessly curious who want a real instrument they’re proud of, and the know-how to build again.

Curriculum

Session 1 comes first, then Daryl builds your kit, which takes about 2–3 weeks. Sessions 2–7 then run about a week apart so glue can cure between stages.

Session 1: Design Your OM (4 hours). Walk out with your guitar specified and your woods chosen. You’ll handle the kit options and pick your top, back and sides, then settle the choices that make it yours: scale length, fretboard radius, number of frets and neck shape. Daryl will walk you through bracing options and why he recommends traditional X-bracing, the classic Martin-style voice, for a first build. You can book Session 1 on its own; your kit is built once you book the remaining sessions.

Session 2: Building the Rim (5 hours). Your guitar takes its shape in the mold. Working with the sides Daryl has bent to the OM shape, you’ll assemble the rim and glue in the heel block, end block and linings.

Session 3: Bracing (5 hours). You’ll see the structure that gives your guitar its voice. You’ll fit and glue the X-bracing to the top and the braces to the back, shaping each one by hand.

Session 4: Closing the Box & Binding (5 hours). You’ll hold a complete guitar body. You’ll glue on the top and back, route the binding channel with Daryl’s guidance, and bind the body.

Session 5: Neck & Frets (4 hours). Your guitar starts to look like an instrument. You’ll attach the neck that Daryl has prepared to your specs, then install and dress the frets.

Session 6: Finish & Bridge (4 hours). You watch the grain come alive. You’ll apply your choice of finish, hand-rubbed oil or French polish, and fit and glue the bridge.

Session 7: First Strum (2 hours). You play the guitar you built. Together you’ll fit the nut and saddle, set the action, and string it up for its first notes.

The Investment:

Includes your semi-finished OM kit, built by Daryl to your specs, and all materials to complete one steel-string acoustic. Oil or French polish is your choice. Premium kit woods, custom inlay and pickups are optional upgrades.

The Foundation

Most guitar-building courses ask you to choose between a quick kit and months at the bench. The OM Build takes a third path: Daryl does the tool-heavy groundwork to his own standards, and you spend every hour on the skills that decide how a guitar looks, plays and sounds.

Bending sides and joining and thicknessing plates are where first builds most often go wrong, and they need specialty tools most people don’t own. Starting from a kit Daryl has prepared means fewer ways to go wrong and more time on gluing, bracing, binding, fretting, finishing and setup. You’ll still make the choices that matter, from scale length to neck shape.

Sessions spaced a week apart give the glue time to cure and give you time to absorb each stage. Between sessions, you can send photos and video and message Daryl, with your build, schedule and progress tracked in Lutherie Log™. The small cohort means Daryl is at your bench for every critical step.

Meet Your Host

Daryl vanderGroef is the founder and master luthier of the Utah School of Lutherie© at de Houtwinkel in Logan. He teaches Scientific Lutherie in his working shop, combining hand tools and hand finishing with CNC fabrication and acoustic measurement. The school describes itself as nationally recognized in the Guild of American Luthiers and by StewMac.

Daryl builds custom instruments for players, including his Ophelia model and custom inlays. He also built Lutherie Log™, the shop and acoustics software he uses to track builds and benchmark tap tones. A recent graduate praised his one-on-one teaching and how responsive he is to questions.

Come Prepared With

No woodworking experience is needed, just patience and curiosity. Wear closed-toe shoes and clothes that can take sawdust. Bring a notebook or phone for photos of your build, and if you play, an idea of the sound and neck feel you love in other guitars.

Provided For You

Your semi-finished OM kit, prepared to your specs: bent sides, top and back plates joined and thicknessed, the neck with its fretboard ready for frets, and heel and end blocks. It also includes linings, bracing stock, bridge, nut and saddle blanks, binding, frets, hardware, finish and strings. Daryl provides shop tools, molds, jigs and safety gear (eye and ear protection), plus photo and video review and messaging between sessions through Lutherie Log™.

About The Setting

You’ll build in de Houtwinkel, Daryl’s working lutherie shop in Logan, Utah. It’s an organized space stocked with tonewood, hand tools, a CNC and acoustic testing gear, kept small so every guest has a bench of their own. Parking and access details will be sent upon confirmation.

Regions

• Utah

Location

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