My Passion and My Mission

My passion stems from simply loving wood and the way it works. There's something really relaxing in the grain of the wood, how it bends, how it planes, how it shapes. Every piece is different, the looks, the feel, the smell. you personal have to learn the material of each piece of wood because no two trees grow the same way. With the differant spices of wood we use, the dimensions the wood is milled to, the shape of the guitar we build all these things are what drive my passion. Then we have the tools, that is my mission. The mastery of the tools. The extension of the human body. The mission of having every chisel stoke have a propose, every plane stroke be as smooth as is was with the perfect set up, every saw blade stroke cut in the direction of intent. All the little things that make up the big things. It's been said that the difference between a good guitar and a great guitar is all in the subtleties. That adds up really quick.

My Best in show 2013 all Koa guitar(age 23)

2017 Guild of American Luthiers Convention

My Education and Résumé

In 2008 he started his journey at Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison,Co as a business student but had no real clear plan on what he wanted to do till he met Kent Viles luthier of Dobrato Resophonic guitars. This lead him to transfer to Red Rocks School of fine woodworking and Lutheire. At Red Rocks School of Fine woodworking and Lutherie, he met world renewed luthier Robbie O’Brien (O’Brien guitars). After one class with Robbie O’Brien at Red Rocks, he started studying under Robbie privately, in Robbie's personal shop. He also continued to take fine woodworking and lutherie classes at Red Rocks. In his time as a student at Red Rocks School of Fine woodworking and Lutherie, he earned back to back fall semster awards, ( 2013 Best in Show, instrument) for an original design of an all Curly Koa guitar, (2014 people’s choice) for his original design of Beech, Walnut, Zebra-wood Lutherie workbench. As well as runner up in the instrument category, of fall 2012 and spring 2013. A long with Graduating with honors he gained his certification in Luthier Fundamentals in 2013. He continued to worked for Red Rock School of Fine woodworking and Lutherie as a teacher assistant for the Classical, Steel String and Electric Guitar building classes, as well as the Rosette making and Intro to Fine Woodworking classes. He stepped away in 2015 to pursue his own luthier career. He continue to study from Robbie O'Brien. In his time as Robbie student, he has built two classical guitars one with an arm bevel(2012,2016 arm bevel), one steel string guitar(2013), and two steel string voicing classes(2014,2015). In 2017 he had the Honor of having a booth set up at the Guild of American Luthier convention, with a picture published in the fall edition of American Lutherie Quarterly Journal. In 2023 Dave Vander Weele was invited back to the 23rd Guild of American Luthiers convention in Tacoma,Wa. As he is still an active member of the Guild.