Whetstone School of Lutherie and Guitar Building

Whetstone School of Lutherie

The Whetstone School of Lutherie offers professional instruction in guitar making and guitar repair. We also offer classes in banjo, mandolin and ukulele building.

We are an enthusiastic team of luthiers who are dedicated to sharing our craft with others. Our facilities have been organized specifically for teaching instrument making, and we've worked hard to create a pleasant and functional learning environment. Each student has their own workbench, and the school is well stocked with building fixtures, hand tools, and finely tuned power equipment.

We are located in Brattleboro, Vermont which is centrally situated between New York City and Boston. Brattleboro is a fun place to visit with a vibrant downtown area, and a wide variety of recreational opportunities for students and family members alike.

Who We Are & What We Do

Our instructors are seasoned professionals with accomplished backgrounds in the field of lutherie. We are passionate about teaching and we recognize that the educational process is much more than the simple exchange of knowledge from teacher to student. Teaching is about listening, and observing and expertly guiding each student through their individual experience.

Instrument making is one of those endeavors in which you never really stop learning. To excel as a luthier requires patience, practice, and your steadfast commitment to the process of ongoing improvement. Our job here is to provide you with a strong foundational experience that you can build on through self-learning and personal exploration. We'll introduce you to proven techniques and methods you can use right away, and you'll also gain the confidence and understanding you need to move forward on your own.

What's New - 01/19/12

The winter weather has finally arrived in Vermont, and what better time to be back in the shop preparing for the upcoming workshop season. New this year are a couple Tenor Ukulele classes, and Froggy Bottom founder Michael Millard will be joining us again in March to lead a seminar in acoustic guitar design.

The shop is looking great, and it will now be a little less dusty with the addition of a new collector assembly that will double our dust collection capacity. We've also installed a flat screen monitor in the classroom so students can view instructional videos, photos, and drawings from our ever growing reference library.

During the off season we've been working diligently to enhance our course offerings and add value to our programming. We've lowered the cost of some workshops and also reduced our deposit requirements. In December we launched the Alumni Portal which allows graduates of our building courses to access class outlines, resources, and other goodies.

For residents of the state of Vermont, we're delighted to anounce that we've been approved for grants through the VT Student Assistance non-degree program. Click on their logo in the right-hand panel for more information.

As the winter wind swirls around outside the shop, we're reminded that it's you who give this place vitality and purpose. We invite you to come join us for a workshop and help us fill this space with your enthusiasm and camaraderie.