A Beaverbrook man’s passion for handmade guitars started in high school with a teacher who owned a handcrafted instrument.
Patrick Hawley, who took classical guitar lessons during his teenage years, became enthralled with the idea that the instrument could be created by hand, rather than by a machine.
“Just the idea that these things could be made by hand struck me as kind of neat,” he said.
He crafted his first guitar from scratch in 1987 after reading a handful of books on the subject.
“(I) just decided to go for it,” he said. “It was a little trickier then it is now.”
Hawley took a hiatus from his hobby as he built his life; he married his wife Jackie and they had three children together: Laura, Steve and Dave.
The whole family is musical – everyone plays the guitar, and Jackie directs the Cantiamo Girls Choir and the Ottawa Children’s Choir.
He didn’t build another instrument until about six years ago.
“Life sort of intervened,” said Hawley.
As Steve was preparing to head off to university, Laura bought him a guitar to bring with him, said Hawley. It cost a pretty penny, around $300.
“That motivated me,” said Hawley about picking up his hobby again.
He crafted a classical guitar for his daughter with a redwood top, hormigo wood for the back and sides, and edged it in blue paua abalone shell.
It took him over 100 hours to put it all together but it was worth it.
“She was pretty happy with it,” said Hawley. “I really enjoyed doing that.”
Now, getting set to retire from his job as the director of reactor of thermo hydraulics for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Hawley is turning his hobby into a full-time pursuit.
BASEMENT WORKSHOP
Hawley transformed a basement room in his Beaverbrook house into a workshop, where he spends about 10 hours a week crafting his guitars.
The room is a handyman’s dream; Hawley has collected various tools that help him craft the string instruments, and others that he’s built himself to make the process easier.
One is an arm that holds a router when he’s cutting the ledges for binding, which helps ensure a more uniform depth to the notches in the wood. Another is a large Plexiglas and wood box with a vent that helps eliminate harmful vapours from the glue he uses to hold the wood together.
Hawley has a stash of various woods earmarked for future guitars stored in a mini greenhouse in a corner of the basement next to a dehumidifier.
“It’s important to control the humidity,” said Hawley, as it can affect the quality of the wood.
July and August are not the best months to make wooden instruments, he said, because the moisture in the air seeps into the wood. When the humidity lessens, the wood contracts and can cause cracks in the instrument.
“If he’s not sleeping or eating he’s in the basement,” said his wife Jackie. “But I think it’s good. It’s good he’s got something that interests him.”
For their 25th wedding anniversary, Hawley made his wife a custom guitar with a spruce wood front, east Indian rosewood for the back and sides, and inlaid with mother of pearl.
“Nobody else gets that kind of gift for your 25th anniversary,” said Jackie. “It’s a beautiful thing to look at and it’s a beautiful thing to play.”
‘VERY SATISFYING’
Hawley’s son Dave grew up with Lucas Haneman, a popular Kanata-based musician.
Haneman had Hawley create him a one-of-a-kind acoustic guitar that has traveled with him to countless shows.
“It’s just a wonderful, wonderful instrument,” said Haneman about his guitar, which has east Indian rosewood for the back and sides and an Engelmann Spruce top. “It’s my main acoustic guitar for any studio uses and live (shows).”
Haneman is involved with a number of projects: as a solo guitarist and musician, as a member of Go Long (!) with Diane Allard, and as part of the Lucas Haneman Trio with Paul Van-Dyk on bass and Even Tighe on drums.
“For me as a budding musician it’s really nice to have that kind of support,” said Haneman, who demos many of Hawley’s guitars. “Every instrument he makes is just wonderful.”
Hawley said seeing the guitar being used on stage is a great feeling.
“That’s maybe one of the biggest kicks,” said Hawley. “It’s just very, very satisfying.”
Hawley has sold one of his guitars at the Ottawa Folklore Centre, just to see if it was possible.
“It sold in less than a month,” said Hawley, something he found unbelievable. He’s working on another that will hopefully sell as fast, he added.
His plan is to build about six instruments a year once he retires next month.
“I find it really enjoyable,” said Hawley, adding it takes between 100 to 150 hours to complete a guitar, depending on the complexity. “I find it relaxing and it reduces stress...usually it reduces stress.”
For more information, visit the website at www.hawleyguitars.com.
jessica.cunha@metroland.com