tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27070890591761759582011-08-01T17:32:45.034-07:00Keeley Guitarshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326817202577606094noreply@blogger.comBlogger101100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707089059176175958.post-23120378376133834222010-07-19T20:54:00.000-07:002010-07-19T21:10:00.097-07:00

Every year I am asked by high schools seniors if I would be willing to mentor them with their senior project. A senior project must be a project the student is willing to take on outside of their comfort zone and must be successfully accomplished before they can graduate. Typically it helps the student learn skills they never tried before and possibly explore new territory in the up coming work

Keeley Guitarshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326817202577606094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707089059176175958.post-75240678866459541932010-07-19T20:16:00.000-07:002010-07-19T20:28:23.410-07:00

HAND-CRAFTED WITH PATIENCE AND PASSIONby Peggy MandinThe WorkshopWhen you enter the workshop of Dave Keeley you see wondrous things: traditional hand tools, a treadle sharpening wheel, instrument patterns, a variety of hardwoods, granulated gelatin, jars of homemade varnishes, abalone and mother-of-pearl, pieces of mastodon bone, turquoise, cow bone, antler sections, even the tail hair of a

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Dave Keeley of Kettle Falls crafts quality instruments by handBY SOPHIA ALDOUSS-E Staff ReporterStepping into David Keeley’s instrument shop is almost akin to stepping back in time. There are no drills, no sanders or other gear that could be found in a conventional shop. But then, Keeley’s shop is not exactly conventional. Though the sign outside says Keeley’s Guitars, the Kettle Falls resident

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Musicians playing Dave Keeley's beautiful custom made guitars liken them to fine jewelry. "Dave takes pride in creating fine workmanship," says friend and fellow guitar player Buck Wilhite. "With Dave it is not a guitar, it is an art form. No two guitars are alike, and each one is unsurpassed in quality." Dave, who works as planning director in the Ferry County Planning Department, has been

Keeley Guitarshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326817202577606094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707089059176175958.post-64649999654034705712010-07-18T21:26:00.001-07:002010-07-19T20:52:38.950-07:00

This baby is my personal guitar. The body is spec’d after an early 1950’s vintage Telecaster with the added nuances of a custom hollow-body. The body is a single slab of Black English Walnut stump topped with a select piece of European violin grade highly figured Flamed Maple. The guitar stouts a matching Flame Maple neck and is finished with a vintage amber nitro cellulose lacquer finish. This

Keeley Guitarshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326817202577606094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707089059176175958.post-41722523274620532502010-07-18T20:39:00.000-07:002010-07-18T20:53:58.048-07:00

This guitar was a request by Dave Schulz of the Irish band - An Dochas. The project entailed making a short scale neck Custom Tele. The neck is a short scale 24.5" ala' Gibson made of the finest grade of birdseye maple. Then the guitar was custom wired with a pair of Seymour Duncan P-Rail pickups. The P-Rail is a single coil + P90 pickup combination. This provides the sounds of a fat humbucker,

Keeley Guitarshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326817202577606094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707089059176175958.post-16418880072768115332010-07-18T20:14:00.000-07:002010-07-18T20:32:25.928-07:00

This was a fun project. Mellad Abeid of the Irish band - An Dochas requested that one of his PRS guitars be retrofitted with 3 Lollar Custom pickups. Now this guitar looks like a real Black Beauty, a one of a kind.

Keeley Guitarshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326817202577606094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707089059176175958.post-86441802209030627122010-07-18T20:00:00.001-07:002010-07-18T20:09:12.399-07:00

This project I call the Celtic Relic. Mellad Abeid of the Irish band - An Dochas requested that I build him a Strat that looked as if it had played every smokey pub across Ireland. The project started simple enough, take a used Fender Stratocaster and cosmetically age it 40 years. Since the original guitar was coated in a modern poly-urethane plastic, I had to strip the guitar down to bare wood

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I have been doing instrument building since 1992 and repair work since 1977 at the age of 14. I apprenticed for 4 years at Hamadryad Harps in Republic, WA with Master Builder Buck Wilhite. It was here that I learned woodworking and the business side of instrument making. Hamadryad Harps have since closed their doors to enjoy retirement, but during that short time we constructed over 260 harps.

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This is a photo of my shop. I live in Kettle Falls, a small town located in eastern Washington approximately 40 miles south of British Columbia near the banks of the Columbia River. We purchased our house and shop in 2000. I sold a beautiful Taylor guitar on Ebay for our down payment. My shop is a small converted Model A garage that was built in the 1930's. The main room is 14'x 22' with a wood

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