Tree-Guitarworks

07/21/2026

Last August I posted that I was closing Tree Guitarworks while I battled cancer and cared for my wife, Sandi, who is in home hospice having had several strokes.

Well, I beat i! I'm cancer free! The chemo treatments were very aggressive and took me down pretty good. There were days I could hardly get out of bed. I pretty much sailed through the 28 rounds of radiation with none of the side effects that go with radiation. I still don't have a lot of energy, I have brain fog, and neuropathy in my hands and feet, but overall feel pretty good, and so thankful for life!

Sandi is not doing well, but hanging in there. She still has about 90% paralysis on here whole right side, with lots of pain. He heart isn't doing well. She is still in home hospice.

I want to thank all of you, my friends and family, for the outpouring of love and support. Thank you for the calls, the visits, the food you brought, and helping out where I needed help.

I am slowly reopening Tree Guitarworks. Caring for Sandi still takes a lot of my time, so please don't all call me at once. 😊

07/21/2026

Cool Guitar of the Week: 1971 Gibson J-45. Gibson introduced the J-45 model in 1942. The J-45 isMy similar in size to a Martin dreadnought, but with rounder lines, which became known as a slope-shoulder design. It has a shorter scale, 24.75” compared to 25.5”. It has a spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and bridge. It quickly became known as Gibson's work horse guitar, and remains one of Gibson's best sellers to this day.

In 1968 the J-45 was redesigned, now sporting the more squarish dreadnought body style and a 25” scale neck. Some of the new design were sold in 1968, but 1969 was considered the official roll-out. A few of the slope-shoulder models continued to be made in special batches, but for the most part J-45s were dreadnoughts until 1992 when Gibson reverted back to the original style.

This guitar is one of the dreadnoughts. My first thought when examining it was, 'Wow! This guitar has stories to tell!' It's been played... the frets were worn to nearly nothing, the finish has yellowed and has nice finish checking, and it needed some serious TLC. Someone carved out part of the soundhole to install a P-90. The P-90 has been replaced by a LR Baggs M1 active magnetic pickup, but the wiring was botched, so I rewired it. I also repaired a top crack, and gave it new frets.

I'll have to ask the owner about the song lyrics. I don't recognize them. Maybe he wrote it. Love the pin-up-girl decal!

03/09/2026

Been browsing YouTube and ran across this gem! Just had to share.

From the Midnight Special July 2, 1976.

03/01/2026

Cool Guitar of the Week: 1930's Richter Manufacturing, Co. Parlor guitar. Richter was a Chicago based company founded by Charles Richter in about 1920. The company closed it's doors in 1943. Most of the guitars built were parlor style, solid wood, mostly birch construction, many with stenciling. Richter was one of Montgomery Ward's house brands.

This guitar came to me looking great, but with lots of issues. The fingerboard had warped to a convex profile. I removed the old frets, leveled the fingerboard and installed new frets. It needed a neck reset, so I gave it a bolt-conversion reset. While the neck was off I also did some repairs to the neck block. There were some loose internal braces, a couple of small cracks, and the bridge needed reset. I gave it new bone nut and saddle. The wooden bridge pins are original as is the leather trimmed case.

The guitar now plays and sounds fantastic! I've restored dozens of these old parlor guitars, and this one stands out from most as being louder and with a more open sound. It has a real nice resonance.

The guitar is for sale. PM me if interested. It will be posted in Marketplace and on Reverb.

02/07/2026

I miss you guys... all of my customers and friends. As most of you know, I've been out beating down this cancer thing since last September. Huge thanks to those of you who have reached out to me, and those who have come over to help out with things or bring food. The outpouring of love and generosity from all of you has been amazing.

Here's a brief overview of what's happened so far. I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in September. Initial scans showed an egg-sized tumor in my lower colon, and spots in my lungs and liver. Thankfully the lungs/liver spots turned out to be non-cancerous. I went through six rounds of chemo using three different "c;hemo coctails". I responded very well, but the chemo really took me down physically and mentally. Crushing fatigue and brain fog. There were days it was difficult to go downstairs to the kitchen. The PET scan following that showed that the tumor had shrunk to near nothing, and no other signs of cancer.

I am now about half way through twenty-eight rounds of radiation. therapy five days a week. So far it's gone good with mild side-effects, but I'm told that last couple of wees can get tough.

Following that, the doctors will assess and plan future treatments. Normally surgery to remove what's left of the tumor is done, but my surgeon thinks that I have responded to the treatments so well, it may not be necessary. Very good news!

So bottom line... I'M BEATING IT!!!!!!!!!!

Now, mind you, this all started just a week into my wife, Sandi, being placed in home hospice care following several strokes, with me as primary caregiver. At that point she was tired of fighting and just wanted to go home to Jesus, but finding out about my cancer gave her her fight back. She is determined to hang in there so support me through all of this.

She is hanging in there, but it is coming at at terrible price. The strokes partially paralyzed her whole right side... She has at most 10% function on that side. And the pain has been almost unbearable for her. Pain meds only take the edge off.. To add insult to injury she has been trying to pass several kidney stones for the past two weeks. She's not doing well... very weak, can hardly eat, speach is difficult, and the pain... the pain...

So that's where we're at. The love and support from all of you means more than you can imagine. Thank you!

I would like to add just how blessed I feel having Sandi by my side through this! I am so thankful for her! I love her so much!

01/17/2026

More gear for sale. Full listing/description on Marketplace, or message me for more info.

Harley Benton 12-string $300
Squier CV '72 Thinline $375
Fender Mustang III amp w/4-button switch $300

12/14/2025

Just posted this on Reverb. 1920s Lyon & Healy with X-brace conversion. Great playing and sounding little parlor! https://1drv.ms/i/c/0dde42b8d10adfcc/IQCYbC_s_U3rS4ucDx_L_pzKAZ3dZ47CukU1Im3eKNi5e50?e=zg7vTc