This idea came to me at my parents' house, after the third time that I nearly knocked over my mother's guitar. She's just learning, and I know from experience that if you put your guitar too far out of the way you'll never practice. So Necessity and her husband, Boredom, once again gave birth to Invention: a guitar stand was in order.

My father and I went to Hart's Apple Orchard and found a good supply of branches on the ground, results from the past season's pruning. It took a while to find pieces that fit the design I had in my head; future versions will be designed differently to widen the field of usable pieces. I also expect that if I make one of these for a performing musician it will have to be a model that can be broken down easily for transporting. This guitar stand has little (if any) advantage over the traditional ones made of steel tubing, but it sure looks a lot nicer. It seems more stable, too. Any musician who would want one of these would have to have a little more appreciation for aesthetics than for practicality.

If the branches had been cut in the summer, the bark would have peeled off easily. Alas, they were cut in the fall, so I had to use a drawknife to remove it. I used a 6" random-orbit sander to smooth everything out, then sanded by hand up to a 220 grit to finish. I used a 5/8" Veritas tenon cutter to make the round tenons, and a Lee Valley "Greenwood" drill bit to cut the holes. All tenon joints are glued with expanding polyurethane glue. I should have let the wood dry out longer after removing the bark, because the wood shrank significantly in the time between cutting the joints and final assembly. The glue seems to have compensated for the loose joints, though.

As shown this guitar stand lacks a finish, but it may get some linseed oil someday. I also plan to wrap the bottom guitar supports with hemp twine to protect the guitar's finish. The twine on the neck yoke loosens easily, so I need to come up with a better wrapping method. Finally, I may incorporate a strap to secure the neck in the yoke to prevent an accident.