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View fullsize “Waiting in the Wings” from this past Saturday night at @octopuscollegehill. This tune is a ton of fun to play and is consistently challenging live. Band sounds great @rbernema @matthewbernemann @theblankdaily are an incredible group to p
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View fullsize Had a great time last night in Davenport! On to Octopus College Hill @octopuscollegehill this evening with The Value of Human Life , Camp Regret and Joel Sires doors 8pm tunes 9pm $10 See you at the show! Dave Helmer Band @thevalueofhl @camp_regre
View fullsize 2009 rock stick SG needed some help to keep on trucking. The inserts for the bridge were wollered out and not solid. I installed the drill press table and cleaned up the holes using a 3/8” bit and mahogany dowel. Marked center and post spacing
View fullsize Rock stick SG getting new frets. Used the Jescar version of pyramid wire on this one. Removed the batwing pickguard n pickups. End of the board was kicked up so I sanded that out n cleaned up the 12” radius. After hammering in the first fret it
View fullsize Spent a bit of time today labeling how thick all these bone blanks are for quicker use in the shop. This never occurred to me before but there’s no going back now. Cheers y’all hope you’re good out there! ✏️🦴🥜🏇 #loothing #luthie
View fullsize What a great night! Iowa City @songwritersfestival benefit paying tribute to Todd Snider. I felt like I was at The Mill. 🙏🤘😎 what a treat to play with @davidzollo @_anthony_worden @debtalan
View fullsize Join us tonight at @wildwoodiowacity! From the Iowa City @songwritersfestival:⚙️ As we gear up for the second edition of the festival in 2026, we’re proud to announce our first event this year!🌷Join us at Wildwood Saloon on March 7 for a bene
View fullsize Looking forward to the band rocking out at @trumpetblossom Friday night with @lampman.jacob @egodeath2025 Bring friends and come hang! We’re doing it again Saturday at @octopuscollegehill with @braden.sabin 🤘🙏😎 @theblankdaily @maximumlevita
View fullsize Early 60’s Epi Olympic refret, personal axe. 🪓 I oiled the board then used solder n an iron to pull the frets, clean. Trued up the board to my liking and cleaned the slots. I sent in the SM pyramid wire, using a hammer followed by CA wicked in
View fullsize Modern Martin workhorse needed a bit of TLC. Treble side upper bout had a split that came out looking nice! Lightly clamped/aligned the spilt using spool clamps, wicked in water thin CA then using magnets n titebond glued in .043” thick cleats
View fullsize Saturday thru Tuesday this week, I had a blast working on new songs at @scottsyyy studio in Des Moines. He’s a top notch musician, studio ace and made these new songs jump out from behind the drum-set and speakers! @theblankdaily crushed on gui
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View fullsize Bridge work on this 70’ D18 was pretty straightforward. Top has hardly any runout and the bridge is tightly glued to the top. The saddle is over an 1/8” too far forward from the factory and has played sharp since it was new. I plugged the
View fullsize Refret of the 70’ D-18 came out really nice. Oiled the board, used solder n iron to pull the frets, no exacto scoring. Hardly any chips to deal with. Used rosewood dust n titebond to fill the holes at the 15th fret. I sanded .005” backbow
Dave tightening a ukelele in his vice.
Dave inspects bridge re-glue on guitar.
Dave holding a guitar seminar at Hermit Music Festival in Kuna, Idaho.
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