Dale Shenk is the high school Bible teacher at Bethany. You may think that his hands are full teaching Bible here at Bethany, but one hobby that he enjoys in his free time is guitar making.
One of the guitars that Dale has made
Ten years ago, Dale made his first guitar as an experiment. He thought it would be a good idea since he also enjoys woodworking. He made his first guitar in Bethany’s wood shop and it is now hanging in his classroom. After this first guitar was completed, he decided that he wanted to make more guitars as a hobby, and eventually he made a workshop in his home for making guitars.
The guitars that Dale makes are acoustic six strings. Believe it or not, Dale learned how to do this hobby from the internet. He has a unique way of making these guitars by making them with recycled pieces of wood. The last two that he made were made from wood scraps from a wall that was torn out when Bethany remodeled. The interesting thing about recycled wood is that it holds a lot of sentimental value. Dale mentioned, “The one [guitar] still has little holes in it from the tacks that were used to put a map up on that wall.” The different types of wood also make a difference in how the guitar sounds. Dale discovered that red cedar wood is what makes the best quality sound in his guitars
Piecing the body of the guitar together
Dale has made six guitars since pursuing his hobby. It takes 100 hours, or a little more than four days to make a guitar if working for 24 hours straight. Realistically, Dale works in shifts of 3-4 hours. Recently, he finished making two guitars after working on them for three years. He says they serve their purpose, but none of them look or sound like a professional guitar. With the basics covered, he’s not looking to sell, although he hopes that someday he will be able to.
~Brianna Liras