He brings spirituality out of the woodwork

Young-craftsman builds and sells precision instruments

When Peter Kirkpatrick was 13 years old, he wanted to play music.

"I borrowed a guitar from a friend," he said, "but I knew I'd have to give it back."

Peter Kirkpatrick (right) teaches a Guitar Making class at the University of Oregon Craft Center with assistant Dan Gilmore (left).

He decided to build his own instrument, but the project required a couple hundred dollars' worth of parts.

"I got a job digging a ditch for a neighbor," he said.

Kirkpatrick's first guitar was a rough version of the famous Les Paul model. "It didn't even really work," he said, "but I've been trying to perfect it ever since. I'm more picky now."

Kirkpatrick, now 22, has been playing and building guitars ever since. He has handcrafted more than 50 acoustic and electric guitars and even a couple of mandolins.

A single guitar can take up to six months to complete.

Kirkpatrick currently has a dozen instruments in progress. His finished instruments sell for hundreds of dollars to musicians who need precise, quality instruments, and who don't mind being placed on a waiting list.

One of Kirkpatrick's favorite models is inspired by the Paul Reed Smith model electric guitar, one of the most widely admired instruments in the guitar world.

"It's my form of meditation, really," he said. "Some people pray, some people play music or do something solitary. I build guitars and I don't really think about the process. It's how I express my spirituality."

The commitment shows in the quality of the guitars and in Kirkpatrick's attachment to his projects.

"I've actually sold some of them and then bought them back," he said.

Kirkpatrick is working toward opening his own woodshop where he can craft and sell his instruments.

"That would be my dream. In high school, when they had you lay out your life and build a career, I wanted to build guitars.

"That's the type of work I could get up every morning for."