Minerva Fretworks

Minerva Fretworks Hand made flat top guitars. Good wood, classic designs, hot hide glue, and hand rubbed varnish finishes. Made by Isaac Stroupe in Chattanooga, TN.

Making a tail block for a custom ordered L-00 today.
09/24/2023

Making a tail block for a custom ordered L-00 today.

Old #2 back at it after its sprucing.
06/07/2023

Old #2 back at it after its sprucing.

Here's a 12 Fret L-00 with 1933 bracing that was delivered through a couple weeks ago.
05/05/2023

Here's a 12 Fret L-00 with 1933 bracing that was delivered through a couple weeks ago.

This one has been a slow burning project in my pile of projects for about a year now. It is Minerva #2, an all mahogany...
04/27/2023

This one has been a slow burning project in my pile of projects for about a year now. It is Minerva #2, an all mahogany 13 fret L-2 (banjo tuners, elevated Pickguard, jester inlay).
It was my first regular flattop guitar ( #1 was a Weissenborn) so there was a lot to learn. The most fatal flaw was attempting to glue plastic binding on with hot hide glue (does not work, do not attempt), so after realizing I was going to have to take it apart to rebind it I decided to go whole hog and fix everything about it that was no longer up to s***f. The body was copied from my 1930 Kel Kroydon so structurally and sonically it is very similar to the guitars I'm building now (it's actually lighter) but the neck carve and varnish left a lot to be desired. So now its had new binding, a neck reset, new fingerboard, new bridge, new neck carve, and is ready for frets and a hopefully much improved varnish. It's been bittersweet but fun to see it go from then to now.

Merry Christmas and thanks for being big guitar nerds and supporting my little business. I've got a few to make next yea...
12/25/2022

Merry Christmas and thanks for being big guitar nerds and supporting my little business. I've got a few to make next year, gotta keep the kitten fed. So long!

Three sizes of L body! From the left is the 91% scaled L made to match the width of a Martin single 0.The center is the ...
12/01/2022

Three sizes of L body!
From the left is the 91% scaled L made to match the width of a Martin single 0.
The center is the old standard represented by my 1931 L-1 and the right is my newest model, the L-000 scaled to fit a Martin 000 case.

Can't figure out if this one is a short Nick Lucas or a really fancy L-1 but whatever it is, it just got its first set o...
07/22/2022

Can't figure out if this one is a short Nick Lucas or a really fancy L-1 but whatever it is, it just got its first set of strings and is already sounding very nice!
It'll be in the booth with me at Clifftop in a couple weeks so come give it a spin and say hello if you're attending. My booth is right on the corner across from

Sitka / Mahogany
Hand rubbed Cremona Burst
French polished spirit varnish
100% hot hide glue
Katalox board / Wenge bridge

This one sold in the last batch at and never got a full post here, so here it is. This one was a bench copy of a solid ...
07/08/2022

This one sold in the last batch at and never got a full post here, so here it is.
This one was a bench copy of a solid lined 1933 L-00 that I took extensive notes on and then built as close as I could.
One neat detail from some 1933 small burst L-00's I was not aware of until recently is the inverted rosette in the first photo (Black/white/black instead of white/black/white). The YouTube channel will hip you to all sorts of such info if you haven't gone down that rabbit hole. It's a wonderful resource!

'Bout to put the shine to this 1931 Cremona Burst. This is my first Cremona Burst but it's got me thinking. Who wants a ...
07/02/2022

'Bout to put the shine to this 1931 Cremona Burst. This is my first Cremona Burst but it's got me thinking. Who wants a Cremona Burst Roy Smeck?

I do love the Nick Lucas inlays! With frets done this one is ready for varnish.
06/22/2022

I do love the Nick Lucas inlays! With frets done this one is ready for varnish.

Sunset on the L-000. Come find us at Mt. Airy this weekend and say hello. L body scaled to 000 sizeWhite Oak B/SMasked M...
05/30/2022

Sunset on the L-000. Come find us at Mt. Airy this weekend and say hello.

L body scaled to 000 size
White Oak B/S
Masked Marvel top wood (I'll tell you when you play it!)
Mahogany neck
Poplar and Walnut rope binding
Martin style 1930 red spruce scalloped bracing
French polished spirit varnish finish

05/28/2022

New model! This is the prototype I just finished for a design I'm calling the L-000. It's the classic L body blown up to the size of a Martin 12 fret 000.
This one has Martin-esque prewar scalloped bracing, Mahogany neck, White Oak back and side and a mystery top wood. Got any guesses?
It's had tension for about 48hrs and so far is a pretty dreamy fingerstyle guitar. I'm happy this one is going to hang around the shop for a while.

Address

Atlanta, GA

Telephone

(770) 310-6537

Website

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