CNC in the Small Shop: A Luthier’s Perspective
The CNC router is an incredible tool for guitar making. Today, we’re seeing a revolution in how it’s being applied in small shops. Decades ago, this was a tool only feasible in large-scale manufacturing contexts—but that’s swiftly changing. It's incredibly empowering for the average luthier.
When I worked for Rick Turner, our production line centered around the operation of his Techno RG 5996—an absolute behemoth of a machine, and frankly, more than we needed. When I became responsible for running it, I was essentially brand new to CNC. I had spent a few months in a cabinet shop as a CNC operator, which really just meant loading and unloading parts, and I had dabbled in designing my own guitars in a CAD program. So, I was green.
It’s also important to note that the shop was small—at our largest, we maybe employed seven people. That meant I had to wear a lot of hats. At any given time, I was foreman, builder, lumber miller, CAD designer, CNC programmer and operator, finish specialist—the list goes on.
That experience taught me just how powerful a CNC router can be in a small shop, especially if you're producing guitars at any kind of volume. Toward the end of my time there, I realized that if I created fixtures and machining operations to run multiple parts at once, I could drastically reduce how much time I needed to spend physically at the machine. That freed me up to handle my many other responsibilities.
For example: if a single neck took 30 minutes of machine run time between two operations, plus 5 minutes for setup, then running 6 necks at once meant I could machine 12 necks in a day while only interacting with the CNC twice. That was critical, because we needed to be shipping a certain number of guitars per week. Effectively, I found I could be three people at once—if I optimized the CNC workflow properly.
Of course, this method wasn’t ideal for highly custom parts, which we also produced frequently. But for our more standardized models—which I’d estimate made up about 80% of our sales—it worked beautifully. I could be building guitars, finishing them, or milling raw lumber, all while the machine stacked up a rack of ready-made parts.
That experience fundamentally shaped how I approach CNC work today. In Bryan Galloup’s shop, I design workflows that prioritize repeatability, smart fixture design which allows for running many parts at once or one unique part, and minimized downtime—always with the understanding that CNC should support, not replace, the hands-on work of a skilled luthier. The goal isn’t automation for its own sake, but rather to free up time and energy for the things that still demand a human touch: voicing, final carving, finishing, and the intuitive problem-solving that great instruments require. CNC is just another tool in the box—but when used wisely, it multiplies what a small team (or even a single builder) can accomplish.
