I can’t say for sure when I started working with wood but I do know that woodworking has forever been in my life. My father was always building something and I was always there crawling around in the sawdust playing with the scraps. When I was about four years old, I recall him making my first set of building blocks. He used both mahogany and clear pine for contrast. I clearly remember when the finely handcrafted blocks were given to me and I was more interested in how they were made than I was in playing with them.

In 1973 I started playing guitar, I didn’t know it at the time, but it was about to change my life forever. Although I never really got to be an excellent player (I do O.K.), similar to the building blocks above, I was always interested in how a guitar was put together. Over the years when my instruments needed work, I would figure out how to repair them myself. I started to get quite proficient at this and started making minor repairs for other musicians as well. In 1995 with my family pretty well grown up I started seriously researching lutherie and by 1998 I was tooled-up and began building as well as repairing instruments. I have built many different types of instruments such as dulcimers, hammered dulcimers and electric guitars. My primary focus was and still is, on steel stringed acoustic guitars.

At this point I thought I had worked with every type of wood possible until I was introduced to the art of pipe-making in 2005. Soon after my first encounter with briar I knew this was also something I wanted to do. My passion for pipe-making was confirmed after attending the Chicago pipe show in 2006.

Through this experience, I decided in January 2009 to pursue fulltime lutherie and pipe making, I will continue to do stringed instrument repairs as well as provide materials to fellow luthiers and pipe makers as opportunity allows. I look forward to serving the musical community with fine hand crafted instruments and the pipe community with premium hand crafted smoking pipes for years to come.

Joe Nelson resides in Fond du Lac County, WI, USA with his wife of 32 years, Sue. They have been blessed with 3 daughters Sarah, Amy and Amanda 3 son-in-laws Troy, Scott and Adam 8 grandchildren Sierra, John, Noah, Sam, Josh, Madelyn, Connor and Alaina so far. Thank You.