Denny's Stuff Dennis Stevens is selling his tools, wood, jigs, fixtures, and incidental stuff. This is an amazing opportunity for a luthier setting up a shop or improving their shop.
Dennis Stevens has been a friend for many years. He helped me when I was starting out and was my collaborator in developing the Universal Binding Router Jig. He was a terrific luthier. Sadly, he died recently after beating the crap out of ALS. He left the ring on his own terms. This is a truly amazing opportunity for a startup or established luthier. The shop of a truly fine Luthier of over 40 years is being sold complete, if possible. This is a nearly turn-key operation for steel string, archtop, and classical building. All high quality tools; you supply the talent and hard work. If Denny's stuff does not sell as a complete unit, I will be offering tools, wood, jigs, etc., individually. If you are interested in individual items, please send an email with the # and description of the item. Please be clear about what you want; I will not be able to sort out details with each interested person for a while. Also, please do not offer lower price bids; These are good deals.
Larry Pogreba, Denny Stevens, me
the last time I saw Denny
My good friend Denny died today. He had engaged a brief battle with ALS, and it didn’t beat him; he walked away from the battlefield. Everyone who knew Denny respected him. When there was nothing but Sloan, Denny started building. His work was steady, exceptional, sometimes truly innovative, and always genuine and BS-free. He was a good guy to have as an influence. Denny was supportive and argumentative and couldn’t figure out some of the things I was trying to do because he was so good at doing it the right way that he didn’t need to reinvent it. He was open minded and open hearted and generous, even if he did avoid most people most of the time. Denny grew up in Colorado and lived there until he moved with his wife Karen to Oregon. I helped him load up the truck to drive out west to Salem and I couldn’t understand his difficulty in moving. He had lived there, he told me, in that house, from age 9 or 10 until he moved to Salem, Oregon at about age 50, adding on rooms and a shop as he grew up and married. Denny never advertised, always had lots of work, was revered in the jazz guitar community, made fabulous steel strings, some good classicals, and a truly hilarious electric, his first guitar, pictured at the left. He made the pickups, the body is plywood, and it pretty much works. I’ll miss Denny, although I seldom got to see him. He didn’t care much for pedestals. He was just such a good guy and it always felt natural to get together with him.
Dennis Stevens' tools, jigs and other cool stuff. All tools, jigs, fixtures, setups have beenbuilt, setup, and/or modified for lutherie use by a fanatically detail-oriented luthier of the highest level. These are far better than new tools, or off the shelf equipment, regardless of age. All are in fully professional working order. I'll be putting a link to photos up asap.
1, 2. Photo Light banks, two, 10 bulbs each, $250 3. Carving machine with all templates and 3-D carving patterns $3500 Each shape includes carving patterns, clamping and assembly forms, Four archtops, 8 flattops Neck carving jig and patterns 4. Sidebender with Time, Temp controls, bench, forms, pulldowns, $1000 (The best I've ever seen, by far.) 5. Hitachi Resaw, 2 hp low speed, hi-torque motor (much quieter and more powerful and accurate than stock), fences, blades $2000 6. Rockwell Unisaw, The usual standard machine 7. Craftsman 6” jointer, older solid machine 8. Delta thickness sander, 16-32” with sanding bands 9. Delta 6x48 belt sander with 12” disk 10. “ “ “ “ without disk 11. Craftsman Shaper, with custom bits and jigs for shaping braces, necks linings, kerfings, heels, etc. 12. Radius Sander with dust collection, 24” disks, 10”, 15”, 20” concave, plus convex for bridges. $1000 13. Jet Occillating spindle sander, with drums. 14. Recipricating Scroll Saw, pro model. 16 a,b,c. Custom Truss Rod slotting machines, three-piece set. $500 18. Fret Slotting Machine, full linear bearings, plus templates $500 19 a,b. Dovetail Cutting jigs, with Dedicated Routers, bits, $800
Lots more miscellaneous stuff, all good.
Fleishman Instruments 1533 Welter Ct. Sebastopol, CA 95472 USA guitars@sbcglobal.net 707-823-3537
