A second life for guitar scraps

Luthiers and other instrument manufacturers systematically find themselves with residue from their work. Rather than throwing them away, some have decided to give them a second life by making various objects for domestic use… or otherwise!

Since 2007, luthier Nicolas Perreault has been creating all kinds of electric guitars in his workshop in Warwick, in Centre-du-Québec. Nearly 10 years ago, after rumination, the craftsman took the initiative to direct his scraps of wood and old worn ropes somewhere other than the trash. “Until then, I kept them while waiting to find a solution to reuse these materials. When I make guitars, it’s often with exotic woods, I didn’t want to get rid of them,” he explains, specifying that unlike practices in Europe and the United States, there is no program , neither in Quebec nor in Canada, recovery of ropes out of breath. Those used on electric guitars are generally made of steel or nickel, or a combination of the two.

Ultimately, it was his partner Katie Leblanc who gave the “la” to this reuse project. “Seeing the different sizes and colors in the metals of the ropes, she saw potential for making jewelry and bracelets. For my part, with the scraps of wood, I saw the opportunity to design various objects to give a second life to the materials,” recalls Mr. Perreault.

Examples? An original teaspoon that also serves as pliers to hermetically close a small bag, a beeswax applicator for wooden surfaces (the luthier makes his own wax, using products from Tingwick), jewelry holders…

Kitchen tools were also on the menu, but temporarily unavailable, as large scraps were in short supply: cheese knives and cutting boards, including a piece in the shape of a guitar body, with a silhouette evoking the very popular Telecaster.

Moreover, musicians are pampered with these creations, since the workshop also offers plectrum holders (to hold the famous picks used for strumming the strings, which you never really know where to store once the session is over) and storage racks for vinyls or comics.

The types of wood used are, logically, the same ones found in violin making, namely maple, mahogany, ash, poplar, black walnut, etc. The objects will therefore have the appearance of the type of wood available at the time of manufacture.

“I sometimes make collages of different woods for the same piece, people like that, it catches the eye,” says the luthier.

On the jewelry side, Katie and Nicolas use used ropes and wood to make rings, earrings, necklaces or bracelets, into which the materials are worked and inserted. Even if they are thinking of developing new concepts, notably with bass strings with a larger diameter, the duo is mainly trying to find ways to increase efficiency, sometimes struggling to keep up with the tempo.

A giant follows suit

A Quebec guitar giant has also got in tune. The instrument manufacturer Godin also draws on scraps to design cutting or serving boards, signed with its signature. They are made from solid Canadian maple from scraps collected during the machining of the necks and bodies of electric guitars.

Furthermore, Godin has an agreement with the company Ola Bamboo, established in Drummondville, which recovers scraps to manufacture 100% local maple toothbrushes, called OlaCycle. With a minimal carbon footprint and a compostable product, this is a good mark for quenottes.

Visit the Créations Perro website