About the Blackwood Guitar Company

Blackwood Guitar Company is a small shop owned and run by luthier Ted Brown. I make fine acoustic guitars and teach guitar making. We are located in a lovely maple forest just west of Brockville Ontario. Although our address says Mallorytown, we are actually 10km north of the town at 340 County Road 5. The school was custom built in 2021 for the purpose of guitar building. We have six student benches that are well appointed with hand tools and jigs you will use during the making of your guitar.  We have a showroom at the front of the building where I display and sell my guitars. In the middle of the building is the bench room, and at the rear is the machine room.

My background includes taking a cabinetmaking course in Ottawa in the early 1990s, followed by an intense year spent at the College of the Redwoods fine woodworking program in California. I built a 3200 square foot shop in Almonte back in 2002, and taught hundreds of woodworkers in the shop until 2007. I studied lutherie under Sergei de Jonge in Chelsea Quebec, and later I studied under Michel Pellerin in Thetford Mines Quebec.

Since 2022 I have been teaching acoustic guitar making in this well-lit shop. Our class size is 6 maximum, so you will get a significant amount of 1:1 time during your build. When you look out and see the maple forest you know it is the right place to relax and create a wonderful instrument. We have had students from across Canada, USA and beyond that have come and enjoyed our 5-week course. All you need is a positive attitude and your basic safety equipment like safety glasses, dust mask and hearing protection. We supply everything else. We work daily from 9:30 to 4:30. The shop will be open in the evenings  and Saturdays so you can do some extra work.  

We offer rooms with shared cooking and bath facilities at a very reasonable rate for those that come from a distance. Please inquire when you register. 

The 1000 Islands tourism district is a lovely place to explore while you are here. Just ask and we will direct you to all the facilities that you need.  

I look forward to working with you.

Cheers, Ted Brown.

To register call 613-292-1985 or email us at info@blackwoodguitar.ca