The Greatest Gift in Making, Is Giving
June 13-14, 2026
A Collaborative: One Guitar in Two Days with John Ressler
A charity event for the Roger Cliffe Memorial Foundation
Class size: 18 people
A Note from John About Roger Cliffe
I have been playing and working with wood since I was a young boy on our family farm in Ohio. When I was in high school, I purchased a book titled Table Saw Techniques by Roger Cliffe at our local hardware store. I read the book cover to cover and became even more “addicted” to woodworking as a result. I thought the author of the book was the best.
Fast forward about 25 years. I am now a partner in a woodworking company (Designed Stairs) in Illinois. One day I received a flier in the mail from a nearby hardwood lumber store advertising a seminar about table saws by Roger Cliffe. I couldn’t believe my woodworking hero actually lived near me! After the seminar, I talked with Roger and asked if he would be interested in doing some work for our company teaching machine safety. After touring our facility, he agreed to partner with us in educating our employees. He became much more than a seminar instructor; he became friends with all our employees.
Fast forward about 25 years. I am now a partner in a woodworking company (Designed Stairs) in Illinois. One day I received a flier in the mail from a nearby hardwood lumber store advertising a seminar about table saws by Roger Cliffe. I couldn’t believe my woodworking hero actually lived near me! After the seminar, I talked with Roger and asked if he would be interested in doing some work for our company teaching machine safety. After touring our facility, he agreed to partner with us in educating our employees. He became much more than a seminar instructor; he became friends with all our employees.
His personal approach and warm style were contagious, and before long he was teaching woodworking project classes for our employees after hours. He became a mainstay at our company. One day he told me about this guy named Marc Adams and suggested I check out his new woodworking school. I took a few classes at MASW over the next few years and fell in love with the learning atmosphere. Roger’s suggestion led me to the opportunity of becoming an instructor at this fine school.
I am honored to “pay it forward” and honor Roger Cliffe by helping provide funds to continue to educate and inspire young people today in his memory—just as he inspired me as a young man.
Here’s the Plan
John is volunteering his time and materials to do something quite unique, but he needs your help. This workshop will be limited to 18 students and will be completely hands-on. There will be a minimum cost of $150 per student. Since the RCMF is a public charity organized as a 501(c)(3) corporation, all donations to the RCMF are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. So not only will you help through your good work but also through your tax-deductible donation.
All students will participate in the construction of a premium acoustic guitar, which will then be sold with 100% of the proceeds going to the RCMF foundation. Many of the methods and details on the guitar will be advanced-level and have not been demonstrated in any of John’s prior guitar classes.
There will be many demonstrations throughout the weekend, but each student will work on individual parts of the guitar so that the final instrument will include contributions from everyone. It will then be signed by each class participant, sent off to be professionally finished, and displayed at MASW for the remainder of the summer, with a final auction date of November 1, 2026.
Some of the topics John will cover include bound fingerboards, sound hole binding, abalone shell purfling, advanced rosette techniques, bound rosettes, mitered purflings, solid linings, side ports, alternate bracing patterns, and cutaway demonstrations.
Here’s the Plan
John is volunteering his time and materials to do something quite unique, but he needs your help. This workshop will be limited to 18 students and will be completely hands-on. There will be a minimum cost of $150 per student. Since the RCMF is a public charity organized as a 501(c)(3) corporation, all donations to the RCMF are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. So not only will you help through your good work but also through your tax-deductible donation.
All students will participate in the construction of a premium acoustic guitar, which will then be sold with 100% of the proceeds going to the RCMF foundation. Many of the methods and details on the guitar will be advanced-level and have not been demonstrated in any of John’s prior guitar classes.
There will be many demonstrations throughout the weekend, but each student will work on individual parts of the guitar so that the final instrument will include contributions from everyone. It will then be signed by each class participant, sent off to be professionally finished, and displayed at MASW for the remainder of the summer, with a final auction date of November 1, 2026.
Some of the topics John will cover include bound fingerboards, sound hole binding, abalone shell purfling, advanced rosette techniques, bound rosettes, mitered purflings, solid linings, side ports, alternate bracing patterns, and cutaway demonstrations.
Thank You for Your Support
MASW Special Events Summer 2026
Use the links below to visit any of our charity pages.
