Everything for building and repairing stringed instruments!

 

 

Stewart-MacDonald has the hard-to-find tools, parts, and supplies needed by builders and repair shops. With our staff of experienced luthiers, we also design and manufacture tools specifically for the needs of professional instrument makers and repair shops. Our manufacturing shop here in Ohio also creates instrument kits of particularly high quality. With woods selected and machined for accurate fit, these kits give you the materials needed to create heirloom-quality instruments.

 

 

 

 

Expert luthiers on staff

 

 

We are dedicated to teaching the craft, too: we carefully write detailed instructions to help our customers with the products they buy. Our kits, especially, are backed-up with step-by-step guides created by professionals whose lutherie work is respected in the industry. These instructions are available to you for free as a service here on this website.

 

 

 

Fast, professional order response team Our friendly customer service and tech support staff are trained to help you. Our warehouse crew is the fastest anywhere: orders received by 4pm EST (Monday-Friday), ship the same day! We also offer an Unconditional Return Guarantee: if you’re not satisfied with an item for any reason, simply return it.

 

 

Since 1968,In 1968, founders C. E. Stewart and Bill MacDonald decided to build a banjo they could sell for $100. To finance the project, they began selling parts. In 1969 they mailed the first catalog, a simple flyer listing ten items. The company earned a reputation for innovation: Stewart-MacDonald introduced the revolutionary 5-Star banjo head, the first banjo head that didn’t pull free from its metal ring. We were also the first to sell banjo kits and parts through the mail.

 

 

 

Today we continue to offer innovative products. We know our products work well, because we use them here first! Our master builders and repairmen on staff include Dan Erlewine, the well-known author and teacher, and Don MacRostie, whose toolmaking skills and Red Diamond mandolins are justly famous. These are just two of the experienced pros who develop and test the products we offer.

 

 

To serve customers, we search for the best products around the world. Sometimes, that means manufacturing the items ourselves in order to make them widely available. For instance, items in the catalog marked with the Waverly brand are made in the USA by Stewart-MacDonald. They continue the tradition of the Waverly Manufacturing Company, a major parts maker in the early 1900s that Stewart-MacDonald purchased in 1976. Waverly manufactures Waverly tuners and Sloane guitar machines, which utilize the patented gearing designed by the late author/luthier Irving Sloane. Stewart-MacDonald is the sole distributor of Waverly tuners and Sloane guitar machines, the highest quality tuners in the industry.

 

 

At Stewart-MacDonald, you’ll find high quality products, knowledgeable experts ready to help, and fast delivery of your order. Please take this opportunity to request our free catalog.Your friends at Stewart-MacDonald