Craig Cianciolo 
craig.cianciolo@gmail.com
craigcianciolo.wixsite.com/craft
(248) 973-7093

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-Summary-

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Woodwork as a paying venture since 2000

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I have designed and made tables, benches, acoustic and electric guitars from lumber.

I have fully dismantled, repaired, reglued and restored, as well as refinished, refurbished, or conserved:

 Furniture,

 Instruments, and

 Decorative objects

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Certificates
•Guitar Repair Program Diploma
•Wood Finishing Program Certificate
•Chemistry of Coatings Seminar
•Spray Operator Training Seminar
•Stain and Color Matching Seminar

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Previously Certified
•HAZardous Waste OPerations and Emergency Response (hazwoper)
•Fender Warranty
•Gibson Warranty
•Taylor Warranty

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-Employment-
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Owner/ Operator

 

May 2013- present
C.R.a.F.T. Antique Service
West Bloomfield, MI
• Antique Restoration

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Email Distribution Moderator

 

April 2014- June 2017
Professional Refinisher's Group
• Compiled and distributed daily Q and A restoration advice for 150+ professional members

 

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Journeyman Finishing Specialist

 

April 2008- May 2013
U.S. House of Representatives, 
Chief Administrative Office,
Assets Furnishings & Logistics,
Wood Finishing Shop
Washington D.C.
• Finisher

 

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Owner/ Operator

 

January 2008- September 2008
Elemental Stringed Instruments
Charleston, SC
• Stringed Instrument Repair

 

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Antique Restorer (Subcontractor)

 

November 2007- February 2008
Robert's Antique Restoration
Pensacola, FL
• Structural repair and refinishing of antique and newer furniture and musical instruments

 

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Furniture and Objects Conservator (Subcontractor)

 

July 2006- November 2007
Heirloom Finishes
Charleston, SC
http://www.heirloomfinishes.com/index.html
• Implemented improved strategies for the restoration and conservation of antique objects in accordance with AIC guidelines
• Provided professional treatment of antique objects

 

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Wood Finisher 

 

May 2005- Feb 2006 
King and Zelko Hawaiian Woodworks 
Kailua, HI 
http://www.kingandzelko.com/
• Implemented a finish schedule for cabinetry including viscosity measures, chemistry ratios and sanding and rubout recommendations 
• Advised superiors on types of tooling available to increase shop productivity
• Responsible for MSDS and PDS library of products 
• Performed necessary touchup to cabinet and furniture on substrates including Anigre, Maple, Sapele, African and Honduran Mahoganies, Wenge, Mango and Koa 
• Color matched dyes, stains and toners to customer samples using the chemistry of various manufacturers 
• Trained crew to use touchup products

 

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Shop Assistant 

 

June 2005- August 2005 
Dipper Instrument Restorations/ Claire Givens Violins 
Minneapolis, MN 
http://www.givensviolins.com/dipper/staff.asp 
• Subcontracted for special projects 
• Learned some of the processes for museum level instrument restoration and conservation 
• With assistance made accurate reproductions of Baroque tailpieces and fingerboards for restored instruments 

 

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Guitar Technician

 

July 2002- April 2004 
Interstate Music 
New Berlin, WI 
http://www.interstatemusic.com 
• Performed more than 150 of custom set-ups and electronics installations, repair and schematics, wood coating repair (retouch, in painting) including shellac, lacquer, varnish, polyurethane, photo finish and auto finish, seven neck resets, fingerboard and truss rod replacement, shaped more than 100 nuts and saddles of bone, ivory, brass, Corian and various dense woods, performed more than 75 partial or total refrets and more than 150 fret levels 
• Structural repair including grafts, splines, crack repair and shaping exact copies of missing or broken original pieces (bridges, headstocks, soundboard sections) 
• Additional responsibilities included delegating shop duties and dividing up workload, consulting with customers, overseeing accurate repair of vintage pieces (specifically 1920’s parlor guitar, 1935 Gibson L4 archtop, 1955 Gibson ES 225, 1962 Gretsch Tennessean, 1965 Guild 12 string, 1967 Martin D35) and setting repair prices. 
• Certified guitar technician for Archer, Brian Moore, Charvel, Epiphone, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Guild, Jackson, Paul Reed Smith, Steinberger, Taylor, Warwick, Yamaha and others 

 

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Luthier Apprentice 

 

August 2001- May 2002 
Minnesota State College- Southeast Technical 
Red Wing, MN 
• Stringed Instrument set-up, repair, diagnosis, jig fabrication and construction, power and and tool set-up and repair, general shop maintenance 

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-Education-

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May 2005
Diploma in Wood Finishing Technology
Dakota County Technical College 
Rosemount, MN 
• Taught by Mitch Kohanek  

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May 2002
Diploma in Stringed Instrument Repair
Minnesota State College Southeast Technical 
Red Wing, MN 

• Guitar Specialty

May 2000 
Bachelor of Science, Sociology
Michigan State University 
East Lansing, MI 

 

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-Training-
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September 2010
Certificate in Hazwoper (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response) training
Aerosol Monitoring and Analysis
Hanover, MD
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April 2010
Certificate in Spray Operator Training
American Wood Finishing Institute
Cherry Hill, NJ
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July 2009
Certificate in The Chemistry of Coatings
Dakota County Technical College
• Taught by Mitch Kohanek and Don Williams
Rosemount, MN
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November 2009
Certificate in Stain and Color Matching
American Wood Finishing Institute
Cherry Hill, NJ
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August 2007
Certificate in Tools and Techniques for Veneer and Structural Repair
Dakota County Technical College and Smithsonian Institute
Rosemount, MN
• Taught by Don Williams
http://www.si.edu/mci/downloads/media_information/DCWbiography.pdf
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July 2004
Certificate in Treatment of Transparent Coatings
Dakota County Technical College and Smithsonian Institute 
Rosemount, MN
• Taught by Don Williams

 

-Other Experience-

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Presented Seminar for Michigan Antique Radio Club
July 2018
Kalamazoo, MI
Wood Cabinet Restoration: refinishing to museum perspective conservation

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Presented Seminar for Michigan Antique Radio Club
July 2017
Kalamazoo, MI
Wood Cabinet Restoration: refinishing to museum perspective conservation

Attended Professional Refinisher's Annual Group Meeting
July 2014
Monterey, VA

• Seminars on custom finishing, bronze casting, unique clamping solutions

Attending two Woodgraining Workshops taught by Pierre Finkelstein
March 2010
Durham, CT

• Performed refurbishing of the Congressional Seats of The House of Representatives chamber in preparation for the 2010 State of the Union Address

Performed correct maintenance conservation on the Mace of The House of Representatives
April 2009
Office of the Sargent at Arms, The U.S. Capital Building
Washington DC

Attended a two day seminar on the historical context and joinery methods of chairs
February 2009
Winston-Salem, NC
Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts

Attended a Historic Coatings demonstration and lecture from Don Williams
June 2008
U.S. Senate Cabinet Shop
Washington DC

Participated in a two day project dismantling and cataloging the 2000 pieces of the "Thousand Springs Chinese Pavilion" exhibit
June 2007
Smithsonian Institute
Washington DC

Attended a two day seminar on identification of traditional furniture manufacturing featuring lectures by Colonial Williamsburg and Smithsonian Institute stewards and researchers
February 2007
Winston-Salem, NC
Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts

Attended a two day workshop on marquetry taught by Don Williams 
March 2006 
Rosemount, MN 
Dakota County Technical College 

Attended a two day workshop on custom finishing techniques taught by Greg Johnson, designer of the finish schedule for the Wendell Castle Collection 
http://www.wendellcastlecollection.com/woodsandfinishes.asp 
March 2005 

Attended a class in lost wax bronze casting 
August 2004 
Minnetonka Center for the Arts 
Minnetonka, MN 
Bronze Casting Workshop 

Attended a musical instrument makers symposium lectured by:
William Cumpiano (acoustics lecture)
http://www.cumpiano.com/, 
Grit Laskin (the art of inlay) 
http://www.williamlaskin.com/ 
Sergei DeJonge (classical guitar acoustics) 
http://www.dejongeguitars.com/djgc/index.html 
John Monteleone (carving an archtop) 
http://www.monteleone.net/index2.html 
Frank Ford (repair tips and tricks) 
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/FF/resume.html#Print 

June 2003 
McDaniel College 
Westminster, MD 
Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans Symposium 

Attended lectures and demonstrations on practices and tools for applying coatings to wood 
June 2003 
Dakota County Technical College 
Rosemount, MN 
Wood Finishing Convention

 

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Assisted in stages of the modification and reconstruction of a 19th Century barn project

Modified and constructed a classical guitar from a rare piece of reclaimed lumber

Designed and constructed a semi-hollow body electric guitar from rough lumber using only hand tools

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-References_

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Mitch Kohanek

(651) 226-3486

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​I can arrange correspondence with my clients upon their approval and your request