Mention the name Hefner in Pocahontas County and it’s automatically associated with music.

The Hefner family is blessed with exceptional musicians who have mastered the art of playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, autoharp and bass.

Taking his love of music and guitar to the next level, Bill Hefner began crafting his own custom guitars in 2004.

“I felt like this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said. “I about gave up and I said, ‘Lord, if you want me to build guitars, you have to work it out.’”

As the saying goes, the Lord works in mysterious ways and Hefner soon found himself taking a class on woodworking.

He finished his first guitar in 2005. He named the body style of the guitar “the Irvine” after his uncle, Glen Irvine.

“He stayed with us and he gave me instruction on how to play fingerstyle,” he said. “I’ve been playing guitar since I was 15.”

Hefner allows each customer to choose every aspect of the guitar, from the type of wood to the type of inlay for the fingerboard and head of the guitar.

Each piece of the guitar is hand-crafted and carved by Hefner.

“The quickest I finished a guitar was in 180 hours, the longest was 220 hours,” he said.

Lately, Hefner has branched out in his instrument making, at least, for the family. He is constructing a banjo for his daughter and a mandolin for his son.

The popularity of Hefner’s work has led to interest from local store owners to sell his guitars.

“The Briar Patch wants to have them in stock,” he said. “I told her as soon as I get some built, she can sell them.”

Hefner’s shop is currently under construction and is expanding to include a showroom for his guitars. He hopes to have the shop open sometime in August.

For more information about the selection of wood and inlay materials, visit loghomemusic.com.