Strings attached: Retired minister Michael Davis has made dozens of guitars by hand

For many years, Michael Davis spent his days doing God's work as a Methodist minister.

But when he retired five years ago, he was suddenly faced with nothing much to do.

"I said, 'I ain't gonna sit here and watch TV all the time,'" he says.

Clearly, he needed to find a hobby.

Davis had always enjoyed woodworking in his spare time, and he also had enjoyed playing his lap dulcimer and guitar. That's why he decided to visit a guitar-maker friend in Cape Girardeau to see if he could learn the craft. And learn it he did.

Michael Davis explains the building process of a Melo-Dee guitar on April 20 in the workshop at his Cape Girardeau home.Glenn Landberg

Since those early lessons, Davis has built 58 guitars in his basement workshop and has sold 40 through his business, Melo-Dee Guitars, locally and throughout the country. For every nine or 10 guitars he sells, he gives at least one away.

"Every now and then, I run into a young person who can't afford a guitar, but they're talented, so I give them a guitar," he says.

Just about all his sales are reinvested in the business so he doesn't end up dipping into his retirement money, and so he can afford the giveaways.

"It's a self-sustaining hobby, so from the income I receive, I can pay for more materials," he says.

Some of those materials can be expensive, especially the more exotic kinds of wood he sometimes uses or the electrical components he incorporates in the higher-end guitar models that can be plugged into an amplifier.

Michael Davis, owner of Melo-Dee Guitars, poses for a photo Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in the workshop at his Cape Girardeau home.Glenn Landberg

Davis makes several different sizes of acoustic guitars -- all from scratch -- and depending on their purpose and the kinds of sounds he wants to achieve, he uses different types of wood, from cherry to maple to mahogany.

The more exotic types of wood, such as blood wood, zebra wood or ebony, are used for smaller parts of a guitar and varnished to a shine.

However, Davis says his main concern in creating guitars isn't their good looks, but the way they sound. And the way they sound is directly related to how precisely their frets and strings are put together, and even how the body of the guitar is constructed.

"For the guitar builder, that's a standard of excellence," Davis says.

A Melo-Dee guitar rests on a stand.Glenn Landberg

One thing he always makes sure to do is to affix the guitar strings closer to the neck and its fretboard so it's easier to play. That playability is enhanced because of how quickly a player's fingers can travel up and down the neck as they're plucking the strings and affecting the notes.

"Without the sound and playability, I wouldn't buy a guitar, no matter how good it looks," he says.

Often, cheaper models will be made with the strings lifted higher from the fretboard, which can make a player's fingers sore and make them work harder to create the sound they're trying to achieve.

Michael Davis, owner of Melo-Dee Guitars, strums a one of his handmade guitars Wednesday, April 20, 2016, in the workshop at his Cape Girardeau home.Glenn Landberg

Making sure an instrument is harmonically correct takes time and patience.

"Every little process takes time, and you don't want to rush the process," Davis says.

Since he likes to work at his own pace, Davis might go days without visiting his workshop. But then he might get on a roll and be down there for several hours at a stretch.

Right now, he's getting ready for an annual craft show that will be held in Springfield, Missouri, in October, so he's building guitars especially for that -- about one a month, because that's generally how long it takes to get them just right. It's a good opportunity to make some sales and take some special orders to keep things rolling along.