In 2024, longtime wood flooring pro Stephen Diggins took a “gap year” after working decades as a distributor. He used that time off to reconnect with many of the friends he had made in the industry over the years, and at the top of that list was lifelong friend Dave Hoyt. Diggins and Hoyt met in the early 2000s when Hoyt was one of Diggins’ customers, and Hoyt has since opened his own distribution company, South Hampton, N.H.-based Seacoast Floor Supply. During Diggins’ gap year, he kept busy with woodworking projects, some of which were created using scraps of wood flooring from Hoyt’s company. “I would look some of the castoffs over and say something like, ‘This would look good in a guitar,’” Diggins says. “I am not sure Dave was aware I actually build guitars. At some point, Dave would mess with me and say, ‘Hey, here’s one! Save this for the guitar.’” But at some point, Diggins became determined to actually make the guitar. Keeping the project secret, Diggins press-glued pieces of maple, rosewood, wenge and American cherry. He says he completed the guitar in three days because the wood was so fun to work with and he was so excited to create a gift based on the inside joke. Once finished, Diggins autographed the neck, wrapped the guitar up with a bow and took it to Hoyt’s shop. “He never thought I was actually going to make a guitar out of his flooring,” Diggins says. As fun as the guitar was to make, Diggins says it represents his respect for Hoyt and the bonds he created in industry. As Diggins says, “Thus the 20-year making of a friendship built around hardwood flooring carries on musically.”
Dave Hoyt holds Stephen Diggins' wood floor guitar.Courtesy of Stephen Diggins
Courtesy of Stephen Diggins
