A senior year school project struck the right chord with one musically inclined Somersfield Academy student.

“It took about seven months of just pure work,” 15-year-old Smith’s resident Shane White said of the undertaking.

His project — a handmade guitar crafted using 100 per cent Bermuda cedar acquired from a work associate of his father — involved long stretches of weekend work, in addition to time spent after school.

His father helped with more than just finding the materials. “I didn’t have any carpentry skills, so throughout the whole project my dad was the one really guiding me,” Shane said.

“And I learnt a lot from YouTube tutorials of other guitar makers.”

The toughest part of the project, Shane said, was bending the cedar to form the sides of the instrument’s body.

“I asked around to a few different carpenters, and everyone said either it couldn’t be done because it was too brittle, or it just plain couldn’t be done because it was cedar and it wouldn’t bend,” he said.

A steam box ultimately let him shape the wood as required.

Charlie Judd, senior division head at Somersfield Academy said he was “in awe” when he first saw the finished project.

“To actually have seen someone his age create that out of Bermuda cedar — I don’t think anyone has ever done it before, to be honest with you,” he said.

“I think all of us were really taken aback by the quality, the craftsmanship, and just the sheer workmanship that must have gone into actually engineering the thing.”

He described Shane as very principled and goal-oriented, with high integrity and a strong work ethic.

“And I think that really showed up in being able to bring this project to fruition,” Mr Judd said.

Playing for the past eight years now, Shane originally had his eyes on a different instrument.

“Honestly, I wanted to play piano, but my parents put me in guitar,” he said.

Musicians Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana, as well as band AC/DC, round out his top-three musical favourites.

His mom — a trombone player — has helped to get her son a few gigs already, including performing at a wedding, the Spanish Point Boat Club, and more.

“Shane is a passionate musician, and I think this aspect of the actual construction of an instrument has just sort of broadened his skills and knowledge of music,” Mr Judd said.

The project, Shane said, has given him ideas about the possibility of creating a guitar-building business in the future.

For now, however, his one and only creation looks to be staying where it is.

“This is definitely an instrument that I’m going to keep,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of offers for it. I’m going to build more definitely, but this one is going to be my keeper.”