Retired Naval Academy Band member builds, repairs guitars

Jim Cunningham's retirement comes with strings attached. But that's just the way he wants it.

The 55-year-old Edgewater resident, who spent a quarter-century with the Naval Academy Band, now makes and repairs guitars. And when he's not doing that, he's playing gigs in the area.

"I think he brings to the building and repair business (the skills) of a really good professional player," said Peter Paglia of Atlantic Woodworks in Annapolis, where Cunningham has his work space. "He knows how a guitar should be played."

Paglia, who builds guitars himself, added that his friend never cuts...