If Tony Ward is the master of the oboe-making world then John Armstrong is his apprentice.
The two men have spent the past couple of weeks in St Andrew's Street, Maitland, honing their craft to keep the skill alive.
"Oboe makers are as rare as hen's teeth," Mr Ward, 68, said.
"People just don't want to do it anymore and I can't really blame them . . . to make an oboe is a true labour of love."
But it's a love these two oboe aficionados are keen to nurture.
"We both clearly love the craftsmanship of making wind instruments but we've come at it from different sides," Mr Armstrong, 41, said.
"I developed a love for making oboes after playing the instrument whereas Tony started making oboes because he was great with his hands. In fact Tony has never actually played the oboe."
Mr Armstrong was a student at Maitland Boys High School when the oboe called.
"The oboe was a rare instrument and that's why I wanted to play it . . . just to do something a little different I guess," he said.
Mr Armstrong - who eventually became a professional oboe player - was learning the instruments in a Sydney school, courtesy of a scholarship.
"I was only given that scholarship because I was playing the oboe. The other students were insanely gifted and I was not," he said.
Despite this claim Mr Armstrong received another scholarship to spend three months in London to learn all about the oboe and how it was made.
Back home in Australia Mr Ward - who emigrated from England in 1983 - was busy establishing himself as the only oboe maker in the country.
"Later down the track I spent another two years in England but then I heard about Tony and realised one of the best oboe makers was back home so I tracked him down and here we are," Mr Armstrong said.
Mr Ward's love for the oboe was also born out of a desire to do something different.
"Academically, I was never that bright but I was good with my hands," Mr Ward said.
mr Armstrong said Tony's techniques were "very old school and for me he is a role model and my mentor".