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Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

1960s Silvertone archtop neck pull

Dovetail was 9/16” deep, and 1 9/16” wide at the back. 15th fret was 1 mm tail side of the end of the dovetail socket but a slight angulation towards the headstock landed in the right place. Hide glue, released easily. Nice everyday player, finish and binding beautiful, good spruce top, warped poplar neck.

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Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Martin binding repair

The archived video and recent Council of Elders were very helpful in upping my binding reattachment game. Now I need to correct how much I've been charging! Someone mentioned that Martin pays $90/individual separation, I believe regardless of the length of the separation. Does this include finish repair, if needed? Any other guidelines on pricing for binding reattachment will be appreciated. Thanks! Neil

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They pay $90 for binding repair “with touchup” and $80 without. Basically they always send the authorization for “with touchup” and never ask if it actually needs touchup. I tell customers “you dont w…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Builds

Please recommend someone or volunteer for inlay work

Hi friends, I was at a colleague's shop this morning. He’s a pretty well-known builder. A customer has asked for names (several… grandchildren, you know) being inlayed in abalone in a fingerboard and he’s feeling out of his depth for this task. I have volunteered to help find a colleague who'd be willing to do it. Anyone interested in doing this? Any recommendations for a talented colleague? Thanks friends.

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There’s a very talented young Looth in Trinidad & Tobago (yes not the nearest but boy is he talented for inlays especially) you can find him on FB under Beren Guitars ( I recommend he join the Loothgr…
Ian Davlin DiscussionGeneral

New Feature - Follow

Discussion cards now have a new feature for following posts that you neither posted or are replying to, but still would like to know when there is action on them. You can select to either be notified on through the bell icon in the header, or you can be emailed, or both. Hit the manage account button in the profile header and you can manage the posts you follow. You can even select the frequency of the emails to something less spammy.

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@member this is a test.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Martin DX 175th bridge reglue

I have a martin DX 175TH that is in for a bridge lifting. I did some research and it has an HPL top and a rosewood bridge. I have some gluboost gel on hand but I was wondering if anyone has a better suggestion.

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Here are a few tips for reglueing a bridge to HPL: 1. Clean off any old cyanoacrylate (CA) residue on the soundboard using "Super Solvent" or a similar product designed to remove cured cyanoacrylate. 2.…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Great Moments in Luthiery

Sure - we love talking about the 'clams'. In fact, when I discovered that "Ian Hated Guitars," I knew I had found a kindred spirit. BUT - every once in awhile, you hit a homer. Allow me to share mine and you can do likewise: You've just done a touch up and it takes you several seconds to find it. WooHoo!

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Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

'60's Fender Newporter matte finish repair

I working through a long top crack repair on a c.1964 Fender Newporter and need to do a little touch-up on the clear coat. The top coat is matte over a do-do brown stained mahogany top, I'm guessing around a 10-20% reflectivity. Questions: 1. What top coat product did Fender use on these? 2. What should I use that has great self-leveling qualities and will melt into the old finish? <>

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I've decided to follow your wisdom, Ian, and it leave the finish cracks alone. It will be structurally sound again and look like it used to have a crack.
Private member DiscussionNeck Reset Database

2003 Fender DG-14SCE Solid Top Acoustic

This guitar does not have a dovetail. It has five dowel. Three in line and two at the top on either side of the truss rod. Remove truss rod nut before sliding neck straight out.

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I thought that is where I posted this!
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

74 Les Paul Broken Headstock

Guitar fell straight down on the headstock when it was hanging up at the refinishers. Shit really does happen! Grain is pretty much shattered around the adjustment nut. Thinking I’ll replace the entire broken area with a completely new piece of mahogany. Scarf it in between the volute and 3rd fret. Probably even a 3 piece lamination to mimic the neck. This one was not the clients fault so the expectations for looking close to original a…

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In the past I’ve accomplished this using a large japanese saw and an angled jig for the majority of the cut, and then smaller japanese saws and chisels for interior of the cut. Sandpaper pulls for ref…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Wiring weirdness

I had a customer ask me to take a look at this electric guitar an "amp guy" did some work on. (if you couldn't tell by the size of cap he installed 😆) Seymour Duncan hsh pickup configuration. Is there any good or logical reason one would put the north start, finish and the south finish all on the same lug of a switch? The guitar plays but has more buzz on the hb settings than the single coil. I know how to rewire it to be more... traditi…

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Best not to overthink the previous installer's intentions, judging by the excess foil left from the cable and the bare ground wire, just waiting for an opportunity to ground out and short the pickup.…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Is an online course for guitar repair a good way to go?

Hi all. I've just joined the group....I'm pretty certain what I'm asking here has already been covered somewhere but not really sure at the moment how to search chat topics. If so, and it's easier to just point me to an older chat...please do so! I'm in my 50s, been playing guitar for as long as I can remember. I'm a trained wood-worker (amongst other things) and am looking to start a new journey into guitar repairs. At my age I can't a…

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I am not a repair guy but you can also just take a guitar making class. It's not the same thing but the inform each other. I would say like 75% of Canadian luthiers have passed through Sergei Dejong…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Fretboard summit approacheth...

Who's going to Fretboard Summit this year? I'd love to meet you! I'll be wearing my trusty Looth Group hat for easy identification. I have DMV local looth stickers to hand out as well! Cheers, Kalimar

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I'll be there with two guitars and one virtuoso guitar player (not me, for the record). Definitely say hello!