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Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

looking for recommendations repairing big dent - chipped polyurethane finish

Good morning to all - I have another skill building question - picked up another cheapo electric guitar to practice repairs on. I didn't see the big dent, but figured its an opportunity to practice another type of repair. big chunks of polyurethane finish are gone and the bit that's left has a hairline crack around the bottom. I'm thinking to use wood filler to fill in the missing chunks, and want to know if its best to remove the piec…

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I don't know, but I did see enough to consider how to best handle it before I start the repair. I can see that the glueboost might be a good way to approach that hairline crack, but who knows what is l…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Yamaha FG410A with very fragile fretboard

Hello everyone, I hope you're doing good. I'm very much a new guitar repair enthusiast, any advice or feedback would really appreciated. I'm working on this Yamaha FG410A, as you can see, it's in rough shape. The guitar lived in a case in a storage container since the 90s. The guitar was really dry when I got it, so I started my slowly introducing moisture. I removed the frets and then put the guitar in a bag, with a hygrometer…

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I think your approach makes sense. You will learn much from this project. I am sure you will discover creative ways to fix problems. I have used the saw dust CA glue method to fix divots in the fin…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Advice on getting this 50s parlor nylon back into good shape?

Hi all, I'm new here. I've been playing guitars for ~15 years and recently started as a technician at a music production school in London, where part of my job is maintaining the guitars. I picked up this 50s parlor nylon the other day and it's in bad shape but I don't know how to go about repairing it. The main issue is the bridge. The guitar was kept high strung and the bridge has twisted and lifted off slightly at the base. T…

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So now put the iron on low, heat the bridge for at least 5 minutes, then take it and the insulating cardboard off, and see if you can begin to work palette knives under the bridge. If it's not relativ…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

how to touch this up?

I have repaired numerous top crack on this instrument built by a customer at a guitar building camp. The bridge was off and warped. That has been addressed. After gluing with hide glue and splining the crack these top two did not closed as much as I would have liked. The bigger is about 1/32 at the widest and the other about 1/64. The crack is tight at the bottom. If I can help it I would like to fill it rather than spline it as I have…

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I am pretty good at touch up on darker to med woods and air brushing some solid color touchups on electrics but as you said spruce tops with gloss are near impossible. I was hoping to maybe clean it…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Is this hollow body guitar worth fixing - sunken top…

I recently picked up a used custom guitar that the seller said he bought in Vietnam Nam many years ago. I bought it as a wall hanger due to the wonderful Mother of Pearl work, especially on the back. It was very apparent that the top on this instrument was sunken at least 3/8 of an inch, as the weird bridge setup was heightened to the max and there was barely any action height. Once I took it apart and removed the foam inside, I was…

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Ian Davlin
01:53:25 Q9. Vietnamese Hollow Body Worth Fixing? @member your video sir.
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

CA Glue crack repair colour burn-through

Hey, I've just had a go at repairing a cracked Epiphone Hummingbird and it all went well except burning through the colour of the finish when sanding it up to a gloss. Any ideas for patching this up?

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I had another pass over the micromesh pads on some particularly rough spots and did manage to get to a good state. It would make sense that Rogue Grit has paid me a visit on some of the lower grit san…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Cracked neck on Taylor 710

This repair came into the shop on Thursday. The crack appears to go most of the way through the neck but hasn't opened up at all. What is the current best practice to address cracks like this? Shout out to @member as the resident Taylor expert. Thanks in advance for your help.

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If they do not want to pay for a new neck, and are up for a simple repair: prying it open a hair, inserting glue with a syringe, and clamping up is a fairly easy fix. I would use Old Brown Glue, as it…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Builds

Cracks in acoustic top

I’ve been building electric for a few years but decided to make an acoustic this time. I have some German spruce panels I was going to use for the top. While running it through my drum sander to dimension it, I noticed that both panels have matching 6-8” cracks so the original blank must’ve had a split pre resawing. Would I still have good results if I glue the panels and move on or should I buy a new top set? (I can’t return what I have…

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Thanks for talking me down. That’s the right decision. Even though it’s my ‘learning’ build for my own use I need to build it like I would for one of my electric customers. The cheap in me almost won.…
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Early 80’s Jazz Bass Fingerboard Separation— Bi-Flex? Washer issue?

This jazz bass has come in with a cracked and separated fingerboard near the nut. I believe this is an early Bi-Flex but am not entirely sure or familiar with them. The truss rod is functional and tightens up when turned. Top of the walnut plug is missing and the washer appears to be crooked or dislodged. Not sure what purpose that washer serves. This is probably the thinnest bass neck I’ve ever seen and it’s no wonder that this fingerb…

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Good call Ian, I can definitely get strings on there. I suspect it won’t do well under tension. It’s incredibly thin, neck has pretty much a shallow v profile. Hardly any fingerboard too. Might need a…
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Taylor 310 Top Crack, Finish Delaminating

So this 310 came into the shop and had a pretty gnarly crack that splinters some toward the lower left bout. Going to do a crack repair with the TJ Thompson crack corrector and some hide glue. The issue I'm inquiring about is the finish is delaminating around the area. I'm curious as to what type of finish it is. Seems a bit flexible and spongy to be a nitro alone. There's shards of finish missing, and dirt has found its way underneath…

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Ian Davlin
0:09:55 Q2. Taylor 310 top crack, finish delaminating @member here is the video
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

How would you tackle this airline damage repair?

(Just to set expectations, I bought this for the sole purpose of learning. Not a client project) I got this Martin D28-12 in destroyed condition, after an airline did something awful. As I see it: - Top cracks - Back cracks - Top & side separation with some broken off kerfing - Brace ejected When I was looking at the pictures online pre-purchase, I thought I might take the neck off and re-top it, or at the very least, take the top off and fix…

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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Modular Clamp For Acoustic Guitar Repair

So, I made a modular clamp based on the split clamp idea. Started on a prototype about two months ago and finished it. What I was aiming for was a clamp that I could use on the BOTTOM of acoustic guitars as well as tops to clamp cracks, cleats, braces, patches etc. Especially a clamp that would access small openings like "F" holes, small sound holes etc. Essentially a way to get a clamp to areas not accessible to jacks, wedges etc.,…

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Ian Davlin
Really cool design !
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Questions on Classical guitar action

I am working on a wall hanger that I thought would be fun to get working. It is an old Tokai. I have repaired a crack on left tuning arm. Also removed the bridge that had been badly glued on by previous owner. I am deciding if I want to put the effort into re-fretting it. I am new to Classical guitar actions, so my question is this - when you put a straight edge on the neck, where should it hit the bridge, if at all? I have learn…

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Here is a link to photos of work so far : https://share.icloud.com/photos/043WoRjVTKnK8Y3-Y3bOaHQYQ As you can see, the action is not bad, neck is straight, frets at top are .028 but flat, progress to…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Splitting A Sound Hole Clamp In Half

I recently had a guitar come in with a crack in the top. The top was an arch top so the top was thick and the crack uneven from side to side so I wanted to be able to supply more pressure then just using magnets to be able to even up the crack sides. But access was limited to a small sound hole and so no way to get jacks or a clamp to fit. I also wanted to use full length longer cleats instead of fiddling with the tedious fishing reel…

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Cool. That screw is, in fact, a bull pin. The plate is not threaded. The threads help hold the screw/pin in position (won’t wiggle/fall out) Your take is spot on and the whole idea of sharing with t…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Newbie luthier wannabe

Thought I would introduce myself, I am a retired computer nerd ex farm boy that loves to fix things… used to repair/rebuild pianos but now that I live in FL, space is at a premium in small home so I now am venturing into repairing guitars…. I have numerous practice candidates I have picked up on the cheap as not to destroy anything of value or collectability, and have tooled up with enough stuff to be dangerous. I have done several aco…

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Glad to have you on board, Tom! Welcome!