The Hub

I need some suggestions from the many great repair senseis out there.The customer is fine with a structural repair and not concerned about making it invisible. I told him you will see anything I do. He was fine with that and has a budget of between $700-1000. It's a clean break. nothing missing, It closes tightly.. I was thinking either 1) the generic double splines one on either side of truss rod and touchup as best I can. Or 2) the ab…

Hey everyone, I had a question on how to approach this bridge reglue. It's from a 1940's Kay type guitar, I removed the bridge without issue, and did some surfacing of the underside of it, but there's a problem. The bridge is missing material on the outer edges and I don't think I can remove much more material without compromising the overall shape and structure of it. I was wondering if you had suggestions on how to approach this? I wa…

in for some top cracks and playability issues, neck is underset by almost 1/8" with significant hump at the joint...just got the strings off and got a better peek under the circus tent and... how the what the why? i just... really I... ummmm....can anyone guess what is going on here? Tempted to hand it back over any half-measure foolery. Third Japanese built one in this year but I've not seen this sort of hijinx...

good evening to all. This one showed up on the marketplace. I'm wondering if its too much to chew for me at this time. Is it a very difficult repair? Is it worthwhile pursuing? It's another $25 crash test dummy. Please, don't hold back. I can take it.

@member hipped me to the fact that Steve Gilchirst has some really nice work detailed in his restoration archives. I think you should check it out. BTW he is super busy, so don't wear him out with emails.

Greetings Wise Elders and fellow seekers of the Looth Group! I hope you're all keeping well. I humbly beseech thee for thine sage wisdom and experience. I purchased a 1971 Hagstrom Swede. This guitar was basically put in a case and then forgotten about for a few decades. I felt sorry for the old man and have taken it in as a stray / project. I would like to get it playing again. There are many scars on this guitar, I have looked for as…

Where is everyone getting their shim stock from? Looking to buy blanks in bulk - mainly for electric neck pockets. Thanks!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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? <>

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.