The Hub

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

I'd like to add some cherry nitro to this spot but how do I avoid the dark line around the perimeter that typically forms from adding a touch-up? I.e., what is the best strategy for blending what i'm adding to what is there?

Hey everyone, I was showing this to James Roadman on the Loothalong, and I thought I’d share it here with anyone who might find it helpful. I was installing an Anthem in a GS Mini, and I couldn’t get the microphone to fit without hitting the ballends of the strings. I had thought about placing the mic on the other side of the pins, but then I decided to use a scalpel and a small file to cut some chamfers into the corners of the mic housi…

*Photo added* Ding repair on spruce top, 2015 Collings 0002HE #23701. What are y’all reaching for when repairing dents in nitro? GlueBoost fill & finish or drop filling with nitrocellulose? This is a well-used guitar; not pristine and the owner has reasonable expectations that the repair will not be “like it never happened” Bonus question: If there is bare wood, should I seal it with shellac to preserve the color before proceeding to fil…

Hello All I have been using Ted Bergstrand's online nut calculator on Benchmuse.com which is excellent. It allows you to have a consistent gap between each strings vs the progressive gap that the Stewmac rule gives you. Or you can do consistent centers to the strings. I have definitely found measuring the nut with calipers to work a lot better than the stewmac rule and don't use the rule anymore. I wanted some additional functionality…

Any tips on handling the off-gassing for vintage guitars? I just took in a 1941 D'Angelico. The original tortoise shell pickguard is gone and has been replaced. New case as well. The frets up the neck are going to need to be cleaned. But are there any other precautions I should tell the client to take? Anything I should take into account? -Mike

Gibson Roy Smeck Radio Grande 7 string! in for tuner replacements... Currently has faulty original grovers, wants waverly titanium that I'd have to modify the plate shape to fit---and drill a new lower hole mount to avoid new holes drilled in the headstock ( around the "e" in waverly logo; and new plate hole and old plate hole would intersect by a whisper ). I'd have to remove the cog to mill & install, but the mounting screw head has c…

Hey Looths, I have a 1980 Guild 12 string in the shop and while doing a preliminary examination I noticed this odd discoloration inside of the guitar. My immediate thought was water damage, although it hasn't bled through to the outside of the guitar and lifted the finish. I also thought of glue smear but I can't quite tell. Any thoughts here?

At what point do you tell a customer that their acoustic instrument needs a bridge reglue? Do you do it when the corners are just barely starting to lift? Once it has begun to affect playability/tuning stability? Do you offer half-measures to save them money when the damage is not too bad (dripping in some thinned tite bond instead of removing the bridge entirely for example)? I ask this because a Godin acoustic bass just came across my…

I've got a client with a '72 Tele. It needs a re-fret, but the truss rod isn't functioning. In fact it's backed out of the channel significantly, and there's a bulge in the neck underneath the first fret which suggests to me there's something going on with the truss rod anchor. The puzzling thing is the wood in the neck has bulged, but the skunk stripe and the finish don't appear to be disturbed at all. I'm thinking I'll probably hav…

I'm looking the name and source for the rubber material found on the jaws of the Stewmac pattern makers vise and the Proper Work Station. Not having good search luck Thanks.

It was attacked by a Martin Dreadaught on a small mountain stage resulting in a faceplant. The top is Redwood. I was able to get it to glue up fairly well and have done some splice and drop fill on the vertical cracks. I'm curious about suggestions for the deep cross grain areas. I am hoping to not re-shoot any lacquer and just rub out the finish with some Kovax dry sanding. It was never high gloss buff to begin with and it's a personal…

Hello looths! Long time lurker, first time poster here all the way from New Zealand. I have recently acquired this 2008 Martin D-35 for a very cheap price ($1000 NZD - around 600 US!) it's dried out in a very cold environment and has two substantial cracks running all the way across the top, one large side crack, and a previous side crack repair that's been done quite poorly. I'm only about 3 years in to this repair journey and this is d…

Hey everybody, I should restore this Roger Rossmeissl Archtop. There is a lot of work to do. The owner is aware of the possibly-much-more-work-than-value situation. I am still thinking about how to aproach it, I want to start working on the guitar in August. It seems that there is not much warping in the top, few wood is lost. I do not know what happened to the guitar, but sometimes I hear a voice coming out the corner of my workshop mumb…

I've owned this Jersey City made 12-string/drone 'harp' guitar for a few years and want to get on the repair. I've taken the necks off many dozens of Schmidt-made guitars but never one with two necks. I've searched the web looking for harp guitar neck removal and didn't find anything of use. Asking for any tips/aids/experience from the loothers. My plan is to make a custom neck removal jig that fits the necks, and then drill the typical…

Hello! Im working on a repair for a cutsom build for a customer. Its a Dunable Yeti built in 2022. Anyway, all work was going fine till testing the rod... i discovered that the rod is working the opposite of how it should function on any other guitar. CCW is tightening (and no, no a dual action rod) Tightening this rod is adding relief. The guitar already had too much when disengaged. Trying to figure out how to approach this as this is a f…