The Hub

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…

I replaced a broken trussrod in a mandolin today, and after gluing the fingerboard back on I was surprised to feel a small ledge on either side of the board suggesting that in the 3-hour period since removing it, the board had shrunk over its width. It was definitely flush before I removed it, and I used the same locating pins as the original builder, so it can't have shifted. Is it possible that the board could have shrunk that quick…

Hello. I am interested in the luthiers opinions about using Osmo oil as a finish on acoustic guitars? Advantages vs disadvantages. I am a new builder with small home workshop, mostly using hand tools to build my first acoustic guitar, an OM pre war style. Thank you all.

A friend of mine gave me his locally built mandolin for a neck reset. The glue in the dovetail has started to fail, and left a large gap at the bottom and a separation from the fingerboard and body. I've taken my brownstone and tried to heat the joint up enough to soften things up, but to no avail. I have no idea what type or where the joint is exactly. There are some indicators that this instrument was built with several flaws in the c…

Hello, (First post) I'm a newer builder and I'm rebuilding an old destroyed archtop as a learning experience. I am using WEST System epoxy to glue in the new braces. I successfully got the first one in and the problem is with the second. It appears that the epoxy for the second brace did not set or cure. The leftover glue in the little cup is still flexible and sticky after a few days. I suspect the issue is I didn't have enough hardener…

Dear ladies and gentlemen, I was assembling the latest build early this evening, and I could not stop thinking about how could I do better. Which is a good thing you may think, but in the today era of social media where you can basically follow every of your inspiration as a guitar builder you, well at least certainly me, cannot stop thinking about 'how X can be so damn consistent on every build?' So I started to wondering if its actually…

After watching Jeff Jewitt's Touch Up for Builders video, I began looking for a source with a selection of pigments like he has. I started by looking at Mohawk Blendal powder stains, but they only had 6 of the 12 pigment colors I was looking for. I widened my search, and exchanged e-mail with a couple of Etsy vendors. I was fortunate enough to find KonstantasShop which offers 24 pigment colors. While I suspect this collection is targete…

I've been asked to spray a couple of guitars opaque white using urethane. I've never sprayed much other than clearcoat on acoustics. I'm not sure how to go about this. Since they want urethane I thinking of getting Mixol and mixing that with the lacquer and then using the same lacquer untinted for the topcoats. I see a lot of negative reviews about Mixol. I know how reviews can be so I would like some advice on MIxol or an alter…

New to the Looth Group forum so I hope I'm posting in the right place. I am also relatively new to the trade although I've been a woodworker for a long while. I have a general question for luthiers regarding the repair of a typical pick guard issue. I have 2 early 1970's Martin D35's in my shop with the usual pick guard curling and cracks associated with shrinkage. I've watched luthiers flatten and re-glue these back on the bare wood as…

Hi, just joined and this is my first post, excited to be a part of the Group! I've been building and repairing guitars and amps for about 15 years but am a better builder than repair person. I have a les paul that has a small but definitely there crack in the neck where the head to neck joint is. It's very tight but does look to be in the wood. Not sure the best method to fixing something like this. I have attached pics for reference. A…