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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…

Hi friends, I just stumbled upon a 1966 P-Bass, nearly completely original. The owner bought it in 1971 and it had already been stripped of its original finish. That was a thing back then. You can guess that 55 years of gigging had the wood absorb much of the owner’s DNA and sweat. Maybe a few beers as well. Surface was quite tacky as you can expect. I cleaned it with naphta and StewMac’c brand-new cleaner (quite a great product I'd say…

Hello, I hope everyone is having a great 4th of July weekend so far. I was recently asked by a friend to work on a cheap S101 bass someone had given to him. It had no electronics and it was severally back bowed. After finishing up the electronics, I did the set up. He wanted the guitar tuned low, to Drop C. So, I went out and bought some Ernie Ball Power Slinkies 55-110. Once I got to the nut depth check, it was clear there were large, g…

Howdy folks, I'm a 2026 graduate of the two year guitar program at Red Wing (Minnesota State College Southeast). Between my two years at Red Wing I worked at Collings Guitars in Austin, TX for two years in the acoustic neck department, shaping and finish sanding ~2000 necks, radiusing and gluing ~750 fingerboards, and pressing ~100 sets of frets. I also spent a couple months in the finishing department level sanding and pore filling ~300…

This is an LP copy from Memphis guitars. It looks like it has had the headstock repaired at some point. Also, there is what looks like some separation of the fretboard near the nut. I don't know if its left over from the repair or if its something new and just trying to go this way. I'm asking the group to look at the pics to help me figure out if any corrective steps are needed. Also from a finish repair standpoint, how to deal with i…

Rask Guitars — Utah (relocation required) Rask Guitars is a Utah-based custom shop dedicated to building exceptional instruments — primarily high-end acoustics, alongside electric guitars and prototypes. We operate with a small, focused team where craftsmanship isn't just a standard, it's the entire point. We're growing, and we're looking for a skilled, experienced luthier who's ready to plug into a real production environment, contribute…

I have a Favilla Classical guitar on the bench, in for a bridge reglue. This is a low to mid-range classical guitar, made circa 1960, and it's an heirloom guitar for the customer, he basically wants it back in playing shape. The story is that he went away on vacation, and when he returned the bridge had delaminated from the top and took a fair amount of finish with it. It also appears that someone attempted to glob on superglue at some…

Good evening folks, lately I'm experiencing some sanding methods/mechanism frustration. Can't explain better than look like I'm regressing at doing it. The only thing changed in my building routine is that I'm currently using a CNC (I haven't used one for some years) for both bodies and necks. I have no problems with necks, but sanding bodies has become incredibly frustrating, specially around the edges. While I keep improving my c…

Here You'll seehere pin tip sized bubbles. Nitro finish. It got hot in a case. They'll need a light amagolmater mixture applied to melt'm back into the surface. Im looking for advice on the recipe for said amagolmater....Straight retarder? Im not sure if Id need lacquer in the mix that I apply....Thank you! Colin O'Brien LittleCreek Instrument Repair, Nashville. Images

I have a 2024 Les paul in fine shape. One thing i’m curious about is that the nut and truss rod spacer appear to have been modified but there are no finish marks in the cavity to suggest a repair. is this a normal factory install adjustment and have other folks here come across it in les pauls?