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Hello everyone, this will be a long post. I usually describe my passion for luthiery as a "fire." I can easily remember the day I realized that I wanted this to be what I would do for the rest of my life. It started as pure joy; learning day by day was like unwrapping a new surprise. I did everything right: studied, practiced, studied, practiced. I built my own jigs and tools, and I even did a small apprenticeship with a local luthier. Wh…

https://youtu.be/hwuFgq64mT4?si=NHJmgg12q2EL-D41&t=23 I was checking out this video from Warmoth and that fancy glue shooter caught my eye. After some brief amazon sleuthing I found something similar for surprisingly not as much as I thought it would cost. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098R7ZWP9/?coliid=I2RE7GKODJQXD4&colid=14B0Z9NCO74LW&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1 Looks like the above link is entry level with some fancier units in t…

I turned 60 in January and started wondering about retirement. I can't decide if I should retire at 62 or 67. Waiting for maximum S.S. money sounds better, but its not all about the money for me and who knows if that program won't go the way of the Dodo by then? I'll probably keep working in this biz after I retire, but at a very leisurely pace and not enough to jack up any possible retirement benefits. Are any of you out there officiall…

I have a 70s PBass with a maple “A” neck that could use a refret. It still seems to have the original frets. I tried a level and crown on the already low frets, but I think it needs refret. The frets in the money area are pretty low, .030-.025 and I’m concerned about removing them sideways, as I’ve never had a chance to do that. I understand from the fretorama with Joel Wilkins that when they are this low it increases the difficulty of…

Anyone have any tips, warnings, ransom money, or feudal gripes with an older Yamaha red label neck reset? I’m finding out that these can either be straightforward or a can of “why am I a luthier” breakdown type of joint. I can provide photos and such if need be.

Someone came to me with an old Gretsch afflicted with binding rot. The cream binding was mostly intact, with some pitting and discoloration in various spots, and only a couple of pieces loose. The owner was aware that the only sure cure was the removal of the old binding, and then rebinding the guitar. They didn't want to invest that much money into a repair. I rediscovered a StewMac video from 2017 called "Guitar repair using kitchen…

So this one is a real doozy. Gorgeous Heritage hollowbody, destroyed in shipping. Owner got a full refund and they didn't want the guitar back, so he has no money in it currently. He's a collector and longtime friend/client/student of mine, which is the only reason I'm even considering it, he understands the potential nightmare this could be, and he builds very serious race cars for a living, so I can have in-depth and frank conversa…