The Hub

Hello, Help needed please! 🙏 It’s a Washburn g10v that I am trying to source parts for. The owner wants to do a full restore but we can’t move forward with the job as the trem is missing the micro tuner thumb nuts. The trem is a big old rare thing with 2001 on the edge of it. Please see picture for reference. (Taken from reditt, a common problem it looks like) I have one of the thumb nuts here and I think it’s a #no.5 -44 UNF thread. But it’s…

First time here on the forums, not sure how often I'll check in, but thought this the best place to post it. Was playing with an idea proposed by Buck Van Laarhoven on a parametric model for bolt-on neck shims, and found the formulas I wrote up translated easily to Taylor and conventional acoustic neck joints so decided to add boxes for those as well. I'm not well versed in Google Sheets, but couldn't see a way to upload the file direct…

Back story: I work as a Repair Tech at a Guitar Center in Florida. A gentleman brought in a 50-year-old vintage banjo where the tuning peg on the neck had broken off. I don't have the equipment in-store to do this type of repair, and I told him I'd try to find him a shop that does. I'm looking to refer him to someone experienced in these repairs where he'd ship the instrument to you (i.e., you don't have to be in FL) for evaluation, quot…

This is an early 80's Jester. The only identification is the label inside which appears to show the model number as ACW160, though I've only seen reference to model W160 online. There is scant information about Jester guitars online, and some of it seems inconsistent. This was most likely made in either Holland or Romania. Online information indicated that this would have a dowelled neck joint, but it clearly doesn't. This was a very di…

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…

I just opened a repair shop and the first repair was to remove a broken 1/8" hex wrench ball end from the truss rod nut of a Turner RB4 Renaissance Bass. I read of all sorts of theories on how to extract/remove. None of them had recorded actual attempts of the theories. There's probably others on here but I haven't found them. The ball end was loose and mangled at the rear of the nut sleeve. I tried fairly benign methods first. Heat…

Recently I’ve been working on a carbon fiber headstock repair. I was having problems with the clear coat. I had applied too much. Today I decided to invest some time trying to correct it. I believe I’ve reached a decent ending for that portion of the repair. The guitar was gifted to me by a customer so it’s mostly just practice and will eventually be a demo for cf with grain matching. For what it is, I’m pretty happy. Let me know any tho…

I consulted the Flexner book for reference using butyl cellosolve in lacquer. As expected it says ratios into lacquer are trial and error. I'm looking for an answer to best re-flow 70s Gibson lacquer to melt with new over sprayed lacquer. What's my best bet ratio butyl/lacquer to avoid adhesion issues? Thanks in advance! -Brent

Hey Looth Group, A customer brought me a Gibson 2015 59' Reissue ES175. In addition to the normal setup/maintenance that needs to be taken care of, the customer complained about an issue with the bracing. The three pictures below are what he was referring to. There's obviously a break in the wood and appears to be some separation in the glue joint. This is located right underneath the edge of the bridge on the bass side.

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…

Good morning everyone. Looking for some help finding/achieving a color. I have a customer that wants an Olive Drab Translucent matte finish. I usually just do nitro matte finishes over natural or stained woods, or the occasional oil rubbed finish. Colors are not something I’ve messed with too much yet. I have found some nitro that is opaque OD, but am having a hard time sourcing something non-opaque that will still get dark enough. Ref…

Hello, I am trying to copy the traditional SG cherry finish on a clone I built (not for sale) where the grain of the mahogany appears to be filled with an ebony or black stain. Similar to the finish that Collings refers to as doghair but not as pronounced as that. It appears the grain is filled or stained or grain-filled with a dark color, sanded back and then the primary color goes over the top of that. Does anyone have experience wi…

Had a rough day yesterday and spilt some water thin glue onto the left shoulder of a Martin HD28 and repairing it just dug me into a deeper hole. I removed the glue but left some ugly sandpaper scratches. I’ve used a lower grit than was needed in the panic of it all. I’m not very experienced with finishing, polishing etc so will take it to someone who is to be on the safe side. Could anyone tell me what the process is for removing deep sa…

Oh, the shame. I knew my mistake the second I tied off the surgical tubing that was being used to clamp multiple cracks and breaks that ran halfway down the neck of this Early 80's Guild D-55. I muttered "Lets hope it doesn't stick too bad".. (It stuck, and it stuck really, really bad.) The mistake I'm referring to is failing to sandwich some wax paper between the finish and the surgical tubing. I was making pressured contact directly to…