The Hub

Hey all. I have a Martin D18 with a severe belly up. The bridge has nearly popped off all the way at the time it was brought to me. Looking inside, the bridge plate has a crack going across all the pin holes. There's a few additional cracks above them toward the sound hole. Replace, or not replace, that is the question? Is this plate salvageable, with a tool like StewMax's BridgeSaver? I'm planning to heat treat the footprint of the bri…

Hello everybody, I have a 2001 Guild 12-string in my shop that I suspect got a little too hot in a car. The extent of the damage is what you see here, the two cracks in the top and some warped binding where it meets the neck. I don't see any loose or damaged bracing. After looking into it a little, I found Frank Ford's approach: http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Structural/Cracks/D45FBTopCrack/d45fbtopcrack.html b…

We hear a lot in LoothLand these days about 3D printing. I think it's an awesome use of that technology for what we all do. With my long history with AutoCad and 3D rendering in my previous life, I should pull the trigger on a 3D printer, but I'm just not ready yet AND I have no available space for one in my little shop or in my office right now. Yes, 3D printing is great, but sometimes, good ole regular printing can be a surprise frien…

Does anybody have any advice on where to start on repairing this crack. I have some ideas about what I would do but its pretty intense and am hoping someone might have some simpler advice. This is a friends guitar that is THE guitar and they're on a budget. So I'm trying to help them out. I don't currently have access to the instrument.

Would love some advise on how to stabilize/repair this tortoiseoid binding on a 70's J-45... I'm thinking of wicking gluboost ultra thin into the cracks and then building up the missing areas with the thicker viscosity gluboost. Am I on the right track? Thanks in advance for any wisdom you all might be willing to share...

Today I have spent the better part of five hours attempting to get the fingerboard extension free on this guitar. I am using the method I have used for dozens of neck resets: 100 watt halogen bulb with heat shields. After a couple hours I thought I was making some progress under one corner, only to discover after some movement that my palette knife was going through the top. I then abandoned that area and have been applying heat and…

I drew up and printed these F hole plugs for a customer a little while back, felt like showing them off here. The bottom diamond shaped piece has a M4 nut in it, and is super glued to the body of the plug at its two tips. An M4 screw threads into the nut through the counter-sunk hole in the top of the plug. The entire plug drops into the F hole, and then you can tighten the screw slightly to expand the plug so it clamps itself into plac…

Introducing Poseidon’s Horn! Coming in just shy of 18”, this tubular behemoth is the ultimate mess-free humidification device for closing up those pesky top and back cracks prior to repair. It’s dry to the touch and holds 1000ml of water! The days of finessing a Tupperware through a sound hole are over. Cheap and quick to make! Parts list (Supplies to easily make 10 of them) . Water beads - https://a.co/d/5v5Q2da . Braided sleeving - https:…

Hey all, I’ve got a Prewar Martin on my workbench (1932/33 0-18) and this thing has unfortunately been through the guitar center wringer. I’ve had to reset a fretboard that was glued down with Gorilla glue and as well, rejoint the neck and underside of the fretboard. I had to repair a large deal of tear out that was sitting underneath their fret job and because of that I now have a brittle fret slot all up the board that will not hold a fr…

Looking for advice on the best product and technique for getting adhesive deep into this tight crack. Under string tension, the headplate has a visible stress line but no damage in the finish. The crack does open a bit with a little pressure but I’m hoping to avoid cracking through the HP. Thanks so much

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…

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…

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…

I am having a little trouble bending my first acoustic sides. The wood is a interlocked mahogany. I am hand bending on a temp controlled 2" curling iron. I have thicknessed the sides down to 1.9mm but still got some wrinkling and cracking trying to bend around the cutaway. I am trying to figure out how to improve this for the next attempt. I have read some conflicting information on how to do this though. Thus far my plan for the next a…

Hi yall. I have this gibson that got into a fight with a drum cymbal. What would be the best way to tackle this wound. It has dented the wood. But no cracks.

Hey everyone, Well I had a bit of a day today. The issue is a paint chip out on a matte finish 3 month old Ibanez RG 421. I was in the middle of a pup install and was backing out the screw holding the 5 way switch. As you can see from the pics there must have been some paint sitting above the screw and well viola! I thought it best to try to glue the chips back in but I used accelerator (BSI) because well I’m a dumb ass and it looks like…

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…

Acoustic Vibes Music is looking for a lead tech that would primarily be working on Martin and Taylor warranty issues. We are a Martin and Taylor Warranty Service center. So everything from Setups, to making new nuts/Saddles, minor finish repair, refrets, binding repairs, cleating cracks in tops, Pickup installation, strap button installation, pickguard removal and installation, bridge removals and reglue, level crown/polish, and oc…