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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Bridge Reglue Suggestions...

Hey everyone, I had a question on how to approach this bridge reglue. It's from a 1940's Kay type guitar, I removed the bridge without issue, and did some surfacing of the underside of it, but there's a problem. The bridge is missing material on the outer edges and I don't think I can remove much more material without compromising the overall shape and structure of it. I was wondering if you had suggestions on how to approach this? I wa…

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Private member
Unfortunately it's an absence of material on the bass and treble sides. @member
Private member DiscussionElectric Repair

Sad Old '71 Hagstrom Swede

Greetings Wise Elders and fellow seekers of the Looth Group! I hope you're all keeping well. I humbly beseech thee for thine sage wisdom and experience. I purchased a 1971 Hagstrom Swede. This guitar was basically put in a case and then forgotten about for a few decades. I felt sorry for the old man and have taken it in as a stray / project. I would like to get it playing again. There are many scars on this guitar, I have looked for as…

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Thanks so much Ian, much to consider. Your tip about the white glue is something I didn't consider at all.
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Builds

Epoxy Pore Fill question

When using epoxy (either silvertip or epoxy), I try to sand back the epoxy on the surface and only leave it in the pores. I'll start the process with sanding to 320g or so then using an air compressor to blow out the pores. The challenge that I run into is opening new pores in the process. I use a block of wood and long strokes in an attempt to avoid uneven sanding. Ultimately I'll get a good pore fill but I tend to apply several coats…

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Ian Davlin
Are you having a hard time seeing when you have sanded just down to the wood ? If so, you might try a quick naphtha wipe. It should show off where the surface is still covered with epoxy. Due to the f…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Epoxy glue

Good morning everyone, it is been a while since I wanted to replace my glue (standard Titebond) with epoxy. The best I can find in EU, and specifically in Italy, is the West System 105 with 206 hardeners. Is it any good for fretboard and top gluing or neck gluing? For all the other small task, like top jointing etc I'll still use Titebond or polyurethane glue. Thanks!

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I mostly build flat tops and the occasional archtop. I use titebond to join tops and backs and have used the superbond to glue cocobolo in the past. I would have no objection to using the superbond…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

how to touch this up?

I have repaired numerous top crack on this instrument built by a customer at a guitar building camp. The bridge was off and warped. That has been addressed. After gluing with hide glue and splining the crack these top two did not closed as much as I would have liked. The bigger is about 1/32 at the widest and the other about 1/64. The crack is tight at the bottom. If I can help it I would like to fill it rather than spline it as I have…

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I am pretty good at touch up on darker to med woods and air brushing some solid color touchups on electrics but as you said spruce tops with gloss are near impossible. I was hoping to maybe clean it…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Builds

Silvertip Epoxy on Stained Mahogoany Body & Neck

So, I've stained the body and neck and I'm in the process of applying several (3 or 4) coats of epoxy to them for pore filling. I watched Michaels video on the subject. My question is: When sanding the epoxy I beleive I should stay above the wood (stay in the epoxy) since it is stained, right??? When doing this same process on a body and neck that is not stained, I could sand back to the wood without consequence if I'm consistent…

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Hi Gerry: Since you are starting over I would ask yourself if you really need to apply the stain to bare wood. It certainly can be done but more commonly the color is applied after the guitar is pore…
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

More Tanglewood bridge issues

The COE reviewed this bridge disaster in January, a Tanglewood acoustic given to me that had the bridge ripped off as well as some of the underlying top, and an attempted repair with spruce veneer (COE video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlpOIWQrAlw&t=2685s). The general opinion was to install a bigger bridge plate. However, once I removed the existing bridge plate, I found that the underlying repair had not been fully done,…

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Ian Davlin
Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Repairing braces that do not close against soundboard

Hello Friends, I've had a vintage Epiphone acoustic stored at the shop for almost two years and it's about time to wrap it up. That never happens, LOL. It has a few loose braces, which is a repair I've done in the past. The problem with this one is that no matter how I jack up the loose braces from the inside, some parts of some braces simply do not move enough to come in contact with the soundboard. This is happening in a couple…

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Ian Davlin
00:23:28 Q3. Re-gluing Stubborn Loose Braces @member your video sir.
Private member DiscussionFinish New Builds

Ken Parker finishing with the Bridge on

Just wondering, anyone doing Ken Parker finishing on an acoustic with the bridge glued on? I've been using the finish for a while but I'd like to start glueing the bridge on before I finish so I can acoustic test everything in its final state. I can't see a reason why I couldn't wipe the epoxy and oil up into the bridge joint and then remove it by rubbing but I was wondering if anyone has done it already. It would mean finishing the…

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Ian Davlin
Which finish are you talking about ? It sound's like it's hand applied.
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Epiphone archtop neck reset difficulty

I have an old epiphone archtop on my bench that I am struggling to get the neck off of. I think it's a 50's Zephyr (non cutaway, single NY pickup in neck position). Anyone have any experience with these? Is the neck not a dovetail joint? I'm no stranger to neck resets but this is putting up a fight as if it's been epoxied in place.

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I managed to get it off after about 7 total hours of fighting it. Thanks for the link to the other repair, I really just needed confirmation that it was a dovetail. I ended up using a combination of d…