I need some suggestions from the many great repair senseis out there.The customer is fine with a structural repair and not concerned about making it invisible. I told him you will see anything I do. He was fine with that and has a budget of between $700-1000. It's a clean break. nothing missing, It closes tightly.. I was thinking either 1) the generic double splines one on either side of truss rod and touchup as best I can. Or 2) the ab…
With a break like this with plenty of surface area, I would just glue it without any additional supports. My glue of choice is hot hide glue, but there will be lots of opinions on that and many option…
Great video @member Hello People! Thanks for joining me for this binding repair video! We're working on a '72 Chet Atkins Nashville and a '60 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman. Cheers, Scotty D., Harpeth Guitar Restoration, LLC. Nashville, Tennessee
It's not a big chip so Iwas thinking of trying the black glueboost fill n' finish. Is that the best option? Any tips/suggestions appreciated. Thx! David
I think that's a good move. One thing I might do to kick things of is to hit the area with some ultra thin master glue so it wicks under the area and prevents more chipping from potentially delaminate…
in for some top cracks and playability issues, neck is underset by almost 1/8" with significant hump at the joint...just got the strings off and got a better peek under the circus tent and... how the what the why? i just... really I... ummmm....can anyone guess what is going on here? Tempted to hand it back over any half-measure foolery. Third Japanese built one in this year but I've not seen this sort of hijinx...
This is precisely why Leo Fender developed the insideless guitar. A compromised neck block is super hard to come back from and when I see something like this, it leads me to believe that it's the tip…
Hi all, I'd like to get some input on how to address this top blowout. For starters I own this, I got it as a project guitar, 71 D28. I'm not as experienced with acoustics as electrics and this is a big project but I got it to learn new skills and I'm confident I can do it with guidance. It had been stored in the case for many years under tension and was way too humidified. The bridge had pulled up I assume in stages. The center seam se…
Chris, can I add this for the council of elders show ? Also, we are going to have @member on pretty soon to talk about a job about this dramastic. Here's a link to the live show co…
Hey all, I've received a call from a woman who's husband ( and former student of Somogyi ) has recently passed, and she's looking to find anyone interested in purchasing his tonewood hoard. It appears he had intentions of building a fair amount more than he had time for here, and she's been calling around to folks hoping for some interest to no avail, so I told her I'd post here for her...She has had another local luthier compile a fair…
good evening to all. This one showed up on the marketplace. I'm wondering if its too much to chew for me at this time. Is it a very difficult repair? Is it worthwhile pursuing? It's another $25 crash test dummy. Please, don't hold back. I can take it.
If you can push the crushed bit out and it looks level with the surrounding surface you are in good shape. If not, you can (carefully) force the issue with a tool like this: https://loothgroup.com/loo…
The archived video and recent Council of Elders were very helpful in upping my binding reattachment game. Now I need to correct how much I've been charging! Someone mentioned that Martin pays $90/individual separation, I believe regardless of the length of the separation. Does this include finish repair, if needed? Any other guidelines on pricing for binding reattachment will be appreciated. Thanks! Neil
They pay $90 for binding repair “with touchup” and $80 without. Basically they always send the authorization for “with touchup” and never ask if it actually needs touchup. I tell customers “you dont w…
I have a martin DX 175TH that is in for a bridge lifting. I did some research and it has an HPL top and a rosewood bridge. I have some gluboost gel on hand but I was wondering if anyone has a better suggestion.
Here are a few tips for reglueing a bridge to HPL: 1. Clean off any old cyanoacrylate (CA) residue on the soundboard using "Super Solvent" or a similar product designed to remove cured cyanoacrylate. 2.…
I working through a long top crack repair on a c.1964 Fender Newporter and need to do a little touch-up on the clear coat. The top coat is matte over a do-do brown stained mahogany top, I'm guessing around a 10-20% reflectivity. Questions: 1. What top coat product did Fender use on these? 2. What should I use that has great self-leveling qualities and will melt into the old finish? <>
I've decided to follow your wisdom, Ian, and it leave the finish cracks alone. It will be structurally sound again and look like it used to have a crack.
Hi all. I've just joined the group....I'm pretty certain what I'm asking here has already been covered somewhere but not really sure at the moment how to search chat topics. If so, and it's easier to just point me to an older chat...please do so! I'm in my 50s, been playing guitar for as long as I can remember. I'm a trained wood-worker (amongst other things) and am looking to start a new journey into guitar repairs. At my age I can't a…
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I am not a repair guy but you can also just take a guitar making class. It's not the same thing but the inform each other. I would say like 75% of Canadian luthiers have passed through Sergei Dejong…
I'd like to add some cherry nitro to this spot but how do I avoid the dark line around the perimeter that typically forms from adding a touch-up? I.e., what is the best strategy for blending what i'm adding to what is there?
*Photo added* Ding repair on spruce top, 2015 Collings 0002HE #23701. What are y’all reaching for when repairing dents in nitro? GlueBoost fill & finish or drop filling with nitrocellulose? This is a well-used guitar; not pristine and the owner has reasonable expectations that the repair will not be “like it never happened” Bonus question: If there is bare wood, should I seal it with shellac to preserve the color before proceeding to fil…
The coating on that 000 is a mixture of a UV poly base and nitro top coats. It seems that many of the deeper spots could benefit from steam applications. I use a paper towel, folded into four layers a…
Gibson Roy Smeck Radio Grande 7 string! in for tuner replacements... Currently has faulty original grovers, wants waverly titanium that I'd have to modify the plate shape to fit---and drill a new lower hole mount to avoid new holes drilled in the headstock ( around the "e" in waverly logo; and new plate hole and old plate hole would intersect by a whisper ). I'd have to remove the cog to mill & install, but the mounting screw head has c…
I know you're looking for the best ways of utilizing the Waverly tuners, but perhaps using tuning machines that are a better fit (maybe without drilling new holes) would be a better solution.
Hello looths! Long time lurker, first time poster here all the way from New Zealand. I have recently acquired this 2008 Martin D-35 for a very cheap price ($1000 NZD - around 600 US!) it's dried out in a very cold environment and has two substantial cracks running all the way across the top, one large side crack, and a previous side crack repair that's been done quite poorly. I'm only about 3 years in to this repair journey and this is d…
I thought I might add an outlier of an opinion here. I understand the temptation to close the cracks with higher humidity, but you're asking a lot of adhesives, reinforcements and human attention span…
I've owned this Jersey City made 12-string/drone 'harp' guitar for a few years and want to get on the repair. I've taken the necks off many dozens of Schmidt-made guitars but never one with two necks. I've searched the web looking for harp guitar neck removal and didn't find anything of use. Asking for any tips/aids/experience from the loothers. My plan is to make a custom neck removal jig that fits the necks, and then drill the typical…
Beautiful guitar. Will your neck jig(s) bind the two necks together top and bottom, as well as push up equally on the heels while you release the joints? Seems like any loss of rigid coupling between…
Hello! Im working on a repair for a cutsom build for a customer. Its a Dunable Yeti built in 2022. Anyway, all work was going fine till testing the rod... i discovered that the rod is working the opposite of how it should function on any other guitar. CCW is tightening (and no, no a dual action rod) Tightening this rod is adding relief. The guitar already had too much when disengaged. Trying to figure out how to approach this as this is a f…
It could be that the rod is really high on the center mass of the neck. This will produce this effect in extreme examples. This should be considered a probable defect. Are you able to set it somewhat…
Hello all! My name is Jake and I run a repair shop out of my NYC apartment. I am looking for someone who's experienced in CAD to help me with a project. I am working on a 5 string headless bass build for a customer. The neck & body are to be CNCed by a local mill here in Brooklyn, NY. I have a 2D design (PDF and CRD), but I need help making some modifications, as well as translating it to 3D. Pay is negotiable. I will basically pay whate…
