This 12 string Guild was brought back from the
"brink of death" over the course of a year.
This was ... one of those ....
"all the Kings Horses and all the Kings men "
....type repairs.
You have to be ready for anything when you take on a job like this.
You can bet that you'll be in for some surprises.
"brink of death" over the course of a year.
This was ... one of those ....
"all the Kings Horses and all the Kings men "
....type repairs.
You have to be ready for anything when you take on a job like this.
You can bet that you'll be in for some surprises.
There are several complications that you'll run into when doing a neck reset on the Guild 12-string. I will do my best to give everyone a thorough play-by-play,
adding my comments as I post the various photos.
This Repair / Tutorial is divided into 4 main categories:
#1 Neck / Fingerboard / Fret work:
I took advantage of the exposed truss rods
and oiled the rods and the threads
before gluing in the filler strips.
Because the dual truss-rods run right through to the top of the male dovetail, I had to completely remove the fingerboard in order to fill in and rebuild the male dovetail .... which also meant re-cutting the female dovetail in the head block ... the plot thickens ....
See Dovetail post #3 below ...
#2 Soundboard repair / Bridge work
#3 Dovetail male / female restructuring / Neck re-set
The maple dowels filled in the missing wood
that was drilled out for the truss rods.
Then the mahogany filler pieces
and the mahogany face plate
were glued on,
before re-cutting a new male dovetail.
The female dovetail was re-cut in the headblock
to match the new male.
#4 Final touch up finishing and Set-up
When taking on repairs of this magnitude, I generally spread them out, over a long period of time.
Even though this is a big ticket repair job. It is not a money maker. It is those smaller jobs that keep the cash flow moving, allowing me to be "buoyant" enough to take on these bigger jobs.
It also allows for the various time consuming operations ..... and waiting periods ....
drying time after steaming or gluing before you are able to continue with the restoration.
drying time after steaming or gluing before you are able to continue with the restoration.
The extra time factor also allows me the luxury of getting
into the "Zen Zone"
into the "Zen Zone"
....when approaching the more challenging tasks;
working with
working with
a calm and methodical concentration level.
This Repair / Tutorial is divided into 4 main categories:
#1 Neck / Fingerboard / Fret work:
and oiled the rods and the threads
before gluing in the filler strips.
See Dovetail post #3 below ...
#2 Soundboard repair / Bridge work
Even though I had managed to remove the bridge cleanly, the filler and wood missing from the soundboard ( from a previous repair) , made this too dangerous to proceed without rectifying the soundboard surface for 100% contact before the re-glue ( especially on a 12-string ! ) .
This spruce patch was thicknessed and glued into place, then levelled to receive the bridge for 100% surface to surface contact. The bridge pin holes were drilled out after the glue dried.
( except for 2 pin holes ... which were utilized for "indexing pins", to hold the bridge in place on "the bed of glue" ... so that it didn't "drift" under clamping pressure)
I always have aged 1/4 sawn spruce on hand for this type of repair.
The sound board surface under the bridge was "skim-routered" to prepare for the spruce patch.
This configuration ( above ) of template, bridge routering jig and tracer bearing top bit was used to "skim" the top in preparation for the spruce patch.
A mahogany reinforcement was glued on the
underside of the sound board where
the soundboard had cracked
on either side of the fingerboard extention.
#3 Dovetail male / female restructuring / Neck re-set
that was drilled out for the truss rods.
Then the mahogany filler pieces
and the mahogany face plate
were glued on,
before re-cutting a new male dovetail.
to match the new male.
#4 Final touch up finishing and Set-up
