Re-building my Guild D15M - photos

[Firebird]

Fantastic job on the acoustic Telenator! Love the photo history. Keep up the great work.

I absolutely LOVE that red electric you built. What a great body shape. What pickups did you put in it? Wow! Great job.

What part of the world do you hail from?

 

[Telenator]

killdeer, I have a simple rule. Put all the tools away when I'm done for the day. I am not a very tidy person in general but, I do know how things go in the shop. One day I'm working on an amp and the next day it's a washing machine hook-up. If I left the tools out on the bench, then it slows down the next job while I hunt for them!

Thanks Firebird. That red guitar is based on a 70's Gibson L6-S. I wanted the roar of a thin mahogany body SG but always find them to be neck heavy. Put a strap on one, stand up, and the neck dives for the floor. The L6-S is a thin body guitar that was made of maple so, I borrowed one, made a set of templates and used mahogany instead of maple. While I was at it, I made the scale length 25 1/2" instead of the Gibson 24 3/4" scale. In the process I lost 2 frets, (the Gisbson was 24), but that's OK because it allowed me to join the neck in the right place. The pickups are both Seymour Duncan. A Custom V at the bridge and a '59 at the neck. I bought those plain chrome covers and soldered them on to look like the original L6-S covers. Crank that puppy up through an amp and it's pure vintage Gibson SG! I call it my L6-SG.

I have the body template if you're a builder and want to try your hand a t making one. It's on loan to a guy in Mississippi right now but I be happy to send it to you if you build.

I live in Connecticut.

 

[jwsamuel]

Telenator....I am working to reorganize my workshop. That one shot shows some good ideas for tool storage. Would you mind posting or sending mesome pics of the workbench itself?

Thanks, Jim

 

[Telenator]

I hate to admit it Jim, but I do all my work at my dad's shop. I don't have a basement at my house or even a mancave to do my projects so I drive 30 miles each way to work in my dad's shop. He's a master craftsman with great tools and a lot of room. He's really cool in that he loves seeing my guitar projects come to life. We take very different approaches to our work yet both appreciate what eachother does.

The work bench is 6' X 8' and the entire shop is about 30' x 40'.

We have a band saw, table saw, radial arm saw, chop saw, spindle shaper, jointer, belt sander, drum sander, drill press, (with milling machine attachment, lathe, and plethora of routers, hand sanders, chisels, and other electric hand tools.

When you spin 180 degrees from the view shown in the photo, 2/3 of the entire wall is shelving with labeled plastic tubs containing everything from fasteners to aerosol cans, bits, clamps, abrasives, etc.

It's a well lit shop with plenty of room.

Keeping the shop clean is the only way this sharing situation works.

 

[adorshki]

Like all those other guys said, THANKS FOR THE PICS! You reminded me of something I thought was unique to Guild when I first discovered them, that they would cobble something up with some non-standard spec for almost anybody on request..makes you seem to fit right in here! Of course when you're done it'll be a D15M "special" (sitka top instead of mahogony) :lol:

 

[Telenator]

Of course when you're done it'll be a D15M "special" (sitka top instead of mahogony) :lol:

LOL! Yeah, or a D15MS mahogany/spruce!

I can't wait to finish it.

I'm actually contemplating making the the neck a "bolt-on."

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

How did you know the exact placement of the bridge?
That is a critical placement.
The guitar is really coming along. Good job.

 

[Telenator]

The bridge is just stuck on their with double stick tape so I could take the photo. Once the neck is on, I can measure for the exact bridge placement. I'm even considering trying to string it somehow so I can move the bridge around a little and check the intonation before tracing it off and gluing it down. We'll see.

Some say you measure the high E string from the nut to the saddle, in this case, 25 1/2". Some say to measure to the center of the saddle between the D and G strings. Having never done an acoustic before, I'll be researching this before I glue it down.

 

[poser]

I'm also enjoying this thread. I'm looking forward to the next installment.


Regarding the placement of the bridge: (this will probably reveal how little I know about guitar repair). Couldn't you use the old top as a template by lining up the sound holes and then using a thin pencil or scribe to mark the position of the string holes?

 

[adorshki]

Some say you measure the high E string from the nut to the saddle, in this case, 25 1/2". Some say to measure to the center of the saddle between the D and G strings. Having never done an acoustic before, I'll be researching this before I glue it down.

Never thought about that before! Since the saddle IS compensated with the "slant", where DO you measure the scale length? I'm guessing it's gonna be the same rule as with an electric but I KNOW you're gonna get it right! Let us know! In fact I'm gonna try to rememember to measure my D25 tonight, it's got 25-1/2" scale. It'll be interesting to see where that occurs.

 

[Telenator]

I'm also enjoying this thread. I'm looking forward to the next installment.


Regarding the placement of the bridge: (this will probably reveal how little I know about guitar repair). Couldn't you use the old top as a template by lining up the sound holes and then using a thin pencil or scribe to mark the position of the string holes?

While that's a good idea in theory, a lot of things have moved. In spite of my best efforts, the sound hole on this one is about 1/8" further from the neck that the original. Another factor to consider is, the new top has a 3 3/4" sound hole where the original is 4". That doesn't make alignment impossible, it just throws another variable in the works.

I'm going to try making a rough tail piece to hold the strings and mount it to the strap button hole. Then I'll strap a piece of wood across the top, just behind the saddle to give the trings some down-force on the bridge. Once this is all in place I plan to tune the guitar, not up to full pitch, but high enough to get meaningful readings from the tuner. Then I can move the bridge around for perfect string alignment with the neck and perfect intonation.

It just might work!

If that fails, I'll break out a ruler and measure.

 

[adorshki]

Yeah, when all else fails, read the instructions.....

 

[kostask]

Telenator:

If you can, try to borrow a Saddlematic and an "Intonator" from a local luthier. These are tools/jigs made by Stew-Mac that allow you to accurately place saddle slots based on the position of the 12th fret on the fingerboard as the only required reference. I don't know if you do a lot of repair work, but if you do, you might want to consider purchasing them; while not cheap, they are not outlandishly expensive either.

Kostas

 

[adorshki]

HI Tele: Just noticed you're looking for finishing references on a different thread. I know I've seen refs here to the fact that usually a refinish involves R & R of the bridge, so you may want to take that into consideration before you actually glue the bridge down. I'm strictly illiterate in this area though, so someone else may have better advice.

 

[chazmo]

Lookin' good, telenator!

 

[Telenator]

HI Tele: Just noticed you're looking for finishing references on a different thread. I know I've seen refs here to the fact that usually a refinish involves R & R of the bridge, so you may want to take that into consideration before you actually glue the bridge down. I'm strictly illiterate in this area though, so someone else may have better advice.

Thanks. I asked the guy doing the finish and he said it really didn't matter to him so, I'm going to put the whole thing together and play it a bit before I have the finish done. This will allow me to shave the neck a little bit at a time and get it right where I want it before the finish goes on.

 

[Telenator]

Took a day and a half to set the neck and it looks to be just about right. I over-set it a little because the top is sinking from lack of humidity and I know it's going to come up some when it's strung.

I located the bridgr today as well and glued that down too.

Next week it gets fretted and then I'm going to play it for a few days to do the final shaping on the neck. It's a soft V now and 1 3/4" wide at the first fret. The soft V makes it real easy to reach around.

Hopefully I'll get off my dead butt and take some more photos. I do photography for a living so I seldom do it when I'm not on the job.

 

[Telenator]

Here's the latest photos from my project. Sorry I don't have more detailed photos about the process but I just get so into working that I forget to shoot along the way.

Here's the neck joint. I opted to scrape into the body to create a nice flat surface for the neck to register on. I used this method to get the neck angle perfect, and then made shims and shaved them, (over a 4 hour period), to get the neck joint and dovetail nice and tight. After looking carefully at the neck dovetail, and the body surface where the neck will mount, I chose to scrape the body area because it's a lot easier to level that one surface than it would be to try and work around both sides of the dovetail. I could see myself going crazy making fine adjustments and never getting it completely straight. What I've got is solid, making great contact on all important surfaces.

When I lay a straight edge down the fret board, it almost hits the top of the bridge. Once the frets are in, it will slightly clear the bridge. I over-set the neck a tiny bit because the top is sinking in the the lack of humidity we have here in the northeast right now. These tiny adjustments should pay off once the humidity comes back up.

Now I have a small gap around the neck joint that I will fill with slivers of mahogany and blend to appear seamless.

Next is the neck profile. I left the neck a nice, wide, 1 3/4" at the first fret and have roughed out a soft V profile. I have played some wide necks with this profile and found that the flats left by the soft V allow just enough room for the chub of my hand (palm, opposite the knuckles) ease of reach on the treble side, and sufficient clearance for reaching over to the bass side of the neck. Having large hands, I like the wide fret board, now enhanced by the ease of reach provided by the soft V contour.

Here's the back side, and then front side of the guitar with the neck and bridge glued into place. This guitar has a 25 1/2" scale but I wasn't certain about the exact bridge placement so, of we go to the local music stores to take some measurements. I measured all brands cheap and expensive and consistantly found all 25 1/2" scale acoustics to have the center of their bridges mounted at 25 5/8" as measured from the nut to the bridge right between the D and G strings. So that's what I did.

 

[killdeer43]

Here's the latest photos from my project. Sorry I don't have more detailed photos about the process but I just get so into working that I forget to shoot along the way.

I'm a cabinetmaker/woodworker (and a photographer, too!) and I get the same feedback about NOT recording every step, but I can relate to the rhythm of the work and how you just don't think about pics while you're in a 'groove.'

At the risk of being redundant (all over again), you do very nice work, and that's a major UNDERstatement. Can't wait to read how it sounds! :wink:

Onward,
Joe

 

[Telenator]

Thanks Joe. I feel bad sometimes because some people take the same care in photographing each step of their project as they take in doing their project. Being a pro photographer by trade, I just can't seperate the work from the enjoyment. After 20 years of shooting, it still feels like like I'm working every time I have a camera in my hands. It's a tough discipline that requires my full attention. Then I have to take that hat off and put my guitar builder hat back on, (which is pure enjoyment), and the camera kinda contaminates the scene.

I ride a motorcycle cross country every year and seldom ever bring a camera. My friends and family always get twisted over this but well, they just don't understand!

I'll take some final photos and gladly share any info about this project in detail with anyone interested. And if I get real ambitious, I may even post a sound clip. ......but I did a stint as a recording engineer back in the 80's and of course carry that baggage too! LOL!