And so it begins.....F-50R repair/resurrection.

kostask

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About 8-10 years ago, I bought a fairly beat up Guild F-50R on eBay. The seller was quite straightforward regarding condition, so I knew what I was getting into, but couldn't resist. It looked like this (disregard the green tape markers):

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The damaged area, close up looks like this:

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Pictures of the other guitar areas follows:

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kostask

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Sorry about the multiple picture reposting, looks like I'm not using the picture posting feature properly.

Like all old nitro finished guitars, it has some fnish cracking:
BA678738-F787-4599-AAE5-C1391C1CAF73.jpeg





And the bridge has cracks on both sides of the saddle slot:

F15F523F-6E50-45C7-A1B3-40D8A1261118.jpeg
 
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kostask

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Getting ready to route out the damaged areas:

5570D872-9A76-467B-BFD4-A6DF3DF82BED.jpeg


.....and the result of the routing:

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A couple of notes: the white "blob" on the side of the kerfing is some sort of goop that appears to be some sort of wood/glue combination of unknown type. Just beside that is a piece of the end of the X brace that was broken off and glued back, but offset. That white "blob" was filling the hole in the spruce in the original picture. It was left in as support for the gluing process, and will be removed when the gluing is completed and dry. As can be seen, the nitro finish has been sanded back, it will be resprayed with nitro once the repair is complete.
 
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kostask

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Now that the damage has been cut out, its time to start creating the "splints":

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The fit is approximately going to be like so:

B8FEA9ED-6E52-4B0A-9DFF-9C4748E50A1F.jpeg


It cannot be seen, but the pieces to be added have been cut such that most of the grain lines, and the cross grain silking will match up fairly well with the existing wood.

It hasn't been decided if the bridge splits will be glued up, or the bridge will be replaced (I have an exact replacement (thanks Hans)). There ares some other, more minor repars to be made as well.
 
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bobouz

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Thanks for posting - Really enjoy seeing the work in progress.

Someone went to quite an extreme when widening that saddle slot!
 

GGJaguar

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This is a very interesting repair project. I can't wait to see the guitar after all the work is completed.
 

davismanLV

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As has been mentioned above, here's a project that I can get behind watching and hopefully learning from. This type of stuff fascinates me and your care and detail are greatly appreciated. I also noted that saddle slot being widened and also looks to be very thin at that side of the bridge, possibly due to shaving the saddle to stave off a neck reset? It will be interesting to see how you deal with that. Just very happy to watch and learn..... thanks, kostask!! (y)
 

evenkeel

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Thanks for posting all the pics. Challenging project. Kudos for bringing the guitar back to life.
 

HeyMikey

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I will also be eagerly watching this thread. It is fascinating. However I would never attempt anything this invasive. Bravo to you sir for having the guts and the skills.
 

kostask

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Just to let everybody know, I am not doing the work. It is being done by a luthier friend of mine. I just thought there may be an interest in seeing how this is done.

It hasn't been decided yet about what is going to be done about the bridge. We are leaning towards replacing it. Aside from the two cracks extending from the ends of the saddle slot, the saddle slot itself is very unevenly cut, an the ends are oddly shaped. It has not been shaved down, as it is the same height as the replacement bridge. It also has bridge pin slots cut in it, which I don't mind.
 
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wileypickett

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I love these "repairs in action" threads!

One of many reasons I subscribe to *Guild of American Lutherie* magazine are for their guided tours of guitar resurrections, and the ingenious ways ingenious people solve seemingly impossible repair challenges.

On with the show!
 

chazmo

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That's great, Kostas. You picked a great guitar as a "starting point" for your restoration here. Given the localized area of the damage, I like this approach. I love that your luthier has cut some spruce of similar grain spacing to the original to fill the broken areas. But isn't this worthy of a top refinish? In fact, wouldn't you want to strip the top, fit the new wood, and then lacquer the whole thing when it's joined? It seems like it'd be easier to do this job with the bare wood all exposed first. Just thinking out loud.

Best of luck, and keep the pictures coming!!!!
 

kostask

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The possibility of a top respray was brought up by the luthier. He is thinking of spot spraying the new wood and surrounding area that he has sanded, and then respraying the entire top. The purpose of the spot spraying is to act as a grain filler mostly, and the overall top respray is to try and get a level surface, and to see if the finish checking can be reduced.

All if this is pending the decision on the bridge replacement or re-glue.
 
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bobouz

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Well, just to throw out thoughts & ideas:
I’d do the new bridge - I just don’t trust them when they’ve been cracked & you don’t want to have to go there again at a later date. Plus, you’d have a clean saddle slot to work with.
Also, what about doing a sunburst finish (if your luthier has experience with them), which could go a long ways towards minimizing the visual impact of the repaired area. If he’s thinking about respraying the top anyway, it might be super cool to choose your favorite sunburst!
 

davismanLV

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Blending that top color is not easy but it's easier than people think. You can use your spit coat (necessary) to adjust and color and then a clear coat on top thick enough to encompass the checking and if it's sprayed "thinned" it will possibly fix that. That's my old furniture guy guess. But your guy knows what he's doing, so just keep posting updates. I'll shut up.... let's watch!!
 

shihan

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Fascinating. Thanks for taking the time to post it. Looking forward to the next installment!
 
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