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

[geoguy]

that's one deep throat!

You did not say that . . . oh, wait, you actually did!

It appears that the repair-person ramped the ends of each routed area, presumably get a little more surface area for the glue to bond?

If the new spruce strips are thicker than the guitar top, will they be glued flush with the existing top, or left a bit tall and then scraped down to the top of the soundboard?

This looks like very skillful, professional work.

 

[kostask]

They were ramped. They are taller than the existing wood and will be scraped/sanded down to match.

Keep in mind that there are braces below most of the strips. There is no option other than to try and make the wood the same thickness as the existing top.

The luthier is the best in this area. Many, many years of experience, very professional, and quite creative in his approach to many repairs. We are also good friends, and have been for many years.

 

[kostask]

I can't imagine working on the inside of an arch-top guitar through its F-holes. I always assumed you had to remove the back or the top.

He’s also very reluctant to take the backs off of guitars if there is any way of avoiding it. He says it is very hard to get the sides to match up with the backs when putting the backs on, so he tries to avoid it. In many cases, he will make a mold that is a perfect fit to the sides prior to removing the back, and the guitar stays in the mold until the repair is complete and the back is put back on. Works most of the time, but sometimes it doesn’t.

 

[gilded]

Sounds like you have a very competent luthier and it's all under control. Happy for you, indeed.

gilded

 

[wileypickett]

In many cases, he will make a mold that is a perfect fit to the sides prior to removing the back, and the guitar stays in the mold until the repair is complete and the back is put back on. Works most of the time, but sometimes it doesn’t.

The luthier that Chaz and I used for some time -- Pete Maricle -- did that as well. I took one of my Guilds to him for repair years ago and he had a Gibson on the bench that he had built a mold for so he could take off the top without the body moving out of alignment.

 

[davismanLV]

Putting the top on originally is easy. Taking it off and trying to put it back and expecting everything to align hardly ever happens in real life. Easy taking excess off, but creating bits of top from nothing is..... impossible. I would expect backs are even worse.

 

[chazmo]

Looking cool, Kostas. Fun to watch (virtually) as it comes back to life.

 

[kostask]

Progress for today, outside picture:

And a look from the inside:

The second strip from the treble side is in.

 

[kostask]

Also, the view of the inside of the guiteir, from one of the routed out channels in the top:

The blobs of glue are from the previously attempted repairs. Whoever they were, they were very liberal with the amount of glue the used. Remember, these are glue drips from the attempted top repair.

This will be cleaned out with a chisel tomorrow, and the guitar vacuumed out before the last two strips get put in.

 

[bobouz]

Sure would be nice to have an array of tools like that! I had some clamps specially made many years ago that can reach a ways behind the bridge, but that’s about it. Any further & it’d probably be breaking out the magnets. Fortunately, a lot of the stuff I’ve had to deal with has been rather close to the soundhole (tip of the hat to shrinking pickguards!).

 

[kostask]

Another strip goes in:

The previous strips haven’t yet been sanded/scraped/planed down flush yet. That will be done after all tge strips ate in.

 

[kostask]

Just because I had some questions, pictures of the clamps:

The big white clamp is NOT the one he designed, but from Stew-Mac. I made a mistake saying that this was his design. His clamp is on another guitar in the shop.

The small clamps are really intended for use on mandolins, but they cane in handy for this job.

 

[kostask]

Lastly, the bridges:

The replacement bridge is taller by about 1/16”, everywhere; the top, the wings/ends, and shoulders. The ends of the bridge are cut square on the replacement bridge, but bevelled on the original bridge.

I don’t believe the original bridge was shaved down, as it seems to have the same curvature at the top as the replacement bridge.

 

[davismanLV]

Was that saddle slot widened for the electronics, do you think or what?

 

[Nuuska]

My F50R & F512 & F212 were modified for that fatter pup and compensated saddle at Guild - they did not sell those pups - so I sent all three guitars to them and they came back like that. So the saddle slot is original. In one previous pic I can see the knobs of the preamp.

 

[kostask]

It was widened for the UST pickup. The enlarged slot is very unevenly cut, venturing into ragged territory.

 

[kostask]

Nuuska:

Thanks for the information. The slot being cut so uneven made me think it was an aftermarket install. See pictures below:

 

[davismanLV]

Wow, they really tore that bridge up. Sad, but you have a really nice one to replace it. Even with enlarging the slot I'll be that saddle was tight and put a lot of pressure on that poor weakened part of the bridge causing it to crack.

You know once that spruce is scraped and sanded down level and the color adjusted, I'll bet it's gonna be almost, if not totally invisible. This is so awesome to watch. Thanks for posting this, my friend!!

 

[kostask]

Close up of pickup and floor te bridge slot:

My luthier buddy says it appears to be a Barcus Berry pickup. He says there is no reason to stay with the original bridge with the breakage, it isn’t worth fixing, it is best to just replace the bridge.

 

[wileypickett]

Thanks for all these "hot" new pics!

Whoever routed the new saddle slot went clear through the bridge to the top of the guitar.

Yeah, I agree -- it's better to replace the bridge altogether. With all the modifications that have been made to it, it's not really the original bridge anymore anyway. The new one will not only be cleaner looking, but it should do its job more effectively.

Is your luthier making the bridge height greater because you're also getting the neck reset?