Dave Staudte (rhymms with "Howdy") NB Guitar Repair (New Braunfels, TX)
Forum Replies Created
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Yeah, I don’t like the idea of heating and/or steaming joints if you don’t plan on complete separation. We’ve all seen what happens to guitars that get left in hot trunks and attics, it doesn’t end well.
I’ve reset close to 10 or so Red Labels as others around here have as well. One guy has done about 80 that he recently posted about. It’s not as easy as a Martin but certainly can be done. I would use the foam cutters. The stacked heel has the grain running the wrong way (usually) and steam just makes it spongy and compresses causing problems.
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Great info! Thanks for sharing. I think I’ll steer clear of these as well, just like Guilds!
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Excellent!
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I just had the Red and Blue color matched at a auto paint supply store. No guarantees but the blue worked out really well on my project. Obviously, there is a degree of “yellowing” from the Nitro clear coat. So your milage may vary.
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I use Anderson Musical Instrument Insurance. Been fine for 3 years now, reasonably priced. I have not had to make a claim, so fingers crossed!
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StewMac wire? I’ve found that the overall tangs and barbs on the StewMac wire are difficult to get into normal .020-.022 slots. I almost always use Jescar and it never gives me problems to where I have to widen the slots.
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Seen that on most all old Taylors that have lacquer, even on the mahogany. As mentioned, it’s the old style pore filler. Most likely Behlen’s in the Walnut color. There was only a few colors available and obviously the browns and mahogany colors would drastically color the rosewood. The Walnut color was the closest thing to a clear paste filler that was available at the time.
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Yes, this you have the right idea. It’s all outlined in Pat’s book. We did it this way on the old Taylors as well. I just found out from Pat yesterday the first printing of the book is sold out, but there will be a second printing. Hopefully these pics will help.
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Unless it’s a quick and easy thing with little improvisation I will. Like a handle replacement that’s cut and dry.
We tried repairing them at Taylor, got all the fancy tools like a deep throat rivet thing. It turned out to be more trouble than it’s worth. Most of the time you have to peel back all the lining to get to the rivets then you have to stick it back on somehow with spray adhesive or whatever. It’s messy and stinky. It never seems to go back together that well. This was when the Black cases were made in China and the hinges and latches just kept getting cheaper and cheaper. In the end we abandoned the idea.
As far as tolex repairs, I wouldn’t know where to start…amp guys know about that stuff right?
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If I remember correctly, I think Evan puts a small dot of thick CA glue on those to ensure a longer lasting bond. Great idea! I always forget. I’ve been using those for decades and if the wood is clean, they can stick really, really good on their own. Whenever I see them fall off there’s always some dust, wood chips, tone balls or something preventing good adhesion.
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Reset, refret, new bridge is the mantra for many, many of these 70’s Martins. About 50% of the time the bridge has been shaved, no sense in resetting it to a shaved bridge. Oh, and almost always some kind of pickguard problems from shrinkage…
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Mr. Talkamine USA has stores on eBay, Reverb, and Facebook page. He’s a wealth of information and has been responsive to my inquiry’s. (I just realized he’s the same guy mentioned above.) I have spoken to Reps at Talkamine and they are supportive of William Sutherlands addiction to all things Talkamine Preamp related…
About AddictedToToneInc | Reverb
https://www.facebook.com/p/Mr-Takamine-USA-100034506716284/
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You should jump on the Loothalong during the week after 7pm Central sometime. I’m usually here with Josh Rippingale from Australia. He’s reset hundreds of Maton’s almost on a weekly basis. I see him working on them almost every day. In fact, he just did a reset on a vintage Maton 12 string a couple weeks ago. A true expert in all things Maton (and Cole Clark for that matter).
If not send him a message.
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This will land the bridge more in the middle of the top which is what some people and builder’s desire. And it makes sense to put it in a more centered area like on nylon stringed guitars and many other models. Builders have even made 13 frets to the body guitars to get the bridge in this area. But there are no steadfast rules. The dreadnaught and jumbos have their bridges shifted forward quite a bit from the middle of the top and they serve their purposes just fine. As long as the braces inside can support your bridge you can put whatever scale length you want on an acoustic no matter where the bridge lands. If I recall correctly, some of the earliest parlor guitars had their bridges shifted more towards the rear of the guitar.
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I saw Grace had some of those hanging in front of a bookcase in her shop, not sure how thick they are but it’s for dust control.
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That’s really cool Michael!
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It’s probably snapped off. Since it has heel separation I would pull off the neck, you’ll find out real quick if you’ll be replacing the truss rod…the process is detailed in Pat DiBurro’s book on Martin repair.
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When I laid out my shop in CA I literally used a piece of graph paper using one square as one square foot and drew the perimeter of space. I then cut out different colors of Post It Notes with the same footprint as my machines, benches, cabinets, et. with the same 1 square foot size as the graph paper and labeled them. Then I just moved them all around on the graph paper until I was satisfied.
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That was awesome Scott! It certainly gives me more confidence in the job when that day comes, I’m sure I speak for others as well!
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Just a comment, I was not impressed with the Z files. They leave scratches deeper down the side of the fret than a conventional rounded diamond file. They also have a tendency (operator induced) to cut notches into the end of the fret if you’re not careful. My traditional polishing with just handheld sandpaper grits could never reach these deeper scratches. I quit using those files…
Doug Proper’s suggested polishing sticks used like a 3 corner file get down into the side of the fret. The polishing sticks are like a nail file with 3 grits, grey on one side and black and white on the other, I think. They are great!
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That was awesome! I do have Trevor’s books. Got about 2/3rds through the first one and my brain was scrambled with #’s but it’s an incredible reference.
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Awesome! I bet it sounds as good as it looks!
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Electrosocket Jack Mount – StewMac
stewmac.com
Electrosocket Jack Mount - StewMac
A modern version of the Tele jack cup that is held in place with two screws rather than the traditional clip. Highly recommended.
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Glad some info is coming your way. All I can say is, try to lube it up somehow and I would start by loosening before tightening without any string tension. Maybe even clamp it up on blocks to force backbow into it before tightening. I say this because….these are easily broken. Don’t ask me how I know this 🙁
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Not really a clear-cut answer to this. Too much bulge is going to be the result of a loose brace, loose bridge plate, or loose bridge and any combination of these three. If the guitar lives in a humid area then yes, you will have a belly behind the bridge.
I recently had a GS Mini that had a loose bridge and bulge. After regluing the bridge it was minimized. And I did not have to use an unusually high value shim to set it up. This is in Central Texas where homes are generally 40%-50% inside right now.
You can call Taylor 1-800-943-6782 and they’ll probably say the same thing. As long as the guitar is sound, not over humidified and can be set up appropriately its fine. There are no measurements or hard numbers to go by other than using the highest shim and still having rather high action.
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Looks amazing Paul!
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Good point, yes, I did a Fill&Finish on a PRS that turned out killer. Very compatible with whatever Poly they had on there.
