Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

I have several guitars that are awaiting repair. This 1954 D-18 Martin is among them. This guitar has a lot of repairs done by someone who didn't know what they were doing. I'll have to Undo the old repairs then repair it properly. I decided to start with the neck reset.

I spent 2 hours yesterday trying to get the ruddy neck off of this guitar. I gave up on it, starting fresh at 5am this morning. After steaming it, the neck moved as though it was loosened, but it wouldn't come out. Although I was trying to avoid removing the fretboard, I decided to remove it after spending another couple of fruitless hours trying to remove the neck.

When I had direct access to the dovetail, I could see a lot of "stuff" under it. I used a small screwdriver to pry out some of it.

The "stuff" was silicone caulking. In fact, there was tan, clear, and a wonderful combo of caulking reinforced with wood dust, (a must have for all neck resets...NOT). The steam had made the caulking more rubbery, which accounted for the movement it made after steaming.

I removed as much as I could from under the dovetail, but getting at the tight fitting sides was another matter. I used a multifunction tool. I cut one of the blades to the width of the dovetail (see photo). I eventually got through each side of the dovetail, without cutting into the neck block. Of course, being thorough, someone made sure to put caulk behind the dovetail.

I removed the neck without damage to the guitar body, neck block, neck, or dovetail. I also did it without marring the finish. I still have a lot of cleaning to do, before doing the actual reset.

A lot of repairs need to be made on this guitar. I'll make entries to this post as things happen.
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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
johnnparchem
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Re: Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Post by johnnparchem »

yuck!
MaineGeezer
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Re: Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Post by MaineGeezer »

OMG! Yes, keep us up to date. This should be quite a tale.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
tippie53
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Re: Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Post by tippie53 »

that is about as ugly as I have seen for a long time.
enjoy the journey you will learn much
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Just when you think you've seen it all....

The owner of the guitar has decided to replace the top. I took the bridge off so that we can reuse it. Then I took the top off....Apparently the previous owner decided that the best way to repair cracks was to pour a bottle of glue on every crack. I think this stuff is Gorilla Glue. Nothing (and I mean NOTHING) softens it or dissolves it. I ended up gently chiseling to the wood, to clean the majority of this stuff out of the guitar.

Check out the repairs on the top. No wonder I had a hard time getting that neck off! The previous owners decided to glue the neck block. All of the "cleats" that you see for cracks are 1/8" thick. The glue around the neck block is 1/4" thick! I measured these thicknesses.

Plus, what do you use for a bridge plate when the original breaks??? Well, why not use a RULER! hAHAHA.

This guitar is full of surprises!
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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Post by MaineGeezer »

Well, now I can say that no matter how badly I screw up, my mistakes are NOTHING compared to what some people do on purpose.

That is just incredible.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
johnnparchem
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Re: Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Post by johnnparchem »

Yikes!

The glue looks more like epoxy than Gorilla Glue. Gorilla Glue tends to foam out of the joint. The top almost looks salvageable. The ruler was probably a hard wood close to the right thickness.
tippie53
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Re: Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Post by tippie53 »

keep that one for wall art
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

tippie53 wrote:keep that one for wall art
Precisely my plan.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Undoing Awful Repairs on a 1954 Martin D-18

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Well guys, due to so many other repairs, this poor soul was put on hold. Well, I finally joined the new top, which is torrified adi. I routed the channels for the D-18 style rosette, using my new rosette jig.

I'll install the purfling tomorrow. I'll get the bracing made, and possibly installed tomorrow.

Needless to say, I've made plans from the original top, which is hanging in a place of honor in my shop.
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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
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