1942 Gibson lg-2 Banner Mess
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 6:20 am
I have on my bench, a 1942 Gibson LG-2 Banner from California. The owner wants complete restoration, except the finish of course. You never know what you'll find.
This poor thing is a train wreck.
Besides the little mouse nest I found inside, this guitar has the worst belly bulge I've ever seen. She also has numerous cracks, and the back seam is separating. I can see that the fretboard extension has been cut through at fret 12, probably for a neck reset. The right ear of the headstock is broken. The tuners are cheap replacements. The binding around the top is broken and missing in areas.
This is just the obvious stuff.
The neck needs to be reset, so I removed the fb extension and steamed it off cleanly.
I don't like to remove tops, but after knocking off this huge, absurd, replacement bridge, I see the problem, and it's ugly. The top under the bridge pins has cracked across the grainline.
I'm determined to save this top, cracks and all. I can feel the loose braces and bridge plate that's pulled up. So, I decided to remove the top, to gain access. Boy, did I find a mess! Plus, someone glued the top with gorilla glue on one side.
Once off, I see the problem. A piece of top has already been replaced under the bridge. The bridge patch has come loose, allowing the strings to reek havoc on the top. This patch is HUGE. I doubt it's original. It's too new looking.
The x-bracing has loosened, and cracked. One lateral tone bar is missing. But. I believe that the new, absurdly large, bridge patch is the culprit. It wasn't glued down right.
I was going to use curved aluminum cauls, heated and clamped, to reduce the belly, but with everything I see, I'll be removing the x-bracing, and making new. I've decided to use flat aluminum heated cauls, to gently flatten that bulge, and bring the spruce back together where it's cracked.
I'll make a new, proper bridge plate out of hard maple, glue it in good, along with new x-bracing. That will keep the top break closed, then I can deal with it, by routing out the break, splicing in new spruce, then I'll make a proper bridge out of Brazilian rosewood.
I'm starting today, by removing the braces, and fixing the cracks.
Stay tuned.
I've already ordered some Golden Era restoration tuners, with cream buttons, the shape of the original tuners.
Oh, and I demoused the box!
This poor thing is a train wreck.
Besides the little mouse nest I found inside, this guitar has the worst belly bulge I've ever seen. She also has numerous cracks, and the back seam is separating. I can see that the fretboard extension has been cut through at fret 12, probably for a neck reset. The right ear of the headstock is broken. The tuners are cheap replacements. The binding around the top is broken and missing in areas.
This is just the obvious stuff.
The neck needs to be reset, so I removed the fb extension and steamed it off cleanly.
I don't like to remove tops, but after knocking off this huge, absurd, replacement bridge, I see the problem, and it's ugly. The top under the bridge pins has cracked across the grainline.
I'm determined to save this top, cracks and all. I can feel the loose braces and bridge plate that's pulled up. So, I decided to remove the top, to gain access. Boy, did I find a mess! Plus, someone glued the top with gorilla glue on one side.
Once off, I see the problem. A piece of top has already been replaced under the bridge. The bridge patch has come loose, allowing the strings to reek havoc on the top. This patch is HUGE. I doubt it's original. It's too new looking.
The x-bracing has loosened, and cracked. One lateral tone bar is missing. But. I believe that the new, absurdly large, bridge patch is the culprit. It wasn't glued down right.
I was going to use curved aluminum cauls, heated and clamped, to reduce the belly, but with everything I see, I'll be removing the x-bracing, and making new. I've decided to use flat aluminum heated cauls, to gently flatten that bulge, and bring the spruce back together where it's cracked.
I'll make a new, proper bridge plate out of hard maple, glue it in good, along with new x-bracing. That will keep the top break closed, then I can deal with it, by routing out the break, splicing in new spruce, then I'll make a proper bridge out of Brazilian rosewood.
I'm starting today, by removing the braces, and fixing the cracks.
Stay tuned.
I've already ordered some Golden Era restoration tuners, with cream buttons, the shape of the original tuners.
Oh, and I demoused the box!