making a 1949 refin playable again

Even if it ain't broke you can still fix it.
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tippie53
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making a 1949 refin playable again

Post by tippie53 »

This guitar was presented to me for repair. He was one of my regular customers and it his a birth year guitar for him. He bought it with the intention of a conversion to D 45 , I have done a conversion for him in the past. He wanted to try and make it playable if possible.
My issue was that this top was thinned to extreme , under the bridge the top as only .065 thick
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John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
tippie53
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Re: making a 1949 refin playable again

Post by tippie53 »

The bridge plate in this critter was way oversized to .220 . So I as you can see I pulled the bridge knowing that the plate needed to come out . Also I used my heat blanket for the bridge and plate removal . The top was easy the plate took some finesse . I used the controller and set the temp for 220 and worked the heat , moisture , and pallet knife to gently work the plate free. This took about 1 hr of work. Once that plate was removed I could address the top hump and the top issues .
I routed to clean wood fiber on the top , sanded the underside of the top for good glue adhesion. You can see the size of the plate as I had to make a special cawl for it.
The top cawl was some corian and this pressed this area flat .
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John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
tippie53
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Re: making a 1949 refin playable again

Post by tippie53 »

With the new plate installed I could address the top issue. I made a filler for the bridge area and glued that in.. I did allow very ample clamping time. Left it clamped overnight.
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John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
tippie53
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Re: making a 1949 refin playable again

Post by tippie53 »

Now that the top was stable I could reattach the bridge . that was easy . standard process and sting it up. It actually is very stable.
I used the larger plate for the over thinned top , the plate was .115 thick , a bit over sized and thicker but I was afraid too thick would kill the tone. With the guitar strung to pitch with lights, I find it plays well good tone and volume and ample head room. The neck needed a fret dress but that was about it.
Customer is happy , and that is all that matters.
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John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
tippie53
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Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
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Re: making a 1949 refin playable again

Post by tippie53 »

http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.y ... UW00zeNCP4
this link is the final point to what I posed here. The Poster off the UMGF was my customer Carl , and here was his assessment of the end product. While the guitar was not possible to be made to look pristine it was made very playable and considering the beginning , the end result was a good one. I hope you all enjoyed and learned from this thread.



I've been playing it for a couple of hours now and am very impressed.
Very loud and clear, not too bassy.
I know now I made the right choice to give it a chance "as is".
Bought it with the intent to re-top it based on Mark's description but when it arrived it looked like it just might be salvageable!?
No closet queen for sure but we have a lot in common, plenty of wear but lots of life left too!
Talked with John about what I wanted and we agreed on a "not to exceed" budget.
The final result exceeded my expectations and I am overjoyed with my latest addition to the family!
Thanks to Mark at Folkway Music for his honest assessment of the guitar and shipping expertise.
Thanks to John for pulling off a small miracle and breathing life back into a guitar that was "on the edge".
Refinished, modified fret markers, pearl around the sound hole and lots of cracks in the top, she's not "unmolested".
You can tell this guitar has not had an easy life, but it sure has a lot of character...and sounds great.
Today was a great day! Tomorrow is looking good too!

Carl's Acoustics
2007 D-42 Amazon Rosewood #20 of 35, 1966 D-28 Bone Conversion, 1970 D-12-20
1986 D-62LE, 1987 D-18LE, 1949 D-28, 1963 D-12-42 (Under Construction), 1992 Guild JF65-12
1967 D-12-35 (For Sale), 1957 D-28 Custom (For Sale)
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
johnnparchem
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Re: making a 1949 refin playable again

Post by johnnparchem »

John when you pulled the bridge plate did you have the heating blanket on the top side? I am amazed that one can pull a bridge plate through the sound hole.

John
Ben-Had
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Re: making a 1949 refin playable again

Post by Ben-Had »

johnnparchem wrote:John when you pulled the bridge plate did you have the heating blanket on the top side? I am amazed that one can pull a bridge plate through the sound hole.

John
Wow John P, I as just getting ready to ask that same question about heating blanket placement. Also John H, how far down did you have to rout out the bridge area? Seems like you'd not wan tot go very deep at all. Then did you just thickness a piece of spruce to that depth?
Tim Benware
tippie53
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Re: making a 1949 refin playable again

Post by tippie53 »

The procedure to get that log off the top was one of heat duration. I had to be certain to get enough heat to break the glue bond without damage to the finish. I use a controller and set to 200 - 220 degree. I took the bridge off as that can work like a heat sink and pull the heat away from the top.
I dampened the plate and used a cawl to hold the blanket against the plate. Here I use rare earth magnets on the cawl , Then keeping a hand on the top to gauge heat penetration I would start to see where I could get the spatula into the glue joint. It took about an hour and a half of allowing 5 to 10 min of heat then separate the glue joint.
With the thin top I was afraid I would penetrate the top with the tools. The heat and water allowed the glue joint to break down and let the top become more noodley so the top would move a good bit without breaking. Then after the plate came out I clamped it all down overnight so the glue would reset ( BIG ADVANTAGE OF HOT HIDE GLUE ). Then the next day we could make and replace the plate with something that would be more suited for the task.
I don't recommend such a large plate normally , but having a thinned top as this , the total ( .110 thick plate ) would bring back structural integrity. It was a repair that I find enjoyable as you get to think outside the norm.
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
tippie53
Posts: 7011
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Hegins, Pa
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Re: making a 1949 refin playable again

Post by tippie53 »

I had to take about .025 off the top so I could get into solid wood fibers.
Working through the sound hole is a challenge but you learn how after a while. Here is a case where small hands come in handy . I wish I had some.
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
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