Guild D40 Restore

[Diane Kauffmds]

I bought this botched mess from EBay for $68 delivered. It's a Guild D-40, with Adirondack bracing and nitro finish (I tested the finish). The neck is totally missing.

Some genius cut the neck out, I'm assuming to reset it. Not only did they cut the neck out, they took some of the neck block. You can see marks where the fretboard extension was pried off. They also widened the saddle slot to 1/4". It too was done by handheld tool, like s dremel. The bridge is ruined.

It's a beautiful guitar. As many of you know, I like a challenge.

I've formed a game plan

I'm going to level out and straighten the cut in the neck, then graft a piece of mahogany into the neck, using the original dovetail mortise (see drawing). Then I'll have to deal with the missing wood from the sides at the top. Once the box is back together, I'll make a dovetail neck and cut a corresponding dovetail mortise. I'll also make a new rosewood fretboard and bridge.

[TEETERFAN]

You are fearless!!!

[Stray Feathers]

That will keep you busy for a while! Looking forward to watching your progress. And - did you mean Guild D40? Bruce W.

[Diane Kauffmds]

That will keep you busy for a while! Looking forward to watching your progress. And - did you mean Guild D40? Bruce W.

Thank you. Yes, it's a Guild D-40. Right before posting I was looking at an old Gretch archtop. The name must have stuck.

[Diane Kauffmds]

I've decided I want to make a mold of the missing wood, including what's left of the dovetail mortise. I want the graft to fit as precisely as possible. So, I've been thinking of suitable material to make a casting. It has to come out with ease.

I'm going to line the cavity with tape so anything I use can be removed. Since it needs to be removed as easy as possible, I'm thinking of using caulking. Caulking is flexible and not easily broken or torn. If I line the wood with the tape, it should come out fairly easily once it's cured. The other option is to use flexible spray foam, the type with limited expansion. It would harden faster than caulk.

[MaineGeezer]

How about plaster of paris? It sets up fairly quickly and should be reasonably durable and accurate, although you might need to take shrinkage into account To do that, you could make a narrow-ish mold, not too deep, maybe 6" long, and after it hardens measure the length and see how much less than 6" it is.

[TEETERFAN]

I’ve used Dental Alginate Impression Powder on molding projects. Easy to use, flexible when cured.

[TEETERFAN]

That alginate I recommended is mixed with water, so hitting the wood with some shellac might be in order. The alginate captures details nicely.

[Diane Kauffmds]

I have to make sure the wood is bare and clean to do the glue-up. I'll check into the dental molding, but the surface of the wood has to be covered by something, before anything is sprayed or applied. The dental stuff is a good idea. I'll check it out.

[Diane Kauffmds]

I’ve used Dental Alginate Impression Powder on molding projects. Easy to use, flexible when cured.

Were your projects thick? I'm thinking this is a really good suggestion, but you know the size of a dovetail. Do you think it'll set up okay for something of this size?

Think of it as 3/8-1/2" of the end of a neck with an additional 1/2" of dovetail attached.