Guild D-40

This old D-4 (late 60's I believe) came in with a few problems, the first and most obvious was a large crack in the lower bout side that was missing some pieces. The other was a cracked headstock at the first tuning peg hole. Other than that the usual dings and scratches associated with a used instrument, and a very cool American flag decal which I have saved and stuck on my workbench.

This guitar gave me a chance to try out the new side bending jig that was made a while ago. Using a standard dreadnought pattern the side was able to be replicated pretty close. A little tweaking with the bending iron was necessary to get it to fit right.Wasn't sure how to cut the material out of the side, I didn't want to get into the binding and the linings so decided to make a cut on either side of the split running parallel with each side.

Mahogany strips were bent and cut to fit inside the body side. These were clamped and glued to the remaining side material and butted up to the linings to give a clean appearance on the inside.Cutting the replacement side material was difficult because the sides do not run parallel but have a slight bend to the back side. This material had to be slowly cut and fitted. Once it was cut to fit the neck joint was chiseled out slightly in order to slide the new side material under it to keep the joint clean and hold it in place while gluing it up.

The new side material was glued and clamped in three steps over three days to slowly work the material around the curve. Once to the end the material was fitted and cut to length at the end pin hole. This was difficult and may have to have an end pin strip installed at the joint if it does fit exactly.

Once everything was glued and dry the new material had to be sanded to fit to the old material. The thickness of the new material was left a little higher so it could be sanded and fitted to match the existing. This was painfully slow done by hand with varying grits of sandpaper.

As you can see from the close up picture the grain of the new mahogany is different from the old. I used a piece that was available, hopefully the stain is so dark this will not be noticeable when finished.

Finished sanding almost ready for finishing... every woodworkers nightmare. More on this later..

Gibson L-48

Here is a Gibson archtop L-48 model from the late 40's to early 50's is where it can be placed. It is 16" wide with F-holes and sunburst finish.

Not bad shape if you overlook the busted side on the bass side. It has mahogany sides, laminated mahogany top, and appears to be laminated maple back.

The peg-head is tapered which puts it pre-mid 50's, and the Gibson gold script logo with dot on i connected to G and open b and o place it 47 - 51. It has no serial number, label, or markings on inside or outside to date it.

The tuners have been replaced with deluxe Kluson's. Have not checked the truss rod for functionality,. Neck is one piece mahogany and appears to be straight. It has ivoroid binding front and back that is missing in spots and in pretty bad shape.

Martin DM

This guitar came to me with a broken soundboard. Someone had an accident in a bar one night and fell on the case with the guitar inside.The top cracks were too severe to fix, and the the top had to be removed and replaced.

 

A new solid spruce top was made using a similar herringbone rosette.

 

  

 The bracing pattern was upgraded from the original DM factory design

 

The top with soundhole cut, installed, and ready for the neck install and finish.

Sidebender

Built this side bender from a picture that I found of one on a website. pretty easy to make, and works great.

 

The heat source is three light bulbs wired together in sequence with a timer to keep from overheating if you forget that it is on. The light bases are mounted to pieces of wood that can be slid in and out of the box and installed at different levels for different size side molds.

 

The mold is made from a pattern of whatever size guitar you are working on. In this case a Martin dreadnaught was used for the mold.

 

1/2" galvanized threaded pipe rod was used for the spacers making the width 6" overall.All thread, nuts, and eye bolts were used for the 2"x 4" clamps. The top clamp block was shaped to fit the waist bend. Wing nuts were used for tightening down, but  I have seen some press mechanisms that would be easier. Galvanized sheet metal makes the heating "sandwich" that the sides go into to cook while being bent.

 

The first finished side after about twenty minutes is bent and ready to go.

 

Side in the solera waiting for its partner to start the build.

Joseph Bohmann Mandolin

 

Working on a late 19th or early twentieth century bowlback mandolin built by Joseph Bohmann.

 

 From Harpguitars.net, "Little is known of Bohmann’s career, and much of it is conflicting. It is thought by many that he was one of the first, if not the first, to build mandolins in America, or at least, Chicago. These were the Neapolitan-style bowlback mandolins, which Bohmann made in many grades. Most examples known today are rather pedestrian, but high-end and “presentation” Bohmann mandolins and guitars also exist. Michael Wright states that Bohmann was an early mandolin supplier for both Wards and Sears (1894). As is the case with nearly every Chicago musical instrument maker, there are rumors and clues about the Larson brothers building instruments for Bohmann, but so far, nothing conclusive.

According to Wright, Bohmann “was born in Neumarkt (Bohemia), Czechoslovakia in 1848. He later emigrated to America, and then founded Bohmann´s American Musical Industry in 1878.” Wright gives Bohmann’s instrument building dates as “1878 to the late 1920s,” while Michael Holmes of Mugwumps gives 1876-1930. Regardless, it’s unclear exactly when Bohmann died, or what happened to the business when he did. He would have been 68 when the last patent was issued in 1916 – a ripe old age for a guitar maker at that time.

Even more unclear is the fate of the factory and instruments after Bohmann’s death. Stories abound from many different sources, but the facts are inconsistent. Apparently, the building was locked up for forty or so years! Eventually, in the ‘70s or ‘80s (again, unclear), the factory was opened by the inheritors – by some accounts, a Bohmann grandson. There are tales of instruments “discovered in the attic of the old factory building in Chicago where (Bohmann) had his shop…several instruments in completed and near completed stages, wrapped up in World War II newspapers.” 

 

The following photo shows the back wood staves. These appear to be maple, are beautiful, and in great shape.

 

 

 The top is where the problem lies. It is cracked and sunken in right at the bend where the bridge sits.

 

 

After the top is removed you can see the label and the interior in good shape. A few pieces of binding need to be replaced.

 

Hopefully the bracing can be reused. The tortoise pick guard does not seem to be salvageable.

The fretboard is in pretty good shape, a little dry with a small crack that should not affect anything.

 

Tuners and headstock back metal cover are in good shape and work. Note the stamp on the metal plate.

 

With a little luck and a lot of patience I think this will play again.

 

Lark Brand Les Paul Copy

This is a Japanese copy of a Gibson Les Paul made sometime I believe in the 1970's, not certain of exact date. I have not been able to locate any identifying model #'s yet, although I have not taken it apart completely. I will start with what I do know from  examining the instrument.

Body
The body is a multi-ply wood single cut away style painted black with what appears to be mahogany face and back veneers. The top is arched and the back is flat. The total weight of the guitar is approximately 8 pounds. The width at the lower bout is 12-7/8", and at the upper bout 9". Overall length of guitar including neck and headstock is 38-3/4". The body length is approximately 17-1/4". The front, back, fretboard, and headstock have a 1/4" cream binding with black/white/black/white purfling on the front, back, and headstock

Fretboard/Headstock/Neck
The fretboard is rosewood with ten (10) MOP square and rectangle fretboard marker inlays.The fretboard length is 18-1/4" with a 25-1/4" scale length. There are twenty two frets and the fretboard bind appears to be drilled at seven (7) locations for side markers with no inlay. The headstock has the "Gibson" rectangle and diamond logo on the face in MOP inlay with the "Lark" logo painted in gold script above. The truss rod cover is two layer white/black plastic with a flower and leaf painted design on it. The tuners are concealed in a chrome finish. The nut appears to be bone and is 1-5/8" wide. The neck is a bolt on style with a chrome square bolt plate with four (4) screws. There is a sticker on the bolt plate that reads "KE-15".

 

 

Electric
There are two (2) humbucker style pick ups. The neck pickup is a 12 pole pick up with a chrome cover and six (6) adjusting screws. The bridge pick up is a cream color 22 pole pickup without a cover. The bezels are black plastic.There is a 3 way switch on the upper left bass side bout with a white switch cover. There art two volume and two tone control "speed style" plastic push on numbered control knobs.

 

Misc.

The pickguard is black/white/black/white multi layer with chrome pickguard bracket. The bridge is a "tune-o-matic" style with a stop tail piece.

Condition
The body has it share of use scratches and nicks, but no major  structural defects or flaws that are visible. The neck and headstock are in good condition with no cracks or breaks, and the fretboard is flat with the frets and fretboard being in good condition but in need of a cleaning and dressing. The tuners work and the metal is in good condition

The back cover plate is missing and will need a replacement. It was also missing a control knob and pickguard bracket that have been replaced.

The binding is in fair condition with some cracking of the fretboard binding. There is no missing binding or purfling.

The electrics work with a little crackling in the three way switch that may just need cleaning. The pick ups work fine and sound good with a lot of sustain. The volume and tone controls are operable and the instrument is loud when plugged in. The input jack tightening ring was loose and needed to be tightened but now is fine and holds well. The pots are a little rusty and may need some cleaning. Wiring seems to be intact. I am not certain if all parts are original at this time, but they appear to be.

It is my understanding from the person the guitar was acquired from that this particular brand was manufactured by the Matsumoku factory in Japan in the 1970's. This remains to be confirmed. Overall this appears to be a good workable and playable instrument. The body, paint and overall structural condition is good for a thirty or forty year old guitar.