That 3rd fret wear was incredible. Somebody picked the splinters out of that guitar! I have done many (well over 100 I know) fret jobs since 1980 and have never seen a fret so completely worn out as this one was. Good job Caleb!
Hey there from The People's Republic of California. What a great skill to have at your age, or ANY age ! I converted a fretted bass into a fretless with a soldering iron and some wood putty. Refretting is a skill I haven't discovered, yet.
What a cool old guitar to get to repair. I enjoy watching guitars get repaired, as it helps me with working on my own guitars. I saw a couple of tips on the Twoodfrd Channel that might come in handy. You can use a suction cup to "push" glue down into a tight crack. Naphtha works well to clean old finishes without removing the finish itself. BUT, you should verify this information with Jerry first to make sure it's correct.
Dang it Caleb! You keep making videos about repairing old guitars and I can't stop watching. I got other stuff I got to do but it all waits so I can finish your videos. I absolutely love the new life you give guitars and the attention to detail you give. Well done young man. Be assured I am watching all of your restoration videos (and many of the others). May end up buying a fret leveling tool from you.
What a cool old guitar, Caleb, it's definitely looks well loved! You did a great job bringing her back to playability. I've been playing the guitar for over fifty years, and I have never seen frets worn so badly, that third fret was something else, man oh man was it used up! I think that it sounds good with the phosphor bronze strings. Thank you for bringing us along on this one, I enjoyed watching!
Hey young fella. Soldering iron is used by a few luthiers In follow, They grind a fret shape in the tip of an old bit which makes it easier to use. Good job though. Looks a thousand times better! "Poor boy twangs the rhythm out on his Kalamazoo".
There's something very beautiful about an instrument that has been played so much, almost to death! You've added another lifetime's worth of playing to it, nice work Sir. The phosphor bronze strings sound great on it.
Hey Caleb, always love your videos. I have a 1938 model and due to the war era, bad economy and metal drives you can find these guitars without truss rods, which is very weird but the wood still seasons richly giving a deep rich tone and sustain.
Very nice video Caleb ! I especially appreciate that you took consideration on the cost of repairs . I can see where someone might have charged $ 1,000 for all the work you did . Even some repair guys might have just said that it is too worn to repair , and not worth the cost ! It might have belonged to someone's grandpa and had a lot of sentimental value to them . In any event you did a great job on the guitar , repairing some very serious issues ! We need more young people like you to learn the trade , and to be humble and helpful . Again thank you so much for the great job on the video , and for bringing this poor old guitar back to life where it will be played for years to come , and will be somebody's pride and joy ! By the way , I like the tone of the acoustic strings on it , I think it brings out more of the true tone of the guitar !
Caleb, use a cheap plastic suction cup to work Titebond into the cracks. Wipe Titebond along the crack and work it in through the crack using a suction cup then clamp and wipe off the excess. You'll get better penetration of the glue that way.
Great choice with the Boiled Linseed Oil. I read that long ago, it was used to finish wood. I know my Granddaughter's little 3/4 electric, I bought, had an unfinished neck. Gave it a quick rub down, with the Boiled Linseed Oil. That thing is slicker & faster than any of my guitars. Just a tip, I've got a little plastic container I put water in, I soak my used Linseed oil paper towels in that after I use them. Good job on a truly well used instrument. Johnny Shines said Robert Johnson's favorite guitars were Kalamazoo. (Who knows if that's actually true, but he did say that.)
I’ve thought about beginning (in earnest) my Violin & Guitar repair hobby with a guitar like this. It’s cool to see something that is basically not playable turn into a great sounding keeper. Thanks! ✌️😎🌞🎻
Holy Moly, I've got hundred year old instruments and have been playing for over 50 years, and I've NEVER seen frets THAT worn! It's clear that this person never bent strings, there is NO way they COULD have. That is amazing. My Martin D18 is 50 years old this year, and she doesn't look anything like that. Guess I play easier than whoever owned this poor thing. I'm sure that Kalamazoo appreciates the TLC.
@@1980bwc I guess, but I would think it was on the OTHER end that the aggression was needed. Kind of how it shows on the top right above the fretboard. Scraped clean. But those frets, Good Lord!
WOOOOW!!!! Thats an intimidating job!! That guitar has been played so damn much, i dont think ive ever seen a fretboard that worn out!!! You did a great job on this one Caleb, you literally brought this guitar back from the dead!!
When I was a kid, there were two older gentlemen at the church I attended when visiting family who were Deacons and they played their guitars at the services every week. After the service they would each pull a small brown bottle from their cases and a piece of flannel and wipe down their guitars. I asked once what it was and they said it was boiled linseed oil with a few drops of mineral spirits. They were cleaning their oils from their hands plus any dirt off and putting some oil back in the wood. They told me their great grandfathers who were brothers bought the guitars and matching ukuleles in 1903. And they had been handed down in the family. The said that boiled linseed oil by itself over time leaves a tacky/sticky feeling on the guitars so they put a few drops of mineral spirits in so it dries quicker and penetrates the wood better.
EVERYTHINGS A HAMMER, Jerry really taught you well, lol Perhaps you could try a tri-cornered file on the slots, just chamfers the edges, helps the frets go in, and it helps stop chip out for the next person who has to re-fret it.
OMG. Never seen that fret wear before. Amazing. My guess is there were many of those made and few survived rainy porches, damage from falls, drops, and launches down steps. Great video. Nice sounding, and looking guitar.
I've done a few similar guitars that had some serious fret wear , but nothing that extreme , our repair process is a bit different but the end result is what counts , awesome work ! 😎👍
Get yourself some small suction cups to force glue into the micro cracks and its amazing how much more glue you can force in with them. Car waterless polish works well also for removing crap off old finishes and its designed to actually trap the dirt in the cloth. Just spray a little on a shop towel and it works wonders and you use less than you would water. Great job and a fantastic looking old archtop
Another great fix on a well used instrument. No criticism from me. Everyone has their own methods and solutions. I appreciate not showing 20 minutes of replacing every fret, sanding etc as some luthiers do which is boring. Keep up the good work.
I did some crack repairs and a refinish of an attempt at a refinish done sometime in the past on an old Gibson Kalamazoo. It played and sounded great if it had not been my friends dad's guitar and had sentamentel value we could have made a deal and I would have an arch top guitar.
Nice job, Caleb. I believe that's a late 30s Kalamazoo KG-31. They made a few different archtop models. That one has certainly seen its share of cowboy chords!
hey Caleb, look for something called murphys wood oil soap.. this soap is specially formulated to use on wood.. it's been around forever. it will clean all the old crud off.. as long as you dont drown the guitar you will be happy with the result.. then follow it up with oil. finally use the rennisance wax
Almost scalloped... AIN'T IT JUST AIN'T IT 😜 lols... you said it as I was typing my comments... I like this one....My first guitar was Martin that looked like this....
That's great, Caleb! I'm glad to see your channel getting started quite well! And man, Jerry really hooked you up with a lot of stuff, right? :D Nice work!
Caleb, I always over-radius the frets. If the board is say 12" I radius the frets to 9"-10". Tap the ends in first then drive the middle home. You'll get less fret end lift that way.
@@MillsGuitars A little trick you can do is grab the end of the tang from underneath with your fret removal pliers and you can coax a little more radius in the frets with your other hand.
Great job on a cool guitar, only thing I'd done differently is to tape off the body, and pull the inlays, and went down just a tad further to take just a touch more of the finger grooves out. But that's just a personal taste type of things. Oh and it appears on video to have a crack in the fretboard on the first few frets?
In case its not been mentioned previously : I seem to remember Johnny Shines said Robert Johnson used a Kalamazoo archtop at times. Some believe it sounds like he was playing an archtop at one of his two recording sessions.
Sounds great in the lower register. Hopefully it holds up at the top. Of course if you want to do a little lead style playing on a few notes , well that is why we bend strings. 🤣
hey Caleb well done as always ..looked like you did it again I think for what it started out as and what it became you basically did triple bypass surgery..lol seriously well done I will be back
