One of the things I like about Rosa String Works videos is the fact that the background music isn't some tedious two-bar melody that repeats endlessly, nowadays. Jerry's music is a welcome change from many of the newer video styles, IMO.
Dear Jerry, for some years I´m following your video`s. Although there are more of these video´s to find on You tube, most of the Rosa String Works video´s give me the best education to learn what to do when someone gives me an old guitar to set up or to restore a little bit. In 2017 I built my own guitar in the workshop of Febo Waanders, a luthier in my neigbourhood (a builder of amazing sounding guitars). Since then I´m very gratefull to try to give old guitars a second life. This Martin OO18 video is one of the best to get the right information and to encourage me to take new steps. So thank you for all the information and education. Wish you and your family good Eastern day. Even instruments can experience new life after resurrection ;)
Hi Jerry; I watch many luthiers and I have never seen another luthier admit that he or she broke something on an instrument. That's one of the things that I like best about you. Your honest with us. To top that, you repair instruments that most luthiers would throw away (Chocolate). I have to say if you and any other luthier have a new video out at the same time, I'm going to watch yours first and enjoy it the most. Just a heartfelt thank you for all of your great videos.
I have great respect for your work, it’s amazing how well these guitars come out when you’re done with them. That said, with all the work you’ve put into this guitar, you cut the neck. For me, I wouldn’t even want it anymore, for a couple more hours work the neck could have been pulled rather than cut! It actually broke my heart to see that happen.
You're doing meticulous work. It's more than repair, it's care, especially the cracks are beautiful hmmm I would say "healed" as you would a patient. Guitar doctor. Very inspiring. Thank you Jerry for sharing 🎶🎶🎶.
Thanks for the video, I've never watched one where I didn't learn bunches. I have a piece of purpleheart I've had kicking around for about 15 years and it's now dark brown, I'd never guess what it was if I didn't remember buying it. The color appears to be quite deep into the wood. Apparently, purpleheart can be torrefied to look like good ebony- sold under the name "Royal Blackwood". LMI has some.
I've found the closer the holes are to the bridge the tighter the angle of the string over the bridge which tends to reduce rattles. That's what makes Tele's so great- tight angle over the saddles.
You let me down Jerry. How could an experienced pro like you forget to put a brace back on the guitar's top, especially a brace that goes right where the top had been the most warped? I AM SHOCKED!
You know what would have been cool? If you'd have mixed some pine wood shavings with glue to fill the old bridge pin holes. It would have given you a solid connection.
Thanks for the reminder to give a thumbs up. I was so absorbed in the video I was not even thinking of it. I like this project. I hope you can do some kind of sound comparison when it is done. Seems to me it should sound like a totally different guitar with all the cleaning of glues and rebuild of the bracing should give it a proper Martin sound.
@BreatheScotland Good info to know. I wasn't being critical, BTW, just trying to imagine the consistency of the product he used. Thanks for the additional infoi.
The mock-up bridge saddle indicated off because the saddle was twice as high as the original saddle, due to the thickness of the MDA board. Just a guess on my part. Another old war horse saved from the glue factory, and sent back to work. Great stuff!
Perhaps if you had painted a very small amount of furniture stripper or adhesive remover on the bridge area after you taped off the area would have made removing the glue much easier !
Ever try a cardboard and tinfoil heat-shield for the bridge?. Works pretty well at protecting finish. Also super easy to make to a specific bridge shape in 5 minutes
Murphy's polish works for most finises. I can still see the glue seam. Why not scrape it down with a flat blade and rub on some finish and use the polishing compound to shine it up. Gluing the bridge on before you situate the slot and the holes is counterproductive. The pins should have went through where the old holes are.
I've been trying to figure out if he is using "thin" CA glue, or "medium" ?? I'm guessing it's thin though. I have both types as well as thick, which is much easier for me to fill with. I never knew about waiting before using activator, to eliminate the white forming. Great info !
Hello Jerry, what Oo. You honk of the Rogue guitar, how can. You tell if a guitar is any good? Is it because it will stay tuned for quite a while? Do some guitars go out f tue in a few minutes?
When you were going thru the tail block area, your knife went high on the spruce, then followed thru the top. I have done that myself. Probable cause... the binding went loose or was to high on the body.
I'm just guessing in the dark here - but where that break happened on the side up by the heel as you were removing the top, and you said the "curf" was in the way when gluing it back - couldn't you have removed one or two of those pieces of "curf" to get at that break better? And then glue those pieces back in place after properly repairing that break in the finish on the side? I suppose you might've been able to do that also, but what you did there was no doubt completely satisfactory anyway. What you did was an equally effective repair, but faster, and that was a fairly lengthy project, it appeared. And there is no stress to the body there, anyway. A strictly cosmetic repair. Thank you, and please correct me if my crazy idea wouldv wa a zvzmore trouble than it was worth, or just wouldn't work. I am not a repairman at all. I can set intonation and that's about the extent of my skill. And i might as well ask... why are the aesthetics so important inside? Wouldn't leaving the new braces as thick as possible be stronger? Why worry about matching the existing braces?? The only people that will ever be looking inside at the bottom of the top would be other luthiers. Who cares if they criticize the looks?? Although, you did a FANTASTIC JOB cleaning up all those MESSES!!! But I think that strength is more important than looks inside, especially under the warped top! That part DID confuse me a bit, especially since you made such a point about wood developing "memory". Does that make sense, Jerry? Thanks again for another outstanding video!!! ~ °°°° Well, I spoke before finishing the whole 4-part series. After all was said and done, it appears that the top did end up very flat. So, the braces you made that were only slightly more meaty than the originals ended up holding the top flat, although time is the true test. Having strings up to tension over a couple years will tell the true story on that. Though you never showed us the finished guitar with a straightedge on it across that lower bout, you would've shown us if it wasn't flat, and when you held it up sideways to the camera at the end, it looked very flat. I still think what I saud above about aesthetics being secondary, especially because it's not visible at all unless someone puts a lighted mirror down the hole to examine the underside of the top. I'm sure that luthiers will see it when it goes in the shop. However, I'm just now wondering if SOME oversized braces would negatively affect the sound, especially when the original braces are not oversized. Mixing brace sizes might not SOUND good. However, compared to what was on the top when you started, useless braces, MASSIVE excess glue, and TOOTHPICKS, non-uniformly sized braces would be better than THAT, but I'd still wonder about my idea of oversized braces negatively affecting the resonance of the top. Probably not much, if any, but trying harder to keep the top from falling back into it's "bad memory" would at least be worth considering leaving the braces oversized and not worrying about that aspect of the inner aesthetics. But I was sure happy to see you take all that hyde (H.I.D.E.) glue off, though that was such a HORRIBLE part of this project, with regards to your time and trouble. - The damage that happened while removing the top were not on the "horrible" side, but were certainly disheartening. But those things happen, as you explained, because the guitar basically has to be "broken" to remove the top (or back). Thanks again! We learned so much watching this!!
do you not have any concerns around the existing holes .... would you normally fill them? just in case you end up hitting half a hole with new pin locations?
One thing that interests me. When you've had to take the back of an instrument and work on a distorted top it seems to me you only replace braces when they are broken and don't take them off if they are still glued. I would have expected that if you removed all the braces and reglued them after flattening the top, maybe even replaced them with new, it would do a bit more towards holding the top straight. I'd also wonder that if some of the braces have come unglued then maybe the others might not be too clever either. I suppose the other side is the fundamental principle of "If it ain't broke". Any thoughts on the pros and cons?
Just wondering as I watch you working the bridge. Having both an Archtop and a flat top guitar why not use the same type of bridge on a flat top that is used for an Archtop?. Can or could that be done?.
If you had cut my rosewood fingerboard into 2 pieces, & then forgot to put 1 of those side braces onto the side of the top that you had removed from my top & it's off of the bass side that you are attempting to keep from returning back into a warped mess, & then after that you had cracked my top after cutting my rosewood fingerboard into 2 separate pieces & then yet still you had broken one of my mahogany side pieces clear into, then I just truthfully don't ever want to think about how I would feel about these things. Much less some other poor soul how they would feel. You can give them the guitar back plus pay them enough money to buy a new one to replace the one you just murdered, but if it were my guitar that has been in my family for the past 60 years. I have to tell you that none of that could compare to having to have had watched the video of you doing all these things to what I consider to be a family member. I have no doubt that you are a great guy but I can't fathom why after watching this video that 1800 people would give a thumbs up? Anyways better luck next time & I pray that this never happens to my guitar if & when I ever have to get something fixed.
You left out one brace. Your gauze was a failure, you might have had greater success with actual cotton. I would have done the whole bracing, and not just one side. The cyano acrylate glue should never be used as a finish. I found your use of it disturbing. It's not as strong a glue as one might think. I just fixed a cheaper guitar a few months ago carefully using a mirror to put those two new main cross braces in. It had been fixed before and those braces were missing. Sometimes I'm not wishing to disturb the face of the guitar I added a tail piece to attach the strings to so it does not pull the bow into it. I keep a tiny jar of white and another jar of black paint tint on my shelf to mix with two part epoxy resin. Just about half a drop of tint will color a golf ball size of two part epoxy.
Respectfully, Perhaps less excuses, justification and blame for the damage and mistakes you make. The missing brace is very important etc... Perhaps visit other Luthiers to learn how to PROPERLY DO these repairs, especially your choice of adhesives.This guitar could have lasted another 100 years, but a future neck reset, or bridge replacement is now impossible. You use all the "fancy" expensive specialty tools from StewMac, Perhaps also visit their tutorials by expert Luthiers. Most of the damage and problems you created were avoidable. You cant use the same woodworking techniques used to frame houses build decks and picnic tables on musical instruments. Be humble and learn from others. You ruined this guitar. I looks pretty, but your repairs wont last and the missing brace is vert important.
