The Guitar Repair Book. Guitar Repair and Maintenance Guide

Language: English
Hardcover
297 pages
Size: 210mm x 297mm
ISBN: 9780719844188
Weight: 1,4 Kg

DESCRIPTION & CONTENTS

DESCRIPTION & CONTENTS

The Guitar Repair Book. A practical guiding to repairing an maintaining classical and acoustic guitars

Players will not be aware that their playing experience can be enhanced by improving the condition of their instrument. Even cosmetic repairs may help to encourage a player to pick up their guitar and practise. Many of the procedures covered can be tackled by anyone with some aptitude for working with their hands, whilst others will require a greater level of skill and practice. Each task in the book is assigned a level of difficulty ranging from ‘Easy’ to ‘Moderate’ to ‘Challenging.’ Each procedure is accompanied by detailed photographs and diagrams. While it would be impractical to include every single variation of repair that might be required for an acoustic guitar, the book covers all of the common repairs and many more. Practice of all of the techniques covered will, in time, enable you to cope with almost any repair job you encounter.

The book took nearly two years to write by James Lister, and covers a wide range of maintenance and repair work for acoustic (steel-string and classical) guitars. 270 pages with over 600 images.

For the player who wants to keep their guitar in the best possible condition and for the repairer, The Guitar Repair Book covers everything from changing your strings to replacing a soundboard.

The Guitar Repair Book is a practical guide detailing a wide range of techniques and methods essential for the maintenance and repair of classical and acoustic guitars. Illustrated with over 600 images and diagrams, this book describes each procedure in detail, guiding the reader through the steps required to achieve a professional result.

James Lister has a well-deserved reputation as a maker and repairer, and the book draws on this wealth of experience to present the reader with clear, logical text, explanatory drawings, and many excellent colour photographs that show the sequence of steps for each job, leaving no room for uncertainty. The Guitar Repair Book is a welcome addition to the guitar aficionado’s bookshelf.

James has been making and repairing guitars since 2001. He first studied luthiery at London Guildhall University and then at Newark College. James’ speciality is classical guitars, but he also makes and repairs steel-string and electric guitars. He is the head tutor at Newark College in the UK and spends two days a week teaching the construction and repair of acoustic guitars. James has produced a DVD and an online course instructing guitar makers on French polishing. He is a regular contributor to a number of guitar forums and social media groups that advise on making and repairing guitars. When not building, repairing, teaching, or writing about them, James occasionally finds time to play the guitar as well. He also enjoys hill walking locally in the Peak District and further afield.

Introduction
8 Audience
8 Scope of the book
9 Research
9 Health and safety
9 Terminology

CHAPTER 1 – Anatomy of an acoustic guitar
11 The components of an acoustic guitar
14 Differences between classical and acoustic guitars
15 Modern construction methods

CHAPTER 2 – Workshop facilities, tools and materials
17 The workbench
18 Tools
19 Measuring and marking tools
20 Cutting tools
21 Rasps and files
22 Clamping
22 Fretting tools
23 Other tools
24 Materials
24 Glues
25 Abrasives
25 Finishing and cleaning materials
26 Miscellaneous

CHAPTER 3 – Maintenance
29 Cleaning
29 Cleaning the body/finishes
31 Cleaning the fingerboard
32 Cleaning strings
32 Replacing strings
32 Classical guitars
33 12-hole tie-blocks
38 Acoustic guitars
38 Storing your guitar
39 Humidity
41 Tuning machines
41 Checking tuner operation
41 Lubrication

CHAPTER 4 – Setup
45 What is setup?
45 Fret levelling and re-crowning
45 Initial assessment
46 Levelling
47 Re-crowning
48 Polishing

49 Relief adjustment
Guitars with a truss rod
Guitars with no truss rod

Nut adjustment and replacement
Lowering the nut height
Raising the nut height
Making a new nut

Saddle adjustment and replacement
Lowering the saddle height
Raising the saddle height
Making a new saddle

Intonation and compensation
What are intonation and compensation?
Checking intonation
Adjusting intonation
Filling and re-routing the saddle slot

CHAPTER 5 – Body and plate repairs
Crack repairs
Causes of cracks
Repairing closed cracks
Cleating
Repairing open cracks
Side cracks
Splinting
Stepped cracks

Damage to laminated (plywood) plates
Type of damage
Laminated side repair

Loose braces
Dents
Steaming a dent
String whip repair

CHAPTER 6 – Neck and head repairs
Neck construction types
Separate neck/body construction
Spanish heel construction

Neck resets and relief correction
Heat resetting
Fingerboard capping
Full neck reset

Open heel glue joint
Re-gluing an open heel joint
Open heel body joint

Replacing tuning machines
Classical/slotted head tuners
Acoustic/flat head tuners

Truss rod replacement
Before you proceed

CHAPTER 7

Removing the truss rod 123
Fitting the new truss rod 126
Fitting the new fingerboard 127
Fingerboard and fret work 131
Loose frets 131
Re-fretting 134
- To glue, or not to glue? 134
- Removing the old frets 135
- Repairing damaged fret slots 136
- Installing the new frets 137
- Bevelling and smoothing the fret ends 140
Worn fingerboards 142

CHAPTER 8

Finish repairs 145
Types of finish 145
Oil finishes 146
- Repairing or renovating oil finishes 146
- Removing the finish 147
- Refinishing with oil 151
- Dents in oil finishes 152
Shellac finishes 152
- Repairing or renovating a shellac finish 152
- French polishing 155
- Dents in shellac finishes 157
Poly finishes 161
- Repairing or renovating poly finishes 161
- Refinishing 165
- Scratch removing 165
- Dents in poly finishes 165
Nitrocellulose finishes 167
- Repairing and renovating nitro finishes 167
Colour matching 167
- Natural wood colours 168
- Stains vs. coloured finishes 168
- Basic method and colour theory 168
- Colour matching repair patches 171

CHAPTER 9

Bridge repairs 172
Bridge rotation 172
Measuring bridge rotation 172
Correcting bridge rotation 173
Adding bracing 173
Preparing the braces 176
Gluing the new braces 177
Lifting bridge — removal and replacement 178
Bridge removal 179
- Surface clean-up and repair 180
- Preparation for re-gluing 182
- Re-gluing the bridge 184
Re-gluing a detached bridge 187
Lifting bridge — simple glue down 189
Fitting bridge pins 190

CHAPTER 10

Worn tie-blocks 192
Remedy low break angles 193
Classical 12-hole tie-block conversion 194
Bridge string ties 198
Steel-string pin bridge 199
Saddle replacement 199

CHAPTER 11

Inlay and binding repairs 201
Types of inlay 201
Rosette inlay replacement 201
Making the replacement inlay 202
Fitting the replacement inlay 203
Fingerboard replacement 204
Fitting the cavities for the inlays 205
Gluing and levelling the inlays 208
Replacing the side fret marker dots 209
Binding repairs 210
Binding damage 210
Binding removal and replacement 215

CHAPTER 12

Wolf notes and resonances 219
What are wolf notes? 219
Can wolf notes be eliminated? 219
Measuring resonances 219
Chladni patterns 220
Frequency response curves 224
Adjusting resonances 226
- Adding weight/mass 226
- Adding or reducing bracing/stiffness 229

CHAPTER 13

Catastrophic damage 231
What counts as catastrophic? 231
Broken neck/headstock 232
Preparation 232
Re-gluing the headstock 234
Small patch repairs 235
Refinishing 239
Binding removal 239
Removing the bindings 239
Removing the back 242
Repair damage and preparation 247
Re-gluing the back 252
Replacing the bindings and purflings 254
Soundboard replacement 256
- Removing the damaged soundboard 256
- The replacement soundboard 258
- Preparing to glue the new soundboard 259
- Gluing the new soundboard in place 261
Replacing the bindings and purflings 262
Glossary 265
List of suppliers 268
Index 269