Amateur guitar repair and restoration
A previous customer approached me about trying to save his Grandfather’s old violin. it was pretty badly broken … the top, the sides, the tail block … all broken. The owner said his grandfather bought the violin a hundred years ago and the sentimental value was such that they were hoping to save it. How... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/5TTb0A0qKmc Here’s my kid again, demonstrating my latest amateur restoration. Another K22 Super Jumbo. I picked this one up from a guy in Ontario. Watch the transformation below. Hope you enjoy. Met a guy in Ontario. He sent me this - for what I considered a very good deal. This is exactly how I received... Continue Reading →
This thing turned out so nice! It had no tail piece, no bridge, no tuners, the neck was literally cut through, and I honestly wasn’t sure how good it would turn out. This came to me as a “lost cause” restoration by someone with a sentimental attachment to it. Not able to sink a ton... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/jeheJolXdF0 Hear it here. Thanks to Joe Curtis for the demo track - played on this guitar. Check out Joe’s portfolio here https://www.joecurtisband.com/ From the 1954 Kay catalogue. At least I don’t have to provide a description 😁. Came to me looking like this. No fretboard, no bridge, chunks of wood missing from the neck,... Continue Reading →
This guitar too was destined for garbage when I got it. You’ll see the progression of photos just how bad it was when I got it. Thanks to Jeremy Hamm @jeremyhammtone for the donation of this guitar body. This is the coolest little 12-fret blues-box I’ve seen in awhile. As bad a shape as it... Continue Reading →
Previously, I had turned a failed electric guitar restoration into a cribbage board. It turned out really well, so when this old Yammie’s neck block was too broken to fix right, I figured I’d try making an acoustic cribbage board. It didn’t turn out quite as good I’d hoped it would, but it was fun... Continue Reading →
This guitar came to me from the original owner, who needed the bridge fixed. Time and environment had caused it to split something awful. The rosewood bridge has a very unique knotty pattern and the owner did not want to have to replace it. Whether it was fixable or not would remain to be seen.... Continue Reading →
It’s been awhile since my last post, so I figured I’d put out this one I just finished. One more time where my little workbench was the last possible stop for this lost cause. The owner brought it to me because a previous owner had attempted to fix it, but only made it worse. No... Continue Reading →
Not long after that radio show aired in CBC, I got a message from someone asking if I’d be willing to try fixing this guitar for them. The owner has had this guitar for many years, and it was pretty badly broken when he got it. He told me that despite being held together with... Continue Reading →
This one just about beat me. Several times I regretted saving it from the dump and wished it to the devil. But pure stubbornness kept me at it. Weeks and weeks and weeks later I think it may have been worth the aggravation - you tell me. So, just a foreword - aside from a... Continue Reading →
This guitar was made April 22, 1913 in Russia, by I. F. Muller, Petrovka Street, Moscow. 1913 was an important year for Russia, it was the 300th anniversary of Romanov rule and the last peaceful year the country experienced before the onset of global war and internal revolution. It’s owner had it handed down to... Continue Reading →
This came to me from a teacher at my kid’s school. He asked if I would consider fixing it for him. This project is my tribute to teachers - thank you all teachers for helping develop our children into responsible, respectful and successful young adults. As parents, we could never do it alone without the... Continue Reading →
So right after the CBC interview aired last week I got a message from a really nice gentleman who said he had an old Gibson that needed fixing. As the storey goes he bought it in the early 60s and it was unfortunately stepped in by a nephew about 30ish years ago. The top was... Continue Reading →
Thanks to CBC Radio Winnipeg for showcasing my hobby this morning! The radio link is below. Full disclosure though .... I’m really nowhere near as philanthropic as they made me sound, that was just good editing 🤣. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-29-information-radio-mb/clip/15822611-have-old-broken-guitar-needs-love-dont-fret…
Vintage 70’s Yamaki A231S This was a super fun little project. A local gentleman contacted me about fixing this guitar for him because he wanted to gift it to budding young artist in Nova Scotia (click the video link at the end of my blog post to see what happened). As it came to me... Continue Reading →
This was an all-encompassing restoration. Frank Benko was a notable luthier in Toronto, Canada from the 1940s through the 1970s. Originally from Croatia, he made a name for himself in this country through masterfully hand-built guitars and mandolins. Before rising to prominence in Toronto, however, he began his craft in Montreal, Canada in the late... Continue Reading →
This is another one that I gave to my daughter and walked her through the restoration. She re-glued all the braces, cleated the top crack, french polished the body and neck, fit a new bridge, put on new tuners and strung it up with Ernie Ball Earthwood ultra lights. Before. French polishing Positioning the bridge
I don’t know much about this one. It’s really old and was in really bad shape when I got it. It came to me from a local Luthier who again was clearing out his “someday pile” ... thanks Jeremy Hamm @hamm-tone guitars for another unique learning opportunity. If you read one of my other recent... Continue Reading →
Slightly smaller than a dreadnaught, this AD213 is a great little folk guitar. Made in Japan in 1978. I’ll throw out a big thanks to Jeremy Hamm from #HammTone guitars in Winnipeg who passed this one my way because he said he’s never get around to finishing it. When it came my way, the frets... Continue Reading →
This Marcelli Banjolin was made in Germany, likely 1920s or 1930s. A fellow in downtown Winnipeg asked me if I wanted it to fix up, otherwise he was going to throw it out. I definitely put more into it than it was worth, but it was fun and I learned a new skill in re-skinning... Continue Reading →
Daion guitars have almost a cult like following amongst those who like Japanese guitars. Made in Yamaki factories, Daion guitars were tremendously well made. This fella came to me broken and battered after it had been dropped on the lower bout and the cedar top popped. The previous owner really just wanted it to not... Continue Reading →
What do you do with a low-end, unsalvageable electric guitar? You turn it into a cribbage board of course. I so hate instruments going in the garbage that, even when they belong there, I‘m convinced there’s a way to do something with it. See the photo progression below to see how I turned this beat... Continue Reading →
I haven’t posted anything in a while, but I have a bunch of things on the go. Stay tuned for finished products in the hopefully not too distant future. Old German Banjolin (mandolin - banjo) 1939 Benko (Made in Quebec) Early 80s LYS. Made by Godin/Boucher. 1930s Hensel Minerva with “bear claw” Adirondack spruce top.... Continue Reading →
We Remember
I have no idea how old this violin is, or if it has any monetary value, but it’s been around my family for a minimum of three generations. It belonged to my Aunt’s father and she grew up in the war years listening to him play it on the farm. My aunt passed a number... Continue Reading →
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. A short video must be equivalent to a small book then. This Kay K43 likely dates to the early 50s, and I was fortunate enough to be allowed to make it play again. My restoration is documented in the following YouTube video. It’s only two and... Continue Reading →
I picked up this 1992 Norman B-25 on kijiji for a really decent price. Great shape, just needed a truss rod adjustment and setup. Except when I got it home I realized the truss rod was broken. Well, damn! I’d never done a truss rod replacement before. How hard could it possibly be?!? Truss rod... Continue Reading →
This was the first job I ever did for someone that wasn’t family or friend. The owner asked me if I could fix it after a fluke encounter through Kijiji. I was hesitant about working on a stranger’s instrument because you just never know if something might go wrong, and I didn’t want to disappoint.... Continue Reading →
These Hensel Guitars from the 1930’s are absolutely spectacular. This one too needed a lot of work. This is the before picture, and looks alright, but in the pictures that follow you can really see the defects. The restoration notes on my blog have also been made into a 4 minute restoration video too. It... Continue Reading →
A friend of mine has a little infatuation with vintage Japanese acoustics, and has a rough time walking away from any that come his way. This 1972 Yamaki 12 string was in really rough shape, with the soundboard sunken like a bowl. He asked if I thought I could fix it ..... who am I... Continue Reading →
General Guitar Works 