Garrison Repair

 This baby came into the shop with some major damage. At first we assumed the action was so high because the belly was bowing but in fact the bridge was lifting. There were some major cracks, dents, the body was lifting from the kerfing and there was some binding missing on the neck.

I started by cleating the cracks, re-gluing the body to the kerf and removing the bridge. Once the cleats had dried I began filling the cracks with finish. I leveled the bridge and prepped it to be re-glued to the body.

 I remounted the bridge to the body using hide glue and clamped it down to dry over a couple days. I used hide glue specifically so the bridge can be removed again down the road if there is problems. Hide glue can be softened with heat. Where as normal wood glue or super glue cannot be removed. It binds with the cellular structure of the wood.

 While the finish and bridge were drying I turned my attention to the cracked and missing binding.

Using black binding material and Acetone I built up the missing binding and blended it together with the original binding.

I couldn't hide the cracks and dents completely but they are stabilized and rock solid. The binding is repaired and the finish over the cracks is level with the rest of the top.

This guitar sounds great and and has a few scars to add to it's history.