here's a little secret I'll share, I've had some great success clamping the top flat like you did here and while clamped shoot the box full of steam, it must not be over done tho, the steam softens the glue and allows the wood to form a new memory, when cooled remove clamps and the top will be and stay nearly perfectly flat, maybe not perfect every time but you catch my drift, has work most of the time for me.
Randy is correct. I used this method on a 60's Gibson 12 string. It had the worse belly behind the bridge and the worst dip in front of the bridge I have ever seen. It was so bad that the bridge and the bridge plate were permanently warped. After I removed both, I clamped the top and filled the box with steam. Let it stay clamped for 2 weeks and the top was perfect. Replaced the bridge plate with paduch and then fit the new bridge. After 3 years under full tension nothing has moved and the top is perfectly flat. I think the difference was the steam.
@@billyporterfield7755: After seeing all of Jerry's videos, of working on Gibsons, I'd say the original bridge plate was more than half the reason for the belly bulge.
I thought that was my secret! Check all your braces first. I have done a lot of guitars that way and I have also done what I call the 5 minute neck reset! I use a jig and get the neck straight and then use a c clamp to get the neck where I want it. I always go a little more. There is a lot more to it than you think so don't try this at home! A lot of good guitar builders and guitar shops told me it wouldn't last but I proved them wrong. I actually recall Jerry saying that as well! The first guitar I did it took three try's until I got it right!
Jerry, I've seen you do this 100 times and it never gets old. I'm more chicken though, so I tape the fret board up before I do any of it, except the scraping of course, which I don't have to do because I leave the tape on when I sand it.
Ibanez is the equal (or superior to; hate to say that...) of any solid body electric or acoustic out there; Fender, Gibson, Martin, etc. This one retails for $500 to $1,000 used... I own Fender, Gibson, Martin and Ibanez; probably not the only one; kinda sad (for America) to me really...
@@johnsee7269: Fender used to make their Squire Strat line ( I think, Squire) in Japan but ended that, because the Japanese Strats were beating the US made ones, for quality, performance and price. Just "bad business".
@@johnsee7269 Stop it. I've owned 4 Ibanez, acquired through trade, The only one I kept was a 90's RG. That one's a good guitar. The others were made in the 2000's and there was nothing impressive about them.
Thanks for this in-depth review of dressing the frets, Jerry. That`s the first time I've seen the trick of using a marker on frets before rounding. Great!
You can watch many luthiers use the dry heat method with foam cutters and it has made the process far easier, in most instances. Average of 10-15 mins to pop a neck with those sticks. The evidence is there to see. You just have to look.
I just watched a twoodfrd video of 3 Martin neck resets with dry heat only. Nice seeing Randy here also as you 3 are the ones I watch the most, although there are some excellent luthiers on the other side of the Pond. Razorblade over the inlays? We'll see how this turns out soon enough.Staying tuned!
@@johnsee7269: You are reading Teddy all wrong. He is just Very knowledgeable and likes to share it. And , as you note, Very talented, both musically and craft-wise.
Ted is without a doubt probably the best out there. And a gem of a bloke. I think he would cringe at some of the work done here. But I do find this guy entertaining.
Nice job - I used to hate to see you file but after I did it once I understand that it does take a lot of filing and a lite filling is very OK. I got the micro fiber stuff for polishing and can get a mirror finish - - - 12 pieces or a dozen. Thanks for doing the fret board - razor blade trick that fret board really needed attention. Keep Smiling
I installed one of those bridge doctor in my dad's old guitar. Seems good. I also took real warm rags laid over the belly,clamped lightly overnight, did the same the next night and the top flattened out.. I was so happy..peck
i enjoy all of your videos. It is surprising that Ibanez is NOT a solid top , and I got to say, you make these projects seem simple, and I realize that the luthiers who build these guitars love to show off their expensive equipment, after all, they are trying to sell some very expensive musical instruments. Your expertise in repair shows through regardless of some of the not-so-sophisticated repair tools you improvise, and I am sure your knowledge of the engineering details is far greater than you let on. You do make those repairs look much easier than they are and even with the hundreds of thousands of dollars of machinery the luthiers must invest, even their finest work is imperfect and requires repair over time. It must be quite a gratifying experience for you to do some of the repairs you do, and it is fascinating to watch a skilled craftsman as yourself. Though I have a guitar or two that I would not repair myself, it is good to learn what repairs can improve the guitars I do own, as I cannot afford a Martin or a spanish handmade classical, I can see how my guitars can be improved enough to keep me happy. Thank you for all you do.
know, i like the way you do it all righty , because you do a good job , for sure,,, and i know that 's going to sound a lot better with your bridge that you made for it.
gluing on bridge...might a few very short, sacrificial locating dowels help with alignment? Just long enough to penetrate the guitar top but not interact with the caul or the clamp...then pop them (or drill them) out. I use a stone bit for chamfering some things and it works great and burnishes the hole very nicely.
To eliminate the pucker factor when routing the saddle slot, why not take a blank that's the right thickness, determine the slot angle for intonation and then cut the slot in that. Once the slot is routed, cut out the shape and contour of the bridge. Sounds backwards, I know, but if you mess up the slot you're not wasting something that you've spent a lot of time on.
You did such a great job on that Ibanez ! I have an old old Goya 13 classical that need some adjustment of the neck, sucjh a good tone for a small guitar, but the action is so high! I am so afraid of wrecking the darn thing, though, I would rather try to practice on an old WSchmidt steel string that I am sure could use a similar adjustment.. I only paid $80 for the old Schmidt,m but I will get another opinion at the local music shop here in Medford, Oregon, it is only 1/2 mile right down my street, Riverside Avenue. and ask the fellers in the shop if the repairs would improve it any. I like the sound of the mahogany, and it sure would be nice to have a guitar that is not so demanding of my fingers!
The heat probe, where you drill into the dovetail joint (under the 15th fret on that style of guitar) puts 2 very thin high heat probes deep into the dovetail joint. Just using a block heater, like you'res, will not work to do a neck reset. There is nothing wrong with the use of steam either, It's all in what you like, but the electric heat probes do work. Keep up the great videos Jerry.
Jerry does not use the block heater to loosen the neck joint, but to fretboard extension, just like the bridge. To loosen the neck joint, he uses steam.
@@zapa1pnt He said in the video that he tried it and it on a neck reset and didn't work for him, so he sticks with steam. I'm not dissing Jerry and think he does great work. I was only explaining how the dry heat method is used by other Luthers. Each person has their favorite way too do things and there is no absolute one way too do things in guitar repair. So sorry if I upset you, I'm not belittling Jerry in any way. He is one of the greats at what he does.
Enjoying your videos, the 2 parts here are helpful in getting a better setup on my "plywood" sigma guitar that I am attempting to get the best out of. Seemed like you glossed over the belly on this guitar, was that mainly due to expense?
I have a 1987 washburn made in the USA 8703184. D14 N. Nice old guitar. She. Paid. 500 dollars in 1987. It’s been rode. Hard and put away wet but still plays well and really. Rings loud. The neck by the headstock is cracked but repaired or glued. Neck needs adjusted just a little or truss rod needs tweaked about one sixteenth to high n
Jerry, I have seen you do neck-resets, and because we only get a quick look at the process I don't have a feel for how long it really takes. What is the median labor-hours for a typical Martin guitar neck reset?
Could you rout out the bridge, either machine it down completely or machine it mostly out, leave and edge to get under possibly. I am thinking it being weakened due to loss of mass it would come loose easier. Love your attitude to problem, you will end up getting it done.
Jerry, after sanding the frets with 600 sand paper, is the metal guard plate, Really necessary ( with the Simichrome), since you are going to scrape the fret board anyway?
Seems like on other bulge top guitars you've checked out the braces and bridge plate prior to installing a new bridge. You mentioned something about checking braces but didn't see it in the vid. Maybe I missed it or maybe on the editing room floor or ? Just curious, seems like a different process than others. Enjoyed the vid as usual though! Thanks!
My Alvarez Regent had the same type bridge. My action was high as well but every time I take it to the music shop to get it fixed, they didn't do anything to it.
I dont think ive seen one video where you were messing with the bridge that the screws (if the guitar has them in the bridge) were tight. Every time they are loose haha. You aint lying when ya say that in this video haha. This is a nice looking guitar, wish it didnt have the neck binding (I dont like binding on my acoustics). What year roughly do you think this guitar was ?
Putting the scalpel in the X-Acto handle is a good idea but the hooked blade would not work well, for scoring around the bridge. Is there an X-Acto style (triangular) scalpel blade which will fit the X-Acto handle?
Dry heat neck removal, Jerry Ted woodford uses only dry heat on his neck re-sets he has no problems, I would reccomend you check out his channel, he's like you another good guy who will happily give advice
That razor blade trick on the fretboard is really cool but those inlays are likely "Mother of Plastic" right? What if it were a Martin D-45 with real Abalone/MOP?
As new as that guitar is and all those issues plus you can buy that guitar for around three or four hundred tops the owner must have really love that guitar because it's not worth the cost to repair
Re: the song used in this video. The man who "left no footsteps in the sand" was YOU! According to the original story, when the man asked Jesus why there were times when there was only one set of footprints in the sand, Jesus replied "....those were the times when I CARRIED YOU". Therefore, the man who left no footprints was you, because Jesus was carrying you! The only footprints were his, not yours. BTW, not withstanding me being an Atheist who was brought up a Catholic, I love this channel and I REALLY like the song!
You commented on the Xacto blades being cheap same thing with the Bick Yellow throw away shaving razor blades terrible quality. Cant even get one good shave out of a new blade nowadays.Been using them for years always been decent.Threw them out after trying another batch thinking it was a one on thing. Same dull problem and then I changed brands with a little better result but still not like the old Bicks use to be .Whats going on darn it is it the steel or the manufacturing sharpening process?????Really annoying these little things..
That might make the top cave in from the bridge pressure ? My thinking is that if it bellied , it could move the other way not being designed to take weight . More a question than a statement. Peace ✌
😅that one polished fret made my skin crawl. It looks way too different from the rest. I think the owner probably wouldn’t have minded the extra 15 minutes of polishing work to make it all look the same.
WHY DONT YOU TAPE OFF- ULTRA LOW TACK TO BEGIN WITH- ANY PROTECTION IS BETTER THAN NONE, please consider that- I work on guitars myself and I'd hate to see you just fly at one of my guitars free wheeling.
Hi Jerry, may i ask why you did not clamp the top flat before you glued on the bridge???, just wondering as i am not a Luthier, but a carpenter and joiner.....Take care.
here's a little secret I'll share, I've had some great success clamping the top flat like you did here and while clamped shoot the box full of steam, it must not be over done tho, the steam softens the glue and allows the wood to form a new memory, when cooled remove clamps and the top will be and stay nearly perfectly flat, maybe not perfect every time but you catch my drift, has work most of the time for me.
Randy is correct. I used this method on a 60's Gibson 12 string. It had the worse belly behind the bridge and the worst dip in front of the bridge I have ever seen. It was so bad that the bridge and the bridge plate were permanently warped. After I removed both, I clamped the top and filled the box with steam. Let it stay clamped for 2 weeks and the top was perfect. Replaced the bridge plate with paduch and then fit the new bridge. After 3 years under full tension nothing has moved and the top is perfectly flat. I think the difference was the steam.
@@billyporterfield7755 Great job Billy. I bet that Gibson 12 string sounds great.
@@billyporterfield7755: After seeing all of Jerry's videos, of working on Gibsons, I'd say
the original bridge plate was more than half the reason for the belly bulge.
I thought that was my secret! Check all your braces first. I have done a lot of guitars that way and I have also done what I call the 5 minute neck reset! I use a jig and get the neck straight and then use a c clamp to get the neck where I want it. I always go a little more. There is a lot more to it than you think so don't try this at home! A lot of good guitar builders and guitar shops told me it wouldn't last but I proved them wrong. I actually recall Jerry saying that as well! The first guitar I did it took three try's until I got it right!
I've done that on a beater. Still going strong...
Jen-a-SEE-oh. Love watching you work your magic to bring these instruments back to life.
Jerry, I've seen you do this 100 times and it never gets old. I'm more chicken though, so I tape the fret board up before I do any of it, except the scraping of course, which I don't have to do because I leave the tape on when I sand it.
Those Japanese Ibanez guitars were very well constructed instruments. Sounded good also.
Ibanez is the equal (or superior to; hate to say that...) of any solid body electric or acoustic out there; Fender, Gibson, Martin, etc. This one retails for $500 to $1,000 used... I own Fender, Gibson, Martin and Ibanez; probably not the only one; kinda sad (for America) to me really...
@@johnsee7269 Yep. American made instruments are over-priced, as usual.
@@johnsee7269: Fender used to make their Squire Strat line ( I think, Squire) in Japan but ended
that, because the Japanese Strats were beating the US made ones, for quality, performance and price.
Just "bad business".
@@johnsee7269 Stop it. I've owned 4 Ibanez, acquired through trade, The only one I kept was a 90's RG. That one's a good guitar. The others were made in the 2000's and there was nothing impressive about them.
Once again, a great hour in good company.
Great job Jerry! The bridge replacement work and fret board transformation turned out beautiful!
This is my kind of video! Wow what a journey through the whole process!
Thanks for this in-depth review of dressing the frets, Jerry. That`s the first time I've seen the trick of using a marker on frets before rounding. Great!
You can watch many luthiers use the dry heat method with foam cutters and it has made the process far easier, in most instances. Average of 10-15 mins to pop a neck with those sticks. The evidence is there to see. You just have to look.
Best Videos on UA-cam. Thanks Jerry! CLASSY and Very Straightforward and HONEST RESULTS! Thanks Jerry!
Great job Jerry, love your videos.
I just watched a twoodfrd video of 3 Martin neck resets with dry heat only. Nice seeing Randy here also as you 3 are the ones I watch the most, although there are some excellent luthiers on the other side of the Pond. Razorblade over the inlays? We'll see how this turns out soon enough.Staying tuned!
Same here. Twoody is a bit of a snob (a whole lot of a snob...) but exhibits superb knowledg and craftsmanship.
Me too!
@@johnsee7269: You are reading Teddy all wrong.
He is just Very knowledgeable and likes to share it.
And , as you note, Very talented, both musically and craft-wise.
Ted is without a doubt probably the best out there. And a gem of a bloke. I think he would cringe at some of the work done here. But I do find this guy entertaining.
Nice job - I used to hate to see you file but after I did it once I understand that it does take a lot of filing and a lite filling is very OK. I got the micro fiber stuff for polishing and can get a mirror finish - - - 12 pieces or a dozen. Thanks for doing the fret board - razor blade trick that fret board really needed attention. Keep Smiling
Nice video. Well done.
Great content, thanks.
I installed one of those bridge doctor in my dad's old guitar. Seems good. I also took real warm rags laid over the belly,clamped lightly overnight, did the same the next night and the top flattened out.. I was so happy..peck
Great guitars!
i enjoy all of your videos. It is surprising that Ibanez is NOT a solid top , and I got to say, you make these projects seem simple, and I realize that the luthiers who build these guitars love to show off their expensive equipment, after all, they are trying to sell some very expensive musical instruments. Your expertise in repair shows through regardless of some of the not-so-sophisticated repair tools you improvise, and I am sure your knowledge of the engineering details is far greater than you let on. You do make those repairs look much easier than they are and even with the hundreds of thousands of dollars of machinery the luthiers must invest, even their finest work is imperfect and requires repair over time. It must be quite a gratifying experience for you to do some of the repairs you do, and it is fascinating to watch a skilled craftsman as yourself. Though I have a guitar or two that I would not repair myself, it is good to learn what repairs can improve the guitars I do own, as I cannot afford a Martin or a spanish handmade classical, I can see how my guitars can be improved enough to keep me happy. Thank you for all you do.
Woodford removes necks all the time with foam cutters, they are much cheaper than the heat sticks. Of course he also insists on using hide glue.
Thank you soo much!!!
know, i like the way you do it all righty , because you do a good job , for sure,,, and i know that 's going to sound a lot better with your bridge that you made for it.
Another great upload. Thank you. I would agree with the claim that Japanese guitars are nice instruments generally.
gluing on bridge...might a few very short, sacrificial locating dowels help with alignment? Just long enough to penetrate the guitar top but not interact with the caul or the clamp...then pop them (or drill them) out. I use a stone bit for chamfering some things and it works great and burnishes the hole very nicely.
To eliminate the pucker factor when routing the saddle slot, why not take a blank that's the right thickness, determine the slot angle for intonation and then cut the slot in that. Once the slot is routed, cut out the shape and contour of the bridge. Sounds backwards, I know, but if you mess up the slot you're not wasting something that you've spent a lot of time on.
"It's easier to pull a chain than push a chain."
Akin to shooting pool with a rope.
Looking at the wear marks on that fret board ( every string at every fret ), I would surmise the owner is a very good player.
You did such a great job on that Ibanez ! I have an old old Goya 13 classical that need some adjustment of the neck, sucjh a good tone for a small guitar, but the action is so high! I am so afraid of wrecking the darn thing, though, I would rather try to practice on an old WSchmidt steel string that I am sure could use a similar adjustment.. I only paid $80 for the old Schmidt,m but I will get another opinion at the local music shop here in Medford, Oregon, it is only 1/2 mile right down my street, Riverside Avenue. and ask the fellers in the shop if the repairs would improve it any. I like the sound of the mahogany, and it sure would be nice to have a guitar that is not so demanding of my fingers!
The heat probe, where you drill into the dovetail joint (under the 15th fret on that style of guitar) puts 2 very thin high heat probes deep into the dovetail joint. Just using a block heater, like you'res, will not work to do a neck reset. There is nothing wrong with the use of steam either, It's all in what you like, but the electric heat probes do work. Keep up the great videos Jerry.
Jerry does not use the block heater to loosen the neck joint, but to
fretboard extension, just like the bridge.
To loosen the neck joint, he uses steam.
@@zapa1pnt
He said in the video that he tried it and it on a neck reset and didn't work for him, so he sticks with steam. I'm not dissing Jerry and think he does great work. I was only explaining how the dry heat method is used by other Luthers. Each person has their favorite way too do things and there is no absolute one way too do things in guitar repair. So sorry if I upset you, I'm not belittling Jerry in any way. He is one of the greats at what he does.
That guitar was made by Hoshino Gakki. I have a Cimar myself.
ah the master working his majic
Enjoying your videos, the 2 parts here are helpful in getting a better setup on my "plywood" sigma guitar that I am attempting to get the best out of. Seemed like you glossed over the belly on this guitar, was that mainly due to expense?
I have a 1987 washburn made in the USA 8703184. D14 N. Nice old guitar. She. Paid. 500 dollars in 1987. It’s been rode. Hard and put away wet but still plays well and really. Rings loud. The neck by the headstock is cracked but repaired or glued. Neck needs adjusted just a little or truss rod needs tweaked about one sixteenth to high n
Jerry, I have seen you do neck-resets, and because we only get a quick look at the process I don't have a feel for how long it really takes. What is the median labor-hours for a typical Martin guitar neck reset?
Industry standard, 1- Bridge Clamp. Rosa Standard, 2-Bridge Clamps. Rosa Actual, freakin 3-Bridge Clamps! Great days for a craftsman.
Could you rout out the bridge, either machine it down completely or machine it mostly out, leave and edge to get under possibly. I am thinking it being weakened due to loss of mass it would come loose easier. Love your attitude to problem, you will end up getting it done.
Just curious - how many CD's of your original music do you think you sell in a month? Is there a market for that out there?
Jerry, after sanding the frets with 600 sand paper, is the metal guard plate, Really
necessary ( with the Simichrome), since you are going to scrape the fret board anyway?
Jerry Rosa to the rescue
Seems like on other bulge top guitars you've checked out the braces and bridge plate prior to installing a new bridge. You mentioned something about checking braces but didn't see it in the vid. Maybe I missed it or maybe on the editing room floor or ? Just curious, seems like a different process than others. Enjoyed the vid as usual though! Thanks!
My Alvarez Regent had the same type bridge. My action was high as well but every time I take it to the music shop to get it fixed, they didn't do anything to it.
Hi Jerry!
I dont think ive seen one video where you were messing with the bridge that the screws (if the guitar has them in the bridge) were tight. Every time they are loose haha. You aint lying when ya say that in this video haha. This is a nice looking guitar, wish it didnt have the neck binding (I dont like binding on my acoustics). What year roughly do you think this guitar was ?
I put my #12 Hooked Scalpel blades in a small barrel X-Acto handle. Much stiffer than a scalpel handle. It might work better for you.
Putting the scalpel in the X-Acto handle is a good idea but the hooked
blade would not work well, for scoring around the bridge.
Is there an X-Acto style (triangular) scalpel blade which will fit the X-Acto handle?
That bridge was hard to get off! Was it because the hide glue was hiding? LOL
Dry heat neck removal, Jerry Ted woodford uses only dry heat on his neck re-sets he has no problems, I would reccomend you check out his channel, he's like you another good guy who will happily give advice
That razor blade trick on the fretboard is really cool but those inlays are likely "Mother of Plastic" right? What if it were a Martin D-45 with real Abalone/MOP?
Oh no Jerry , you just blew off your Exacto sponsorship deal .....hehe .
This seems like a good time to ask, wouldn’t a tailpiece to hold the string ends be better both structurally and sound wise than this style of bridge?
Do you need to remove the finish before re glue the bridge or add another layer of finish then re glue the bridge?
As new as that guitar is and all those issues plus you can buy that guitar for around three or four hundred tops the owner must have really love that guitar because it's not worth the cost to repair
Where did u buy that finger plane?
Re: the song used in this video. The man who "left no footsteps in the sand" was YOU!
According to the original story, when the man asked Jesus why there were times when there was only one set of footprints in the sand, Jesus replied "....those were the times when I CARRIED YOU". Therefore, the man who left no footprints was you, because Jesus was carrying you! The only footprints were his, not yours.
BTW, not withstanding me being an Atheist who was brought up a Catholic, I love this channel and I REALLY like the song!
that song reminds me of my daddys marijuana plantation when i was a kid.
I’m so far behind, I think I’m in the lead.
You commented on the Xacto blades being cheap same thing with the Bick Yellow throw away shaving razor blades terrible quality. Cant even get one good shave out of a new blade nowadays.Been using them for years always been decent.Threw them out after trying another batch thinking it was a one on thing. Same dull problem and then I changed brands with a little better result but still not like the old Bicks use to be .Whats going on darn it is it the steel or the manufacturing sharpening process?????Really annoying these little things..
LOL, Bee Good charges $8 shipping on an $8 bottle of oil.
Such are the times.
Geneseo is hone of the Springfield Armory..
I think it's spelled Geneseo. I have a couple handguns of theres. Good quality stuff
@@noelgraham4607 yup. I toured the factory in 87
@@noelgraham4607: Generally, reasonably priced too.
Decoration fret....lol funny because it's true
Looks like is has, or has had a bridge doctor.
When the top is bowed badly just un glue the bridge, put a tail piece on it and make it an arch top. It will never bow any farther after that.
That might make the top cave in from the bridge pressure ? My thinking is that if it bellied , it could move the other way not being designed to take weight . More a question than a statement. Peace ✌
@@davidharris7431 I meant it to be a joke.
@@davestambaugh7282 Ha , sorry brother , must have been in serious mode . Peace .
lol
@@davidharris7431: BTDT. 🤪🤪🙄🙄😵💫
A secret guitar......😢😅😊😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😊😅😮😢❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
that cheap glue the Japanese guitar makers used in the 1980s was a nightmare to soften
😅that one polished fret made my skin crawl. It looks way too different from the rest. I think the owner probably wouldn’t have minded the extra 15 minutes of polishing work to make it all look the same.
Mr. Rosa: You talk to much... Anyway. You do your best. Greetings from Italy !!!
Amen *
That's because it's a tutorial not an entertainment. Wise men have many wise words
The Italians I know are all so friendly and outgoing; they live life enthusiastically; love em!
you should more so take your time and do a better job
This guitar needs one eighth of an inch not a one sixteenth. Thankyou. Bob. H.
WHY DONT YOU TAPE OFF- ULTRA LOW TACK TO BEGIN WITH- ANY PROTECTION IS BETTER THAN NONE, please consider that- I work on guitars myself and I'd hate to see you just fly at one of my guitars free wheeling.
Hi Jerry, may i ask why you did not clamp the top flat before you glued on the bridge???, just wondering as i am not a Luthier, but a carpenter and joiner.....Take care.