You have to be fairly quick when you’re working with hot hide glue. Heating up the parts gives you a little more open time, so anything to get a few seconds is worth the effort. On a sidenote, someone asked me the other day if I was sponsored by @totalvise and the answer was no. So when I sing their praises i’m doing it because I love the thing and how much easier it makes doing my job. I also really like the hold downs from @whittlesticks.strings that are holding the guitar body in place. If you do this for a living you owe it to yourself to check them out…
#guitarrepairchesapeake
#glueupdujour #luthiersofinstagram
#loothing
#guitarmaker
Resetting an acoustic guitar neck takes a lot of little steps. Arguably the most important one is getting the neck angle right, which is why we do it in the first place. Before I got my @totalvise guitar workstation I would come up with all kinds of ways to hold the guitar body in place. Now that I have this piece of equipment it’s no longer a wrestling match. The stress level is down and I can really concentrate on what I’m doing. If you do this kind of work you should check out the Proper’s Guitar Workstation. Your back will thank you!
#guitarrepairchesapeake
#luthiersofinstagram
#loothing
#guitarmaker
Everything it’s cracked up to be...
The Proper’s Guitar Workstation makes every repair job easier.
This Martin dreadnought had a long grain crack running from the nut shelf down the neck—a fix that demands keeping the crack open to inject hot hide glue, then clamping it shut before the glue cools. ⏱️
The Proper’s Guitar Workstation from @totalvise is the perfect tool to make this process go smoothly. Here, I’m using the peghead support as a reverse clamping caul to hold the crack open during the injection.
With the Crossover Docking Station I can position the guitar so that gravity works for me while the glue works it's way into the open crack.
Once released and clamped, the workstation allows me to pivot and re-orient the guitar to any position on the fly, making the squeeze-out cleanup effortless.
We’re a Total Vise Shop because I wouldn’t trust your guitar—or my reputation—to anything less than the most versatile guitar workstation system ever built.
Jeff and I designed the Proper’s Guitar Workstation so you could position a guitar into virtually any conceivable alignment without having to twist yourself into a pretzel. 🥨
Honestly, I can’t even imagine trying to tackle a job like this hovering over a guitar lying on a bench anymore.
If you’re still hunched over, counting down the minutes until your next chiropractor appointment, don’t you think it’s time you called Jeff over at @totalvise ? 😉 Your back (and your repairs) will thank you
Isn't it time you made your shop a Total Vise Shop?
Your questions and comments are always welcome
Total Vise is a proud sponsor of @theloothgroup@totalvise
totalvise.com
Tota Vise is a proud sponsor of @theloothgroup
🎸
#guitarspecialist #guitarrepair #whatsonyourbench #loothing #totalvise
Trying to get a little more sound out of this old 12 string acoustic guitar. Just a bit more string break should help by putting some more pressure on the saddle. I’m using my Proper’s Guitar Workstation from @totalvise to take the pressure off of my vertebrae while I perform this task. Thanks to Doug @guitarspecialistinc and Jeff from totalvise for coming up with this great Looth tool! And also Luke @whittlesticks.strings for the cool hold downs that I use quite a bit! You guys have definitely changed the way I work for the better!
When I was originally considering the wood choices for this acoustic guitar I was thinking the lightly figured Cuban Mahogany back would speak for itself without a back strip. But the more I looked at it the more I kept thinking a nice understated center strip would really accentuate the mahogany than detract from it. So here I am making a last minute decision in the design process. This is the first time I’ve used my O’Brian’s sound hole guitar clamp from @totalvise on my Proper’s guitar work station and it’s really helpful for something like this. It gives you full access to the back and sides of an acoustic guitar body and I can see it being very handy for a lot of tasks. Looking forward to the glue drying and scraping the back strip down flush.
#guitarrepairchesapeake
#glueupdujour #luthiersofinstagram
#loothing
#guitarmaker
🚨New Total Vise Product Alert🚨
Erlewine’s Bodyless Neck Support
For The Proper’s Guitar Workstation
It’s no secret that Dan Erlewine @danerlewine is a huge fan of the Proper’s Guitar Workstation by @totalvise . So much so that he came up with the ultimate accessory for the workstation to use with Fender Style bolt-on guitar and bass necks.
The new Erlewine Bodyless Neck Support for the Proper’s Guitar Workstation is a two-piece accessory that allows you to bolt a fender-style bolt on neck to the workstation for fretwork or setup work in conjunction with a surrogate universal bridge attachment to which you can attach any flush-mount guitar or bass bridge.
• Level and Crown Frets under string tension without the need for a surrogate body.
• Perform Fretwork, Nut Work and Repairs without having to attach a body to the guitar
• Diagnose Troublesome Necks with Actual String Tension During Refrets
• The Universal Bridge Attachment accepts any flush-mount guitar or bass bridge
• Set any Scale Length for Any Bolt-On Neck Guitar or Bass
• The Complete Kit Includes: - One Telescoping Four-Bolt Neck Attachment - One Telescoping Universal Bridge Attachment
All the details are at totalvise.com
Total Vise is proud sponsors of @theloothgroup@totalvise
totalvise.com
🎸
#guitarrepair #whatsonyourbench #guitarrepairshop #luthier #totalvise
Just when I thought I knew everything the Proper Guitar Workstation from @totalvise can help me do I realized I hadn’t used the universal jig yet. So now instead of looking for spot to set my plate jointing jig it’s at the perfect height to use and rolls out of the way on my rolling pedestal. Thanks Jeff!
#chesapeakemakers
#guitarrepairchesapeake
#glueupdujour #luthiersofinstagram
#loothing
Give the Gift of a Great Hint !
The holidays are a time to think of others—but they’re also a time when those others are tasked with thinking about you! If you're anything like me, you know that when someone’s trying to be thoughtful, a good hint can go a long way.
So why not drop your loved ones an extra thoughtful hint today about Total Vise’s Black Friday Deal?
Here’s how I’d do it:
Rub your back, furrow your brow, and proclaim loudly,“All this hunching over guitars has made my back mighty sore. Say… that reminds me! Santa could save 10% on all Total Vise products—including the highly ergonomic Proper Workstation—now through December 1st at midnight EST!”
Then casually add: Use promo code: Turkey10 at checkout!
Thank you to Jeff @totalvise and Doug @guitarspecialistinc for coming together to create this MUST HAVE for any shop!! I've used these in other shops I've worked at and now finally have one of my own ❤️😍
#skarryguitars #luthier #musthaves #tools #toolsofthetrade
Refretting a Fender Neck (Episode 6)
Continuing with this refret of this Fender neck.
Before we can consider any re-fret complete, we gotta make sure we cover our footprints in the snow, so to speak.
That means touching up the sides of the neck and matching the color of the lacquer. I've always considered this part of every refret.
Here I'm using @gluboost Fill n' Finish as my medium and their Master-Tint powdered pigments to get my color matching just right.
With the short-rail version of Proper's Guitar Workstation and the Crossover Dock from @totalvise , I can position the neck into just the right orientation to brush on the finish while flipping the neck from the treble to bass side and not skip a beat during the entire process.
There's a whole universe of cool accessories available for the "Proper's Guitar Workstation" on the totalvise.com website - the Short Rail and the Rail Support Post are just a couple of them.
In the next episode, I'll give you a close-up look at how I mixed the color to get it just right.
Your questions and comments are always welcome
Total Vise is proud sponsors of @theloothgroup
🎸
#guitarspecialist #guitarrepair #whatsonyourbench #guitarrepairshop #luthier #luthiersofinstagram #guitarsofinstagram #guitarshop #guitartech #guitarshoplife #guitarworkshop #guitars #loothing #totalvise #vise #workstation
Refretting a Fender Neck (Episode 5)
Continuing with this refret of this Fender neck.
Now it's time to calculate the spacing of the strings and cut the string slots in the new nut. So it's back to the main bench.
I use a small machinist ruler to position the outer "E" strings and a calculator & calipers to plot the rest of the strings.
I know there are lots of fancy rulers out there that will approximate the string spacing, but if you want true equidistant string spacing, there's only one way to do it, thats by doing the math. Every time.
If you've never cut a nut with the guitar neck in an upright position, you have absolutely no idea how much you're missing. If you're still hovering over a bench keeping your chiropractor in business, it's about time you give Jeff over at Total Vise a call.
The first time I cut a nut standing straight up with the guitar facing me i couldn't even imagine how I did it any other way for over 35 years.
Here I'm mounting the short rail version of workstation into the recently introduced Crossover Dock. This allows me to position the neck into any conceivable orientation on any axis.
There's a whole universe of cool accessories available for the "Proper's Guitar Workstation" on the totalvise.com website - the Short Rail and the Rail Support Post are just a couple of them.
In the next episode, we'll touch-up the sides of the neck on this Fender neck to wrap up ghis refret.
Your questions and comments are always welcome
Total Vise is proud sponsors of @theloothgroup
🎸
#guitarspecialist #guitarrepair #whatsonyourbench #guitarrepairshop #luthier #luthiersofinstagram #guitarsofinstagram #guitarshop #guitartech #guitarshoplife #guitarworkshop #guitars #loothing #totalvise #vise #workstation
Refretting a Fender Neck (Episode 4)
Moving right along with this refret of this Fender neck.
Now that the frets are installed, level and crowned, it's time to make a new nut.
Notice how the neck never even has to leave the "Proper's Guitar Workstation" from @totalvise . The neck stays perfectly supported not just during the entire fret job, but the entire job until the neck is ready to install on the guitar.
Here I'm mounting the short rail version of workstation into the recently introduced Crossover Dock. This allows me to position the neck into any conceivable orientation on any axis.
Imagine being able to size a nut slot or fit a piece of bone into the slot without having to twist yourself into a pretzel.
There's a whole universe of cool accessories available for the "Proper's Guitar Workstation" on the totalvise.com website - the Short Rail and the Rail Support Post are just a couple of them.
In the next episode, we'll get the string slots cut for the new nut on this Fender neck.
Your questions and comments are always welcome
Total Vise is proud sponsors of @theloothgroup
🎸
#guitarspecialist #guitarrepair #whatsonyourbench #guitarrepairshop #luthier #luthiersofinstagram #guitarsofinstagram #guitarshop #guitartech #guitarshoplife #guitarworkshop #guitars #loothing #totalvise #vise #workstation
