The acoustic guitar: adjustment, care, maintenance, and repair

482 Pages·1998·17.43 MB·English

by  Don E. Teeter

The Acoustic Guitar Vol. 2 / : Adjustment,
title:
Care, Maintenance, and Repair
author: Teeter, Don E.
publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
isbn10 | asin: 0806130857
print isbn13: 9780806130859
ebook isbn13: 9780806170022
language: English
subject Guitar--Maintenance and repair.
publication date: 1998
lcc: ML1015.G9T44 1998eb
ddc: 787/.61/2
subject: Guitar--Maintenance and repair.
Page i
The Acoustic Guitar
Volume II
Page ii
University of Oklaboma Press
Norman
Page iii
The Acoustic Guitar
Adjustment, Care, Maintenance, and Repair
Volume II
Don E. Teeter
Page iv
By Don E. Teeter
The Acoustic Guitar: Adjustment, Care, Maintenance, and Repair
(Norman, 1975)
The Acoustic Guitar: Adjustment, Care, Maintenance, and Repair,
Volume II (Norman, 1980)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Teeter, Don E
The acoustic guitar.
Includes bibliographies and index.
1. GuitarMaintenance and repair. I. Title.
ML1015.G9T44 787.6'12'0288 79-5962
ISBN: 0-8061-1607-2 (hardcover)
ISBN: 0-8061-3085-7 (paperback)
Copyright © 1980 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Publishing
Division of the University. All rights reserved.
Manufactured in the U.S.A. First edition, 1980.
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Page v
Preface
Hello. I'm back again, just like the proverbial bad penny. Before
proceeding any further, I wish to take this opportunity to thank each
and every one of you who has read Volume I of The Acoustic Guitar:
Adjustment, Care, Maintenance, and Repair. The critical approval has
been fantastic. Of the many reviews and articles clipped and
forwarded my way by the University of Oklahoma Press, I have
received only one bad review to date, from some alleged scholar who
was disgruntled because I didn't delve into the intricacies and
mysteries of classical-guitar construction. The poor guy missed the
point altogether. The book was on guitar repair, not guitar
construction.
He condemned my various jigs and hand-made tools as mere
carpenter's gimmicks. For a scholar, that was practically unforgivable
stupidity: Any real instrument repairman should be aware that a
carpenter's background, especially a finish carpenter's, is a definite
asset in one's favor owing to the knowledge of woods, finishes, and so
on.
As for my "untraditional" use of jigs, custom designed tools, and
techniques, I say, "So what?" If one has to make a living in this
extremely tedious and difficult line of work, there is nothing wrong
with using a faster, more modern, untraditional method if it
accomplishes a given job properlyusually with more precision owing
to the consistency of jiggingin less time. Let's face it: we repairmen
are definitely not in this business for our health, and if someone insists
on doing the job utilizing the slower, more time-consuming expensive
traditional methods, I consider that his loss. Any time I can find a
quicker, if unconventional, technique that will produce the necessary
results, I intend to use it.
Perhaps the strongest point of controversy has risen from my
somewhat peculiar and unorthodox method in ferret-ting an
instrument. The response to this technique has ranged from outright
praise (from repairmen who have had to face the very real and
tenacious problem of instrument returns because of the working out of
driven-in frets, a particularly perplexing problem in older instruments
resulting from wood deterioration) to out-and-out derision from others
whom I suspect have not yet given the technique a fair try. I've
received many telephone calls from repairmen all over the nation who
have tried the technique, switched over to it, and wanted to thank me
for the idea.
To be honest about it, I really anticipated a lot more flack from this
technique than has developed. The refretting chapter in Volume I,
however, has probably received more revamping in this supplement
than any other. Don't get me wrong. I still use the basic technique of
setting the frets in epoxy and clamping them rather than pounding
them in with a hammer, but I have expanded the technique to include
the use of a relatively new invention of mine, a tool that I call a string
tension simulation jig. I suspect that this jig might be patentable, but
anyone with enough intelligence to use the jig could duplicate it for
his own use without violating a patent right, so I have chosen to share
the idea with anyone who cares to use it.
Those of you who have encountered a really "squirrely" neck and
fingerboard, perhaps one that even straightens up nice and true when
the string tension is relaxed, will appreciate this tool to no end. I
believe mine is original. I've never heard of anyone else using such an
animal. This jig will actually duplicate the irregularities of a warped
and twisted neck to a gnat's whisker (very close) with the strings and
frets removed and will hold these irregularities while you dress or
plane them out.
Some necks, such as those on the Martin line of instruments, have no
provision for bow adjustment, and the proper amount of forward bow
can actually be calculated into the jig setting before the dressing or
planing takes place. Intriguing, isn't it? It removes the last vestige of
guesswork from refretting.
Also, with the ever-increasing invasion of plywood instruments from
Japan, Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, and elsewhere, and the ever-
increasing prices of these instruments, it is (perish the thought)
becoming more worthwhile to have these instruments repaired rather
than relegate them to the trash heap. A large percentage should be
trashedor hung on a wall with a plastic posy in the soundholebut there
are some that can be salvaged.
Accordingly, I am including a chapter in this book deal-
Page vi
Fig. 1
A pair of oldies but goodies! A 1934 000-45 Martin (customer's) and a 1938 D-
45 sun-burst Martin (author's guitar).
ing with some of their peculiarities and the techniques that I use to
salvage them. I know, I know, you probably hate to work on them as
much as I do, but they are becoming a definite factor in the
instrument-repair business and are a headache that we have to live and
deal withlike it or not.
In Volume I, I tried to evolve my techniques utilizing as