Dogwood Guitars

  • Home
  • About
  • Guitars
    • Dogwood Models
    • Guitar Galleries
    • Ordering your Dogwood Guitar
    • FAQ’s
  • Services
  • Lutherie Classes
  • Pictorials
    • Repairs
    • How to Correctly String a Guitar
    • Building A Monarch
    • Making a Spalted Maple Rosette
    • Pearl and Abalone Inlay
  • Articles
    • Technical
    • Viewpoint
  • Testimonials
  • YouTube
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Pictorials / Repairs / 1977 Martin D-18 Restoration

1977 Martin D-18 Restoration

Older Martins often need substantial work to restore them to excellent playability. Recently a 1977 Martin D-18 was brought to me for evaluation. The guitar needed a neck reset, fret work, bridge plate repair, and cracks in the top repaired. A new bone saddle and nut were also recommended. This nice solid-top Martin is worth having this kind of work done, and the result will be a good-sounding instrument that is easy to play. Check out the photo galleries below for details about the work.

Neck Reset

Many older guitar need a neck reset to restore the correct neck-to-body angle. Over the years, string tension causes the top of the guitar to bend, decreasing the neck angle and causing the string action to become high. Once the saddle has been lowered as much as it can be to correct high action, a neck reset is called for. A skilled luthier can diagnose this problem and perform the work.

[Show as slideshow]
Neck Reset
dscn1349
dscn1351

dscn1358
dscn1360
dscn1359

dscn1355
dscn1352
dscn1354

dscn1356
dscn1361
dscn1362

dscn1363
dscn1364
dscn1365

dscn1417
dscn1418
dscn1422

dscn1423
dscn1426

 

Pick Guard Replacement and Crack Repairs

Cracks caused by pickguard shrinkage are a very common problem on older Martins. The plastic guards were glued directly to the bare Spruce top prior to finishing, and when they shrink the Spruce top cracks. This problem is exhilarated by when guitars are not kept hydrated during the dry months of the year. This is a common and routine repair.

[Show as slideshow]
dscn1344
dscn1367
dscn1368

dscn1369
dscn1398
dscn1414

dscn1415
dscn1416

 

Bridge Plate Repair


The bridge plate is perhaps the most ignored part of a guitar, but it performs an important function; it provides a hard surface for the ball end of the strings to ride against. Without a bridge plate, the ball ends would tear up through the soft Spruce top. The plate (located inside the guitar underneath the bridge) is also an important part of the transfer of energy from the strings to the top. Over time, incorrectly stringing a guitar causes damage to the plate and eventually it must be repaired. This damage is preventable with correct stringing technique.

[Show as slideshow]
dscn1347
dscn1376
dscn1377

dscn1381
dscn1383
dscn1384

dscn1395
dscn1419
dscn1421

dscn1427

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
[instagram-feed]

Lutherie Classes: Acoustic Guitar Building Class

Guitar Building Class Have you ever wanted to build your own high quality acoustic guitar, but were intimidated by the amount of tools, jigs, and skills involved? Here is your opportunity to work one-on-one with an experienced professional luthier … [Read More...]

Pearl and Abalone Inlay

One of the most beautiful customizations to a musical instrument is the addition of shell inlay. Typically this might include peghead decorations, fretboard position markers or more elaborate motifs such as vines and flowers, and body purflings. … [Read More...]

About Our Name

Many people ask about our name. One of my wife's friends even asked her if I made guitars from any other wood besides Dogwood! For those familiar with the Dogwood tree, this brings a chuckle since this flowering beauty attains only a small size… … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonials: Voicing Class with Jacek Sliwa of Sliwa Guitars

Jacek Sliwa is considered by many to be one of the best guitar makers in Poland. His guitars exhibit a level of refined design and outstanding craftsmanship. And yet, he found that after years of building fine instruments, the goal of acheiving the … [Read More...]

Gibson Side Crack

Gibson Artist Side Cracks This guitar was brought to me with some serious bass side damage- the owner had been keeping time on the side with his hand during a break and had cracked the side badly. The cracks ran from the shoulder all the way to … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonials: Taylor 12 string setup

I had a well known luthier in Columbus do a setup on my custom Taylor 12 string including having a bone saddle and nut made. The work seemed good but a while later while using the guitar for recording I noticed a strange light buzzing sound in the B … [Read More...]

Visit us on YouTube…

Follow Dogwood Guitars

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Technical Articles

The Science and Theory of Tonewoods

Search out any discussion about tone and tonewoods on the internet and you will quickly find a wide variation of opinions among players and builders alike. However, the majority will almost always list "tonewoods" and/or specific species of Spruce … [Read More...]

More Technical Articles

Viewpoint Articles

Exploring Common Guitar Myths

I am going to divide this article into two sections: Myths and misunderstandings about playability and care; and myths about tone. We will take these two topics in order. Playability and Care So, your guitar is a little hard to play, the … [Read More...]

More Viewpoint Articles

Copyright © 2023 Dogwood Guitars