Bought an old Kalamazoo era Epiphone to restore...need advice

About a year ago I bought an old Epiphone Cortez acoustic with the idea of restoring it. The finish is in rough shape, and it has some major cracks. The neck joint is good; tuners, fretboard, frets, etc...all good. Anyway, here's the issues:

Top: the pickguard curled up and cracked the top at some point. This crack looks to be pretty old. Two problems I face for this repair:

1. The finish. This is a sunburst finish. I don't have the tools nor the experience to match the finish.

2. The pickguard. I'm not really sure how to go about removing it. I'm sure if I get it off, it will be ruined.

Back: The back has several cracks. One spans the entire length of the back. There is also a crack on either side of the neck block. The finish on the back is essentially ruined. Someone had actually tried to duct tape the cracks shut!

Also, several of the back braces have come unglued.

Here's what I'm thinking at this point:

1. Leave the top crack. It seems stable. Looks kind of cool in a Willy Nelson's guitar sort of way.
2. Remove the back. Repair the cracks and reglue the braces; glue the back back on. Refinish back and sides.

I've never removed a back before, so I'm not sure exactly how to go about doing it. Could I save the binding?

One other thing: Is it worth it, dollar wise, to remove the plastic bridge and make a new ebony one for it?

I bought this guitar to repair and then resell. They are not high dollar vintage guitars, but I'm hoping I could break even or at least recouple some of the time spent. Also, it's a good learning experience for me that I don't have too much money invested in at this point.

I would love to hear suggestions as to how to approach this project. Thanks!

Brian

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark Pollock on June 15, 2012 at 8:29pm

THe pickguard is absolutely doable - get it removed, see what is underneath, reglue with a very flat caul on top and a good caul underneath. When you have flattened that area out, you will probably be able to close the crack with sideways pressure and then cleat it. I imagine the guitar would be a lot better sounding and more stable if you got that mess straightened out.

As Frank kindly pointed out to me last week when I was facing a similar, though less torn apart job, look at this page. http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Pickguards...

As far as the back goes - reglue the braces with the back on, and see how close those cracks are. I bet stick shellac and a few cleats would tidy that right up.

If you want a good learning experience, then do good work!!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brian Stewart on June 16, 2012 at 1:51pm

Well, the pickguard did come off very easy, and like in the example in the link, the top is quite dished.

I see now that there is a small sliver of topwood missing from part of the crack, right where it meets the lower edge of the pickguard. Other than that, if I can flatten the top out a little, the crack looks like it will close up pretty nice.

I'm going to wait to do any more until I get a couple more opinions.

Thanks, Mark.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ned Knepp on June 16, 2012 at 2:07pm

One thing that I think you should check very carefully is the bracing on the face of the guitar. If ALL of the back braces are loose/off, I worry that the guitar has at least some of the top braces loose too. At the very least, the top will need to be re-glued to the bracing on the split section. I'm wondering if the guitar has been subjected to high heat at some point.

I would repair the top crack. It can't do anything but get worse with time. It's already loose from bracing which will weaken the guitar overall too. If the top bracing needs attention, IMO, removing the back would be the best way to glue everything all back together. It would also make it much easier to replace the plastic bridge. And I think there is a pretty good chance that the bridge plate needs to be replaced too. Something that would be pretty straight forward with the back off.

Something you didn't address is the neck angle. does this guitar need a reset?

I actually think this is a pretty cool project. There may be a lot to do but it's all pretty do-able.