Fixing a badly chipped fretboard on a '52 Gibson Les Paul

[@luigiseli2552]

Please consider other videos on the restoration of the '52 . . . would love to see it to completion Thanks for your time

[@onpsxmember]

Same here.

[@TheScheckig]

Hear, hear! I'd like to see what they do about restoring the finish and electronics. Looks like something is up with that neck pocket, too. Everything about repairing that stately old lass is teachable. Teach me more!

[@sagolpooh]

Me too!

[@TroubadourJuggernaut]

Agreed

[@cyrilst-m9890]

yeah i was about to comment to say the exact same thing

[@DiscoScottie]

In the next video they'll route for the Floyd Rose and apply the first three coats of neon green paint.

[@acegibson9533]

funny guy

[@shimmysham8725]

My friend put a Floyd Rose on his Les Paul, needless to say were not friends anymore.

[@craigusselman546]

Nah 80's neon pink Kramer shredder guitar paint and slap ninja turtle stickers ALLLL OVER ITT hee.hee.

[@joseislanio8910]

DiscoScottie and don't forget the two EMGs and locking nut

[@phoenixjim0527]

DiscoScottie 😅

[@comingapart]

being Dan's apprentice would be my dream job. heck, just cleaning and sweeping the shop and getting to watch him work would be an honor.

[@MetalMayhem1978]

Michael Graves agree 5000%!!! Luthier would be my dream job too

[@tyecook9630]

No kidding!

[@douglasholdenjr.45]

Would definitely be my dream job!!!!

[@poppysilver]

I love these videos so much, I just wish they came out more often!

[@audiotechlabs4650]

Another fantastic look at how the "Pros" do it! Thank you Dan and all your friends and co-workers for sharing these videos with us. I have a 70s Greco Les Paul that needs a refret job and after watching this and other videos StewMac has provided, I feel confident I can do a refret. Thanxz

[@Iheartdgd]

Wow, look at that guitar! That thing is a piece of history, would love to see more on this!

[@tubhair]

I just fixed my sons acoustic Cort. I have absolutely no experience but i have common sense and am good with my hands. The wood under the bridge completely heaved up into a huge hump from being too close to the radiator. I removed the bridge, put a clean cloth down, held my breath and put a hot clothes iron to it. It flattened beautifully.Then I cleaned up the underside of the bridge and the splintered veneer under it. Then reenforced the area by glueing a piece of wood inside the body, under the compromised area. Attached the bridge and wood piece with 2 screws. Did a little acrylic paint touch up around the bridge. It looks and plays beautifully

[@zumajim]

As someone who would never attempt such wizardry myself, I find these videos incredibly satisfying. Dan is a guru and I'm glad to see he's passing it on to the younger folk.

[@BigBobbyBoLo]

Its like New Yankee Workshop for Guitar Geeks. I'm in freaking heaven watching this and all the other videos. Thanks for the vids!

[@bristolfashion4421]

I've said it before, I'll say it again - watching you guys - master *and* apprentice - is just a tonic! An education and an inspiration. Thanks.

[@tyecook9630]

I've just recently discovered this guy's videos and I love 'em! I can't believe some of the things he can repair, I've seen stuff I didn't know was possible...

[@ipasha1437]

it's so nice to see how professionals do an amazing job, so keep going!

[@craigusselman546]

I love 1950s LPs and as hard as it is to see one beat up like that, its been well loved and played. What more can an adorable vintage Les Paul could ask for.

[@thewhitemustang]

Stewmac should do live feeds so we can see exactly what goes on throughout a repair. From the full prep work right down to the finished product along with a tiny sound sample. It would show people exactly how to use the tools that they sell. I love these short clips but I'd much rather see an unedited video. I think a once a week 2 hour live feed would benefit everyone. This would give better insight to people on the fence about buying one of your tools and would surely lead to more sales.

[@j_freed]

Incredibly nice work, how fortunate this early model has no fretboard binding to deal with! The remnants of finger wear look fine and this very forgiving wood looks gorgeous and rejuvenated.

[@nonoozabletodogmaisaiah4577]

That's great. I used this method to build up Andover cut nut. Thanks for the time and knowledge.

[@northland..]

I ♡ watching ALL your work on the videos. You are a prime example of handmade workmanship!/ mostly repair magic. Lol

[@robertcaffrey6097]

Aw I was hoping to see the full restoration on this historic guitar. Great job on the chip fillings.

[@GKChandlerBooks]

An impressively patient piece of restoration work. Fascinating to see the process. Than you for the video.

[@jonq8714]

Finally show the finished result on a video! Thanks guys!

[@douglasholdenjr.45]

Absolute master craftsmen!!! Love watching these videos!!!!

[@mr.jazzbodkelsey58]

1:04 I thought he was gonna say, "We're gonna take a little bit of acid". Lol

[@The_sinner_Jim_Whitney]

Mr. Jazzbo I've been known to take a little bit of acid while working on guitars now and again, haha!

[@Kevin-nr9lj]

I love these longer videos :)

[@TroubadourJuggernaut]

Agreed

[@IM-lf5qp]

It's 6 minutes long lol

[@GetawaysandGuitars]

Brilliant job on this, I would love to see the restoration finished! ;0)

[@RainbowManification]

Wish you'd show the whole process. I don't even play guitar but these videos are very relaxing.

[@FretFriendGWaL]

I recently did an ebony board with worse chip-out than this (in places). I always repair using this (Stewmac) method with dust & CA...

[@mitchhodge592]

I do love a restoration that doesn’t try to erase the history with something that looks brand new. But rather one that just brings it back to usability that someone can enjoy.

[@marvingomez309]

an incredible guitar in those conditions thanks Dan for restoring that poor Gibson

[@JosePineda-jn8jk]

I love refretting, something relaxing to me about it, but these tear outs would just cause me anxiety haha!

[@Pollux167]

honestly watching these videos as someone with little knowledge of guitars i find these extremely satisfying

[@ronniebrown5769]

Looks like I great project that I'd love to see come to fruition on this channel

[@Goomer]

I want to see the whole restoration!

[@seanhornibrook]

please please please way more videos on this guitar. IT NEEDS TO LIVE AGAIN!!!!

[@jcoleyca]

Love all these videos Stewmac. For making rosewood or any kind of wood dust for the filler try an old blender, works like a charm.

[@Eventual420]

In my job we install floors, typically vinyl, but also rubber and linoleum. This forces us to be familiar with more than PVCs or plastics. Cyanoacrylate is itself plastic. We use it for quick adhesion at seams or plugs, but our best fusion is done with a plastics heat welder which melts two pieces using a filler. Also seen in auto body and membrane welding. For rubber, there are a few manufacturers who use acrylic, or silicone fillers, there is no way to melt rubber but silicone is aggressive. Linoleum is a wood product, and here is where they recommend a latex adhesive mixed with dust as shown for repairs. There is no way to melt wood, so the fusion process is essentially a hot glue filler, color matched. It would seem there are better products for fusing the wood dust back into the wood, and that a wood glue would be more appropriate than CA, but I am no expert. It just a piece of me that winces at the thought of all that plastic dripped into the fractured wood. It is millable, but I thought wood glue formed a strong bond. My brother is a carpenter, always claimed glued joints to be stronger than the wood itself. Again, I am no expert, just a friendly observation. Cool video. Stuff like this always interests me.

[@selfsameday7448]

Wow good teaching and chip filling techniques

[@razzledingle]

I knew that was going to end too quickly. These "Dan" videos are always a big tease.

[@johnfrederick6164]

Same here would love to see this thing put back together that would be so awesome

[@Ibaneddie76]

More on this guitar please it would be great to see the entire restoration. Somebody did a number on this one.

[@Krullmatic]

Just Amazing! I would've thought this was beyond repair.

[@richard-mai]

I remember going to luthier school and Stu came in showing us how to hammer in frets. Good times, but with so much information on KZbin, I wonder how good ole Roberto Venn is doing

[@KowboyUSA]

Still have several Stewart-MacDonald cardboard shipping boxes from the '80s sitting on the shelves in my shop. Some may even be from the '70s. Awesome luthier tools work awesomely well for all kinds of close tolerance un-guitar related hand work. Many guitars/etc later my once extensive tool set is basically spent.

[@ferramirez4570]

This was so relaxing to see! Definitely my Dream Job!.

[@Breakbeats92.5]

As a fan of the channel I must say that I always, and I mean always want to hear what the guitar sounds like after the masters here have worked their magic on the instrument.

[@MichaelD8393]

Not all heroes wear capes. Nice job guys.

[@davidropp3174]

MichaelD8393 Who says Dan doesn't wear a cape?

[@MichaelD8393]

Okay maybe he does but you still get the idea right?

[@davidropp3174]

Absolutely. I was just playing. Dan is the man.

[@TheStikapos]

Perfect response. big time supermen.

[@MichaelD8393]

Of course he is. Have you seen his "Patching a big hole in a '53 Telecaster" video yet? His skills there will blow you away if you haven't seen it yet. Here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYa4poCwra9snpo

[@craigusselman546]

Look at those beautiful Mop inlays nice and yellow and lovely.

[@Sungodv]

Glad to see that Dan is still at it...!

[@BoyAditya]

I hope there'll be next video for this ...

[@mikelikesguitaralot]

Awesome job, boy that looked really good at the end.

[@markdalton293]

Awesome job , that neck turned out beautiful .

[@jjdillon2007]

Yes, I'd love to see more of the restoration process on the '52 LP, and angle of the neck re-set; enough to wrap over top of the trapeze/bar, or fitted like a '53, with just the stop bar/bridge?

[@MonkyMonk729]

Hitting that glue with just accelerator fumes is brilliant!! I've never heard of that trick before. Crucial on a job like this to not have the glue turn white.

[@papasmamas1]

Would be really good if you can show the before and after the work finished of this guitar.

[@ducamuk]

Fantastic work, gentlemen. Outstanding. Thank you so much for sharing. ✌️

[@aarondavis4341]

So what if you don't have anyway to get rosewood dust? Would regular wood filler work? Also any ideas an what adhesive to use to attach a brass nut to rosewood? Yes I definitely need to use adhesives,the neck I'm working is a vintage Suzuki SB10,PBASS the groove the nut is supposed to fit in tightly is now a mild wide,I'm guessing it's to fit this bigger brass nut they just over did it a bit,lol

[@klijnsmitguitars2979]

Beautiful craftsmanship!

[@bjrnespeseth8515]

You're doing holy work here dudes, very cool. Risen from the dead to rocketh once more!

[@tomahoks]

Fretboard was dry as death walley, when they pulled the frets. -> chipping.

[@shanecardy4075]

Yeah, fairly common on guitar that has been used a lot.

[@vtrmcs]

@@shanecardy4075 Not looked after would be my guess, I'm no guitar person let alone a luthier, but wood is wood and if its left to its own devices it will turn to dust given a long enough time.

[@TimGn]

Cameras are awesome, thanks for this!

[@markwallace5258]

A solid repair technique. The fill will sometimes appear darker than the surrounding rosewood.

[@nigellacey559]

Wow thats an amazing job. Such skill.

[@74dartman13]

Thanks for the tips. I'm getting ready to refret an old Japanese hollow body, and I'm sure there's gonna be a chip or two, at least. I'll have to find a piece of rosewwod to make some dust to fill in the chips. Maybe I'll get lucky, but better to be prepared for the worst!

[@Gipskatten]

How do you do a maple fretboard? Cant find out something to fill the chips without getting darker when the the glue goes on. Also it’s real hard to clean out the greyish discoloration from the dirt in the chips.

[@stewmac]

To clean up the grayish discoloration in the chips on your maple fretboard, we recommend applying naphtha solvent with a micro brush or q-tip. You can try wood bleach, but it is very easy to over whiten the wood, leaving a bright discoloration instead of a grey one. Using a little bit of Titebond Original Wood Glue in place of the super glue will result in a much better color match, but does take longer to cure. Liquid Hide Glue has a much sorter working time, but the glue line will blend well with the surrounding maple of the fingerboard.

[@mayiask654]

@@stewmac i was going to ask the same "maple wood becomes very dark when mixed with super glue" related question. ;-) So instead I'll ask a question about your advice about liquid hide glue: do you mix it with maple wood dust or do you apply it on its own when fixing chips at the fret slots? Many thanks in advance Oh, btw: also many thanks for your insightful videos :-)

[@dscdrkel5546]

I love these type of jobs- I have been designing and repairing diff type instruments since 1963- My greatest joy in all those years was restoring a 1897 Washborn back to playable life- and it was worst then this 1952 Les Paul.****DR KEL

[@FlowtnWitWalden]

Hi, I've got some deep divots in an ebony fretboard. Does this same trick apply with ebony dust and super glue or is ebony a harder wood to fill in?

[@CowboyStag]

Thanks for saving that gem

[@PoppysGuitar]

what is the average width of those fret slots on that '52 Gibson? I noticed you didn't need to use the "Barber" nor discussed what the measurement was on your test? You didn't mention what the fret width was on the new wire you were going to use, including what that wire was? I am asking not only because I am a customer of your shop but because you do demonstrate your products and process in another video but the guitar is not a vintage les paul. I am working currently working on vintage 1953 GT with binding. Would love to see how you deal with that. I purchased your vintage 59 les paul fret wire and I forget the model number but I am trying to do a conversion to more 59 specs so any help is greatly appreciated.

[@donttellthekids2655]

Nice work...you might think about adding a small feeler gauge to make the teflon dam a little tighter fit in the fret slot. This should keep dust and superglue from seeping in and less work on cleaning out the slots later on.

[@OrignalElidest]

Holy cow these guys work magic

[@bfflorida2311]

Amazing workmanship 👏👏👏

[@StupidEarthlings]

What sort of tone would saw dust and superglue have?.. is it brighter than , say, maple? Or does the glue make it darker?.. ;)

[@superdog4343]

Can’t wait to see how this turns out

[@fishhooks100]

Very kool and awesome to watch and learn! Thank you gentlemen!

[@chrisscott2498]

Nice work as always...actually quite surprised a '52 got played that much. Which begs the question - since the neck was out anyway (plus the instrument is well into "player grade" by this point), I'm kind or curious why the owner didn't opt for a deeper neck set angle upon re-mating, allowing for a more playable instrument...was the subject ever discussed?

[@kenlesko7559]

Great video to sell Stewmac tools! I didn't see one straightedge on the fingerboard to see if it needed planing before re-fretting.

[@Gordy4gigs]

Hey guys. Great video. How many mm wide is your Teflon fret dam ??

[@michaelinglis8516]

Hey guys, I have this happening at the nut from when one of my guitars fretboard was cut on an otherwise great schecter guitar. Would you recommend removing the nut and making some kind of dam at the top? I just redid the nut recently but after seeing the chipping my OCD won't let me forget it.

[@joachimschranzhofer5566]

great to see, that Dan is teaching the next generation!

[@like-icecream]

amazing restoration

[@uptownphotography]

Cool video. Always a learning experience...

[@PoppysGuitar]

so does dan do 220 then 400 then 600 on the sanding of the board? or did I miss that ? it seems like he only does one level of paper? How would you do this with binding?

[@vtrmcs]

Some woods suffer from terrible tear out (as we call it in furniture making). Personally Ive never used cyanoacrylate for this sort of repair, but I might give it a shot after watching this. I wonder if they filled the pores after fretting. Why wouldn't you fill the pores beforehand, was that not a common thing on this year of guitar?

[@Mekratrig]

Do ye add some glue to the fret slots before installing frets, or is it just a friction fit?

[@apinakapinastorba]

I would not have believed it turned out so nice ^^

[@GlennJimenez]

Wow that fretboard looked beautiful at the end

[@StMoritzGuitars]

That fingerboard reminds me of a 61 Les Paul / SG I restored. FB was in the same condition.

[@fortj3]

Float files/Bodifiles/Vixen files, are also great for filing aluminum.

[@saby8765]

This is more handmade than the real Gibsons out there these days. I know it may sound stupid, but when someone makes something for you, food, guitar or suit, they somehow channel their affection into the thing, and when you use it, you feel it, you definitely feel it.

[@NoteConference]

Looks pretty frikin good!

[@jdbaron25]

With the frets having those barbs under the board, how would you better remove them?

[@anonamous6968]

We'd like to see the whole process through to the end. We want to see the finished product as it is given back to the owner.

[@Arikashirukashi]

Why are you filling instead of leveling everything with a radius block?

[@smittenthekitteninmittens2679]

probably a dumb question but why not replace the whole board?..is it because it is original to the guitar?

[@MisterRorschach90]

That trick at 4:20 is pure genius.

[@jukejointjack]

You can use dryer sheet to help remove static otherwise that dust clings to the teflon

[@telecasterbear]

I always used fretboard dust mixed with epoxy for setting inlays.

[@anthonycongiano8890]

Sensational workmanship! Quick question, when you say, "sealing it with some twenty" ... what is "some twenty"? Is that a different type of glue?

[@MonkyMonk729]

Stew Mac sells super glue in different viscousities. 10 is thin (runny), 20 is medium, and 30 is thick (gel).

[@davechapman7735]

great work guys..

[@Guitarnivore]

You guys are amazing!

[@peatbogfaierie]

6:28..you doing your compulsive cleaning ? or stealing the superglue ?