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Inspection
It is my understanding that Guild introduced two (2) 12-string guitar models in 1964, the Honduran Mahogany and Sitka Spruce F-212, and the Brazilian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce F-312. The F-312 was slightly smaller but deeper, measuring 15-7/8" across the lower bout x 5" deep, where the F-212 measured 16" wide x 4-7/8" deep.
The even smaller F-112 was introduced in 1966, while the three (3) larger 17" jumbo 12-strings would not be introduced for another two (2) years. 1968 saw the advent of the Mahogany F-212XL, the laminated Maple archback F-412, and the Rosewood F-512 (Brazilian for a very short time, quickly replaced with East Indian).
The backs, sides, and necks of Guild's Mahogany 12-strings guitars were tinted using a Rosewood-hued "Cabernet" colorant. The F-212 was relatively unadorned, having plain binding, no fret markers, only the "Guild" lettering on the headstock (no "Chesterfield" or "G-Shield" inlays).
Guild F-212
The folk music boom of the sixties encouraged guitar manufacturers to quickly ramp up production. The guitars of the seventies were being built more sturdily than before. Many would say these instruments were "overbuilt" by today's standards.
I had two (2) 1975 Guild F-212s, nearly identical, being just a few serial numbers apart from one another. One of them had needed a neck reset for quite some time, as it suffered with really high action. The other one (to this day!) did not.
Both of these 12-strings were very "seventies" guitars in tone and volume, where nothing really stood out and made me say, "I HAVE to pick up one of these guitars and play it!".
One fateful day I pulled the guitar with the high action out of its case and set on the work bench, thinking I should really tackle that neck reset that I have put off for so long. To the casual observer, this Guild may have looked to be in remarkably good shape for a nearly-50-year-old guitar. Further inspection, however, would reveal issues that could no longer be ignored.
The dreaded neck block shift had occurred at some point in the guitar's recent history, shearing the soundboard along the bass edge of the fretboard extension, from the neck heel and into the soundhole. Admittedly, I can't tell you when that event occurred, in or out of its case, as I simply didn't notice it.
It certainly wasn't grotesque, but it was visible. Regardless of how it looked, I believe it was largely responsible for the raised action.
F-212 Soundboard Shear
My involvement with this guitar just became significantly more complicated, much more than I was hoping for. A neck block should never shift, and a soundboard should never shear. If either occurs, it is evidence of glue failure and/or insufficient structural reinforcement.
I have written extensively about the topic of Body Flexion, Neck Block Shift, and Soundboard Shear, and rather than repeat it all again here, you can read all about it in my article » Body Flexion .
Bridge Removal
The bridge will be replaced, as it is simply too short, and does not make a good target for neck reset geometry.
Whether I (ever) re-use the bridge or not, it should lift off easily with a little heat.
Removing the Bridge
Neck Removal
I removed the appropriate fret and drilled an angled hole through the fret slot, hoping to emerge in the recess between the dovetail of the neck and the mortise of the neck block. I missed the cavity, burying the drill in solid wood.
I tried it again on the opposite side of the fretboard, adjusting the angle slightly. I missed, again! See why neck resets are so much fun?
Refusing to be beaten, opposite side of the fretboard, adjusting the angle slightly and starting the angled hole closer to the center of the fretboard, and SUCCESS! I repeated a second successful hole on the opposite side.
Neck Block Drill Holes - Missed it by *that* much!
Many Martin necks can be / have been removed using a single hole through a fret slot to access the cavity between the mortise and tenon. Many (older) Guild necks have that cavity filled with glue. When steaming off a neck, I prefer to apply a small amount of steam to both sides of the dovetail, instead of concentrating all the heat and moisture in just one location.
That necessitates drilling a second hole into the joint, which can also provide for an egress for water, an inevitability as the steam cools immediately on contact with the wood and condenses inside the guitar. If you can hold the instrument fretboard-side down and/or upside down while applying steam, you can prevent the pouring of water into the body - a definite mistake in my book.
If you have one of those guitars with visible white rivulets of powdered residue running down the inside of the back and/or sides, you know what I am referring to. That is old, watered-down hide glue. It is often evidence of a previous (steam-induced) neck reset, or sloppy bridgeplate replacement.
Using a jig that presses against the top rim of the body while simultaneously pressing against the heel cap (I think of it as my reverse steering wheel puller), I pushed the neck up and out of the socket it was glued into. And I experienced another common misstep. Note that as substantial as the necks on these Guilds are, the neck heels can be surprisingly thin at the heel cap.
Thin Neck Heel
In the days before CNC, guitar necks were made utilizing some combination of sawing, carving, sanding or routing. Fitting a neck having a heel to a body typically requires removing some of the heel material in order to arrive at the correct geometry. I have reset many a Guild guitar neck, and some necks have much thinner heels than others.
Sufficient heat is needed to soften the glue. More glue requires heat be applied for a longer period. I'm applying steam, and that increases the amount of moisture being introduced to the wood(s). Add to that the additional pressure being gently applied to the end of the heel to assist in pushing the dovetail up and out of its mortise.
The wood of the neck heel, right at the heel cap, compressed and curled, actually de-laminating slightly.
Neck Heel Curl
Now that it had curled, I had to make a decision. I could wait for the moisture to completely dry, and the curl to return to flat, as these often do - unless they don't.
When I go to cut the heel to correct the neck angle, I can trim it then. If a lot of curl remains, that will result in thinning it even more. While it doesn't impact the strength of the joint, this isn't a visually attractive option. I could attempt to re-shape the heel, reversing the steam process, and risk greater de-lamination damage to the neck (which I already need to repair).
Or I could overreact entirely and re-make the neck. I opted to overreact and re-make the neck, leaving this original neck intact as a reference. To be fair, I had thought about doing this for several years in order to significantly lighten the neck.
As you may be aware, Guild 12-string necks of this era were constructed using twin steel compression rods. Discussion of the pros and cons of one-way adjustability aside, the steel makes for very heavy necks. This would also give me a chance to document the dissection of one of these necks, something I realized I had never done.
For posterity, I have recorded some measurements for this particular Guild F-212. Be advised, your mileage may vary:
Width of dovetail (at soundboard): 1-7/16 (36.5 mm)
Depth of dovetail: 9/16 (14 mm)
Length of dovetail: 2-15/16 (75 mm)
Angle of dovetail: 5°
Width of (effective) holes (on fretboard): 1-3/8 (35 mm)
Tearout
I had carefully and painstakingly removed the neck and I still ended up lifting an entire section of the soundboard off with it, the section beneath the fretboard extension. This can happen if I am being overly aggressive in trying to pry off the neck and have not sufficiently released the fretboard extension from the soundboard by softening the glue, first.
But that was not the case, here. The shearing off of this piece of wood revealed severe grain runout in the soundboard. Little or no runout would have prevented such shearing under these circumstances. If you look closely at the section within the red circle, you can see how sharply the grain angles downward, away from the surface.
Neck Heel Curl
If I was simply intending to reset the neck, I might just make the necessary corrections, and glue everything back together. If I was simply intending to address the aesthetic issue of the neck block shift/soundboard shear, I might add a patch to the underside of the soundboard (- I wouldn't, but some will do this, referring to this effort as "stabilizing" a crack -).
Once you understand what has actually gone wrong and caused the shearing, it seems a bit beyond naïve to think a small patch will have stabilized anything.
I am now well beyond the stage of simply resetting the neck. By the time I would plane the old fretboard down to address the divots, it would be too thin for my liking. Removing the curl on the heel (caused by me) would result in an unattractive heel dimension. I have now convinced myself to recreate a Guild neck.
The soundboard shear alone is reason enough for me to replace the soundboard, but the degree of grain run-out I encountered under the fretboard extension makes it absolutely necessary for me.
Finish Removal
With the addition of a new neck and a new soundboard, I am now committed to refinishing this guitar. There is a dark tinted lacquer finish on the Mahogany neck and back and sides, hiding the underlying wood. What were they hiding? Even if the wood beneath the tinting is not perfect in appearance, I prefer to see the wood grain.
I have removed lacquer finishes many, many times, and I have developed a process that works for me. I first go over the sides and back with an oscillating sander to scratch the surface of the decades-old lacquer, which is now as hard as glass.
I am extremely cautious with the sander to only touch certain areas. Using a motorized tool, I am merely attempting to reduce the thousands of strokes necessary to scrape the entire surface by hand (which I have done many times).
I am NOT trying to get down to raw wood with the sander, as there is too high of a probability that I would remove wood. The wood has already been carefully thinned to final dimensions, and removing any more than a couple of thousandths could/would be dangerous. I pick up my scraper and begin the tedious task of taking the balance of the finish off.
Scraping off the Finish
There is often a surprise waiting beneath these dark tinted lacquer finishes; either a painful surprise as I discover exactly why someone chose to paint the guitar, or a pleasant surprise as I uncover really lovely tonewood residing beneath the paint.
This guitar did not disappoint. Lo and behold, the underlying Mahogany is quite lovely. I can already envision a new finish on this guitar that showcases that Mahogany!
Mahogany Back and Sides
The Soundboard
I carefully removed the old soundboard, intending to preserve it, as it makes for a good reference top. There is very little difference between the soundboards of the 16" mini jumbos and the 17" jumbo 12-strings.
1975 Guild F-212 Soundboard
One might expect that removing the soundboard from an existing guitar would be similar to lifting the lid off of a kettle or pot. Many times it is exactly like that. But other times, this time included, it is more like removing the lid off of a pressure cooker - prior to releasing all the steam.
I was completing the cut to remove the soundboard, the body of the guitar actually "sprang" open into a distorted shape, as opposed to simply staying put, in a rigid position, as I lifted off the "lid". This amount of movement is evidence of the tension the soundboard was under whenever whatever force(s) caused the neck block shift and resultant soundboard shear along the fretboard extension.
I selected a set of wood from a group of really stiff Bearclaw Sitka tops I sawed up ages ago. I thinned the plates, then glued them together. Once the glue had dried, I gave the board a scratch with my fingertips to listen to it "talk" back to me. That sound always puts a smile on my face. As I had hoped, a sharp "rap!" against the board produces a bell-like "Dong!"
Bearclaw Sitka
I have some lovely, old Sitka brace wood that I will use. The X-brace will be narrow and tall. I cut several pieces to size and shape them to follow the radius of the top using a router, a flush trim bit, and a template.
Brace Radiusing Jig
Having repaired, rebuilt, and re-engineered several of these Guild 12-string guitars over many years, I have developed my own bias, my own preferences for the bracing layout. This guitar will be no different, and I will follow the format I have proven to work, and work well. I will apply carbon fiber tow beneath and atop the X-Brace. This effort significantly (as in, measurably) stiffens the bracing.
Too stiff a brace will kill the sound.
Too supple a brace will kill the soundboard.
I can achieve the proper stiffness through an iterative process that includes measuring the deflection of the soundboard under a particular load, removing brace material, and re-measuring. Over the years, I have arrived at optimal target numbers for that deflection depending upon the desired performance of the soundboard.
The X-Brace
I tape off the soundboard to help position the X-Brace and to assist with cleanup of the glue. The braces and the upper bout reinforcement are all bonded to the soundboard using FCGI's Superbond epoxy.
In addition to adding stiffness, using epoxy virtually eliminates future glue failure concerns, such as creeping or popped braces. These soundboards produce a bright and crisp response, and I can be confident of their performance over time.
X-brace Location Taped Off
First, I carefully lay carbon fiber tow in a thin bed of epoxy.
Tow Added to Soundboard
Next, I rest the X-Brace on top of the tow, lightly secure the braces from moving using the fiberglass rods in my go bar deck, and wait for the epoxy to cure.
X-Brace Added Over Tow
Braces
Traditionally, Guild used Rosewood bridgeplates on these instruments. I have had success with my laminated Rosewood and Maple bridgeplates on these guitars, so I see no need to alter my technique. I get both the bright response of a Maple bridgeplate and the more gnarly, hard-to-tear-up bridge pin holes of an oily Rosewood bridgeplate.
The so-called "Tone Bars" are braces that extend across the lower bout, touching the lower leg of the X-Brace on the "treble" side and terminating just short of the kerfed lining on the "bass" side. Guild used three braces for this purpose on their 12-strings.
While two are sufficient, changing the number of bars definitely alters the sound of a Guild 12-string into something other than the sound of a Guild 12-string, and I do not want to do that.
The "Finger Braces" extend from both lower legs of the X-Brace up toward the waist. The original soundboard tied these small braces into the sides. I have discovered better performance by terminating them short of the sides. This leaves only the four (4) ends of the X-Brace to rest upon the rims of the sides.
Gluing Additional Braces
The Soundhole
You may have noticed that, up to this point, there is no soundhole visible. Traditionally, any purfling, rosette, or binding work is done first, then the soundhole is cut prior to flipping the soundboard over and adding any bracing.
Because I add reinforcement to the upper bout in the form of two (2) layers of Mahogany (being careful to achieve three (3) separate grain directions), I CAN cut the hole first, laminate the veneers, then re-cut the hole through the veneers, and I will do this on builds where I am not binding the soundhole (such is the case with the soundboard in the photo, below).
Soundboard Soundhole Lamination
However, for soundboards having bound soundholes, I have found it preferable to first add the X-Brace, then add the veneers, then add the additional braces, then flip the soundboard over to the face side and THEN address the soundhole.
I am appointing this F-212 with Walnut binding instead of plastic, and that includes the binding around the soundhole. But for the logo, I am not attempting to "replicate" anything with this Guild. Using Paua shell and wood purfling, I approximate the pattern of the plastic ringed "rosette" used on the original soundboard.
I rout the channels for the decor and glue it in place, then I remove the soundhole, and finally I add the soundhole binding.
Bound Soundhole
With the soundhole now complete, and before I can add the carbon fiber tow to the top of the X-Brace, I will carve the brace(s), reducing unnecessary material. To determine how much material to remove I suspend the soundboard on the four ends of the X-Brace and, using a weight and a dial indicator, I am able to measure and target the deflection I am looking for. Once the braces are carved, I add the tow to the top surface of the X-Brace.
Is it possible to build a soundboard stiff enough to stand on? Yes, but that is not the objective, as it will produce a lifeless-sounding instrument.
Does shaving a brace weaken it? At some point: Absolutely! And that is the point. The strength of the brace needs to be relative to the responsiveness expected from the soundboard, while supplying the undergirding necessary to withstand the forces acting upon it.
Too strong a brace results in deadening the sound. Too light a brace may not provide sufficient structural support to protect the instrument from collapse.
Tow on Top of Braces
Once the epoxy has cured on top of the X-Brace, the soundboard has stiffened up again (significantly). I continue the iterative deflection test process, in combination with "tapping" the soundboard to hear the response, and remove the rest of the material from the Tone Bars and Finger Braces until I am satisfied.
Scalloped Tone Bars
The soundboard is now complete.
Soundboard Complete
The Arm Bevel (Interior)
I build very few guitars without arm bevels these days. An arm bevel addresses both a comfort and a health issue. A sharp edge pressing into the underside of my forearm is painful, especially over extended periods of time, and can lead to problems with the wrist and fingers. No thanks!
The first guitar I ever played having an arm bevel caused me to take notice of my posture. I found myself resting my arm comfortably on the instrument and, as a result, I wasn't adding that extra tension to my neck, my upper back, and through my shoulder, in an effort to keep the edge of the guitar from digging into my forearm.
I was able to sit up straighter, as I wasn't hunching forward as much in an effort to "throw" my arm up and over the body of the guitar. This is much more noticeable with wider, deeper bodies, but it is beneficial for guitars of all sizes.
I will be adding an arm bevel to this 12-string. I have no knowledge of this ever being done on a Guild. Perhaps this is a "first?"
Once the soundboard is removed, I need to cut the curve into the side of the body to accommodate the arm bevel. I rough out the curve with a saw, then use a template to guide a router bit, resulting in a very accurate and smooth line.
I cut a Basswood block to fit the contour of the body and glue it into place inside the body. This block has a dual purpose: it forms a lightweight ledge that will support the soundboard and it provides a base material that I can shape into a bevel.
I add wooden braces to the sides in four (4) specific locations. I also bevel the tail block, removing unnecessary material where the soundboard will rest. Short of replacing the tail block entirely with a laminated equivalent, this step is the next best thing to eliminating that unsightly telegraphing of the rectangular outline of the block, visible in so many soundboards over time.
If you were wondering about that "notch" in the arm bevel block, I have removed material to receive the lower leg of the X-Brace, as it will no longer extend out onto the rim of the lower bout, but will rest on a shelf.
Body Shell Complete
The Side Port
After the soundboard was attached and trimmed, I decided to add a simple Side Port. These ports demonstrably improve the player experience, and have no deleterious effect on the audience experience. Frankly, I think they should be added to all acoustic guitars. Once again, I am unaware of this feature ever being added to a Guild, so this may be another "first."
Rather than just cut a hole in the side in the upper bout area, I prefer to add a reinforcing block of wood to the side. It would have been ideal to have added the reinforcing block PRIOR to attaching the soundboard, as access to the inside of the guitar is easier.
But this is the same process I use when retrofitting/incorporating a Side Port into a completed guitar, so it is not a big issue. In addition to strengthening/supporting the thin side in the area around the hole (which a piece of veneer laminated to the side would also achieve), I believe a wooden block can improve the visual interest/aesthetics.
After determining where my Side Port will be positioned, I fashion the wooden reinforcing block and carefully glue it into place. Once the glue is dry, I drill a hole through the side and block, removing the majority of waste material. I mount a jig to the upper bout and, using a router fitted with a template guide and downcut bit, I trace around the Acrylic pattern mounted to the jig to complete my Side Port.
Side Port Jig
Using the house construction analogy, the foundation has been laid, the framing is complete, the drywall is installed, taped and sanded. I am now ready to start to start the trimming out phase, adding binding and purfling.
Body with New Soundboard
New Colors
The Mahogany on the back and sides is very pretty, albeit a bit mis-matched. Yet there is insufficient justification for me to color a finish to cover the underlying grain. As a result, I will clear coat this guitar.
The new soundboard is Bearclaw Sitka, having character to complement the strong visuals of the Mahogany.
In place of white plastic, I will bind the body, soundhole, and fretboard in Walnut.
I will use Ziricote for the bridge, fretboard, headplate, and arm bevel.
Color Scheme
Binding and Purfling
When I bound the soundhole I committed to the decision to use Walnut for the binding. Yes, white plastic binding is traditional and yes, plastic is easier to apply and yes, plastic is even more forgiving should you happen to bump an edge against a hard surface. But I prefer to look at wood binding.
And, while it is perfectly acceptable to simply wrap a piece of wood around the rims of the instrument and be done with it, if I take the time to laminate one or more veneers to my binding wood of choice first, prior to ripping off strips of binding, I am able to apply a more embellished binding/purfling combination to the sides, making for a dressier look.
Making Binding
The F-212 was a very conservatively appointed guitar, perhaps a bit on the sparse side for my taste. A Chesterfield logo on the headstock, side position dots, a 3-ring plastic rosette, and a little bit of plastic purfling around the soundboard are all the acoutrement you will find. The fretboard has no inlay.
The sides and back have no purfling and feature plain plastic binding. I am not attempting to cast aspersions on the veracity of plastic binding and purfling. Newer plastics are more dimensionally stable over time than the cellulose of old, and allow for some rather intricate purfling combinations, as anyone who has paid close attention to the Guild double-line edge purfling will attest.
There is no requirement to pre-bend plastic, as there is with wood binding. And it is relatively inexpensive. And it looks really nice. I get it. I have used it on many an instrument.
Guild F-512 Binding and Purfling
Of the 17,500 serial numbers available in 1975 (from 112804 to 130304), my two F-212s were just 850 numbers apart, and yet they were appointed slightly differently:
Purfling on two Guild F-212 Soundboards
Compare Purflings
You may recall me mentioning that the body sprang open when I removed the soundboard. Further inspection revealed that the body is rather misshapen on this guitar, which makes cutting the binding and purfling channels more difficult (it's easier when both front and back plate are perfectly parallel to one another.
The 12-string featured in this article is the one having the wider purfling. My guess is that either someone made a mistake when cutting the purfling channel(s), and fixed the mistake by cleverly cutting them deeper (ask me how I would know), or that misshapen body issue may have been a common enough issue that someone already knew to cut deeper purfling channels to "accommodate" (hide) it.
Rather than fight the alignment with a router and end up with uneven binding, I am cutting the channels by hand, using a graver and a chisel. Razor-sharp tools are a necessity for this task.
I intend to dress this guitar up, a bit. I have already started a theme at the soundhole, in homage to the original design. I have no plans to copy either the original or one of the more appointed siblings, such as the F-412.
Those instruments are all bound with plastic and I want a different feel for this guitar, so I will carry that same look I created at the soundhole around the edge of both the front and back plates. Having integrated purfling into the binding, I am anticipating a very dressy look, but not overstated.
I don't want this F-212 to look "too plain," and I don't want it to look "too bling-y." Somewhere in-between will be nice.
The builders whose F-212s (and F-212 XLs) I have seen across the span of time have all done a really great job of mating the sides at the tail block, avoiding unsightly seams. Rather than add the classic "wedge" shaped trim that you see on the F-412 and F-512, I am going to leave well enough alone and just bind the front and back edges.
Around the edges, purfling sits between the binding and the edge of the soundboard. One approach to purfling sizes the purfling to match the depth of the binding. For example, if the binding was 1/8" wide x 1/4" deep, and I wanted to add thin, 1/64" strips of contrasting light/dark colors, I might choose to cut those purfling strips to be 1/4" deep, just like the binding.
With this approach, my purfling channel and my binding channel become one and the same channel. The purfling is really just a veneer/laminated layer of the binding.
When using this approach, I must pay careful attention to how far I cut into the soundboard. If I go too far in from the edge, it is possible to cut my soundboard off from the kerfed lining ledge it is resting on.
The second approach, and the one I am using here, calls for cutting a shallow channel, less deep than the thickness of the soundboard, but cut deeper into the soundboard, away from the edge. This allows me to create a "wider" purfling ring around the guitar without risk of severing the soundboard off of the body. My purfling is then made up of teeny, tiny little strips of wood that rest on their own ledge.
Hand-cut Purfling Channels
Once the purfling channels are cut, I can cut the channel / rebate / "rabbit” for the binding. The binding extends deeper down onto the sides than does my purfling, which will sit up on its own ledge and be pinched between the binding and the edge of the soundboard.
Hand-cut Binding Channels
I am incorporating a transitional arm bevel into this guitar. This feature “eases” the sharp edge where your forearm tends to lay across the soundboard. The design alters the established edges of the upper bout on the bass side.
I have to create a new path for the purfling, separate from the binding, to unify the modification in the edge. The binding follows the side, and the purfling moves in farther into the soundboard, away from the edge. The bevel will be formed between the two.
Arm Bevel Purfling Path
I pre-bend the wooden binding using heat, primarily because it would definitely crack if I didn't, and because I do not want to introduce tension (spring back) to the instrument (which is exactly what I would get if I forced and cemented a stiff piece of wood into place around all those curves.
I reduce the height of the binding in the area that will follow the curve I had cut into the side. This height reduction allows me to bend again the already bent binding to follow the curve.
Modifying Binding for Arm Bevel
Dreaming about the benefit of having three hands at a time like this, but making the best of the two I have, I fit the binding and the multiple strips of kerfed lining into place, each on its respective ledge, holding everything together with strips of tape, and push-pins where necessary. This is an advanced form of chewing gum and bailing wire, and we luthier types take it very seriously.
Arm Bevel Binding
Binding Ready for Glue
CA glue is wicked down into the purfling, binding, soundboard, side and even kerfed lining materials, forming a cohesive unit that becomes the decorative, protective edge of the body of my guitar.
Back Binding Close-up
The Arm Bevel (Exterior)
I am aware of three approaches to softening the corner at the place along the lower bout where the arm drapes over the soundboard. One is the "bent" or "molded" top, similar to that which is seen on many solid-body electric guitars, where the soundboard is literally bent to conform to the contour cut into the sides. I have seen this on instruments made by musician and former luthier Mike Doolin.
Mike Doolin Bent Top Arm Rest
Another approach is that of Grit Laskin, the Canadian luthier and inlay artist credited with pioneering the arm bevel. His stylish design appears to be cut into the guitar, and is almost an independent feature.
Grit Laskin Arm Rest
The third approach, and the one I am incorporating a variation of here, is the transitional arm bevel introduced by retired luthier Kent Carlos Everett, similar to a design that was later made popular by luthier Kevin Ryan. This style of arm bevel presents the appearance of simply being a wider section of the binding, having no visual interruptions, and no sharp points to run your arm into.
Kent Everett Transitional Arm Bevel
The base of the transitional arm bevel is the basswood block that you would have seen earlier in the article, under the section titled, The Arm Bevel (Interior). Over this base I incorporate both the purfling, which follows the edge of the soundboard, and the binding, which follows the contour cut into the side.
The wooden block is then shaped by hand to form a bevel. Glue is then applied to receive the veneer.
Arm Bevel Shaping
I carefully applied a Walnut veneer ...
Walnut Arm Bevel Side View
It had a very neat and clean appearance, but it was not the look I wanted for this guitar. So I filed and scraped it back off and replaced it with a punchier, contrasting Ziricote, to match the fretboard and headstock. The arm bevel is now complete.
Ziricote Arm Bevel
The Headstock
Instead of veneering black plastic onto the face of the headstock, which is what this 1975 Guild F-212 originally shipped with, or black fiberboard, which is what my 1980 Guild F-412 shipped with, I am adding a Ziricote headplate (headstock faceplate) to coordinate with the fretboard, bridge and arm bevel. I am inlaying the Guild Chesterfield logo cut from Mother of Pearl to honor the original.
Headplate Inlay
The New Neck
I have repaired and modified many a Guild neck, but this will be the first one I have constructed from scratch. The design of the neck is pretty much dictated by the original. This neck will feature a 3-piece lamination, a Guild staple.
I had briefly flirted with the idea of a 5-piece neck, but abandoned the notion after viewing a mock-up. While the original Mahogany neck had a Maple stripe down the center, a Walnut stripe will better compliment the design theme.
Guild-style 3-piece Necks
Additionally, I am altering the width of the center stripe, increasing it from the stock 1/8" to 5/32", just enough to give the stripe a bit more visual prominence. This wider center stripe is not without precedent, mind you. See this image of the back of the headstock of an F-212 from 1968:
1968 Guild F-212 Headstock
I have used Mahogany that is wide enough to avoid having to glue on extensions ("ears" or "wings") to the headstock. Like the original, this new neck is not scarfed; it is a continual piece of wood from end-to-end, band-sawn out of my laminated block.
3-piece Laminated Neck
Unlike the original, there is no danger of snapping the neck at the headstock. Breakage is prevented by the method of reinforcement I use. A carbon fiber D-Tube from DragonPlate sits in place of the old twin steel compression rods, and prevents the neck from bowing, either forward or back.
An added benefit is the stability it lends to one of the weakest sections of an acoustic guitar: the thin neck at the nut. If you'd like to read more about this topic, see my article » D-Tube by DragonPlate - Truss Rod Alternative .
Neck with D-Tube
I centered the headplate on the headstock, clamped it in place, and drilled for small wooden pins that will secure it in place while the glue dries. I then glued, pinned, and clamped the headplate to the headstock and let it dry overnight.
I fashioned a template of the Guild 12-string headstock from phenolic, and secured it to the newly attached headplate using double-stick tape (see photo, below). I was then able to transfer the unique Guild headstock shape to my new neck using a flush-trim bit.
Headstock Template
I trimmed the width of the neck close to final dimensions at the bandsaw. Using a spokeshave and a scraper, I worked the back of the headstock down to proper thickness.
Spokeshave and Scraper
The Dovetail
I had plugged the original dovetail mortise, as it is not always known where the new mortise will be cut. The mortise on this guitar was off-center and had been cut rather shallow.
Old Dovetail Mortise
The new mortise is properly centered, a bit wider and deeper, and the walls of the dovetail joint are at a steeper angle.
New Dovetail Mortise
The Fretboard
The F-212 soundboard was so very conservatively appointed, featuring a simple plastic rosette and plastic binding. The fretboard was no exception, as it was unbound and only featured small plastic side dots. Having bound the body of the new guitar with Walnut, I find it necessary to continue the binding around the fretboard.
I prepared a billet of Ziricote, cutting it to size while trying to encase the figure in such a way as to both showcase the stunning grain patterns as well as provide a visual reference on the fretboard at the 5th fret.
Guild guitars, at least from the 1970s and through the end of the Fender ownership era, use a 650 mm scale (aka “Classical” scale, or just under 25-5/8″). These instruments are often misrepresented as being 25.5″ scale. I assure you, they are not, though the difference between the two would be difficult to detect for the average player, even using a tape measure.
However, the difference is huge when addressing intonation. Recut a saddle slot based on 25.5 instead of the proper 25.6 and see what I mean.
After cutting the new fret slots, I then cut the shape of the board, making allowances for the binding. After the binding is glued on, I radius the board. My first Guild came with a 12″ radius, and it was so comfortable to play.
On my acoustic necks, I have experimented with everything from 9″ to 20″, including compound radii. I am making this board 12″ throughout.
My target dimensions for the F-212 fretboard are based on the existing fretboard dimensions of two separate guitars from 1975. They both measure 2-1/2″ wide at the 20th fret and slightly more than 1-13/16th″ at the nut. They are both 18″ long.
Fretboard Side Dots
The original fretboard was austere, completely devoid of inlay. To appoint or not to appoint; that is the question. After vacillating over the issue for months, I finally decided to add position markers and a surprise inlay at the 12th fret.
I chose tiny Paua dots for 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, and 17 to keep the look dressy, but not gaudy. I like how it turned out!
Fretboard Inlay
Fitting the Neck
Fitting the neck involves adjusting the surface of neck heel to mate perfectly with the surface of the body.
The neck needs to be perfectly centered, and it needs to lay back at that perfect angle, and the dovetail joint needs to be perfectly tight. This is a process that is performed by anyone attaching a dovetail neck, be it the original builder or a technician doing a neck reset. The objective is to only need to add a small amount of glue along the steep, angled sides of the dovetail tenon, just enough to prevent the neck from sliding forward and out of the joint.
To that end, there is an iterative set of steps that are taken to properly fit the neck. That little strip of cloth-backed sandpaper you see in the photo below (next to the clamp temporarily holding fretboard on) gets pinched between the neck heel and the body, sandy side up. The neck is held tightly in the joint, and the sandpaper is drawn out from between the neck and the body, alternating between both sides of the neck.
By maintaining constant pressure on the neck, holding it against the body while the sandpaper scrapes against the heel, it is possible to form the perfect union between the neck and the body, as the joint is fitted tightly, and the neck geometry is maintained.
I have glued on the heel cap, a rectangular piece of Ziricote at this stage, so that the fit of the neck includes that cap. It can be added later, even after the heel is shaped, but it is a bit more tedious to do so.
Test Fitting the Neck
Shaping the Neck
I have seen many approaches to automating some or all of the shaping of an acoustic guitar neck, including the use of Pin Routers, Router Tables, Shapers, CNCs and even stationary Belt Sanders. I wish I had 'em all.
I rough out the basic shape of my necks at the Bandsaw. I still do all of the contouring of the back of the neck and heel by hand using a Spokeshave, Japanese Rasp ("razor" file), Sandpaper, and a straightedge. I use a series of contour templates to ensure uniformity across necks.
The work is verified by feel. I first work the heel down to being close to complete.
Shaping the Heel
Once the heel is complete, I attach the bound, fretted fingerboard. This gives me a reference to shape to, a line that I "shall not cross." With the neck secured in a vise, I can remove material, take the neck out of the vise and feel the neck in my hand. Back to vise it will go, and the process gets repeated until the neck is ready for finishing.
At this stage, the width of the neck is dictated by the width of the completed fretboard. Both the thickness of the neck and the contour across the back of the neck determine its comfort and ultimately, its playability.
Shaping the Neck
The Finish
This Guild gets a hand-applied CA finish. I use a formulation from GluBoost specifically designed for the the task, called Fill N' Finish.
Gluboost Fill N' Finish
As the finish is applied by hand, it is more comparable to a French Polished Shellac than to a sprayed-on NitroCellulose Lacquer. But that is where the similarity ends. Unlike Shellac, the finish builds quickly.
Unlike Lacquer, a guitar can be completely finished in a day or two, if desired. Another benefit is that I can apply this "finish" at an early stage of the build to provide extra protection to the body as it moves through the shop.
Taking that even further, unlike a lacquer finish, which must be completed within "n" number of total hours to avoid witness lines, I have been able to return to an instrument months later, add more CA, polish the finish, and find no trace of witness lines.
Gloss vs Satin Finish
The finish dries glossy, but when I level sand it, it dulls slightly. The degree of gloss is then controlled by the amount of polishing I put back into it. Here is the body of the guitar at just below semi-gloss level. I can stop here or take it on up to a high-gloss.
How much sanding is required? It depends on how much CA is applied, in total, and how irregular the surface is after application. With my process, there is more sanding involved than with any sprayed finish.
CA gets incredibly hard incredibly fast. To that end, I use a flexible abrasive product borrowed from the auto industry called Super Assilex by Kovax. It produces very shallow scratches while cutting impressively quickly.
Semi-gloss Body Finish
If your objective in applying a finish is first, protection, an acrylic is as tough and durable as it gets. A secondary consideration is sound. Plenty of finishes can offer varying degrees of protection to the underlying wood, but are they detrimental in any to the volume and tone? This is difficult to prove in real-world scenarios, where a near-unlimited supply of opinions is readily available.
I prefer a glass-hard, thin finish to a thick, pliable one. I prefer a durable finish over a fragile one.
CA scores once again, being incredibly hard while able to be applied very thin. Finally, if the objective of your finish is to showcase the wood beneath, well, see for yourself what CA can do.
Bearclaw Sitka under CA Finish
The Bridge
The bridge is fashioned from Ziricote, in keeping with the visual design theme.
Ziricote Bridge
I have several templates of Guild 12-string bridges from guitars that span more than 40 years, all drawn directly from the bottom of the bridges removed from those same guitars. I have yet to encounter two that are identical in size and shape! They are all "close" but they are not identical.
The only explanation I can offer is that these bridges were hand sanded/hand shaped (just like the one I am fashioning for this 12-string). I am not complaining; I think that is a cool thing.
Below is an example of four Guild bridges removed from guitars built from each of four decades, including 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000.
Guild Bridges over 30 Years
Another notable fact regarding Guild bridges is the varying height that could (still can) be found on brand new guitars. I have measured bridges that would have needed shims just to make it to 1/4″ (6.3 mm, closer to Taylor territory). I have also found bridges nearly as tall as 3/8″ (9.5 mm, closer to my liking).
To Guild builders, bridge height was arbitrary. Necks would be set to (what I would assume to have been) an approximate target angle and, rather than invest the significant amount of time required to hand fit each and every neck to match an exact bridge height, workers would simply resize the bridge(s) to fit the neck plane.
Amongst those builders who do chose to set the necks to a fixed bridge height, many have used a general ("popular") measurement of 5/16″ (8 mm), and then cut a saddle to measure 3/16″ (4.8 mm) above that bridge.
Players of these instruments invariably have their saddles lowered (to lower the action), and you are considered fortunate if you still have 7/16″ (11 mm) overall string height remaining (as measured directly in front of the bridge). It is not uncommon for a brand new guitar to have its sonic debut with its new owner having an overall string height of a mere 3/8″ (9.5 mm).
I believe these instruments are beginning life with a handicap. Understanding the soundboard stiffness of these Guilds, and what is expected to drive the top, I have found their optimal string height off the soundboard to be at least 1/2″. With just a bit more attention paid to detail when setting the neck, these guitars can go from good to great - just like that!
My target dimensions for Guild 12-string bridges are 153 mm (6-1/32″) x 42 mm (1-21/32″) x 10 mm (just a bit taller than 3/8″).
New Ziricote Bridge Pre-drilled
Gluing the bridge to the guitar is a straightforward event. Prior to applying finish to the body, I carefully determined the location of the bridge and taped off the raw wood. After removing the tape, I glue and clamp the bridge in place, allowing it to dry overnight.
Attaching the Bridge
String Spacing
For increased player comfort, I narrow the spacing between each of the paired strings in each course, leaving the course spacing alone. Here is a closeup of the nut:
String Spacing at a 12-string Nut
Below is a closeup of the saddle. It is necessary to file the inside edges of the front row pins to allow the strings from the back row to lay closer.
String Spacing at a 12-string Saddle
Makeover Complete
The guitar's dimensions remain the same. It started life at 5.75 lbs. After replacing the soundboard, replacing the neck, fingerboard, and bridge, adding an arm bevel and side port reinforcement, and a 3-ply upper bout, the guitar now weighs in at 5.5 lbs.
Re-imagined 1975 Guild F-212 Back
Re-imagined 1975 Guild F-212
