Repair and Restoration services

Loose strut repair

This 6-course A lute had 3 loose struts. After removing the soundboard, the 3 struts were removed, the surfaces cleaned up, and then reglued. Although it is usually possible to glue down strut ends without removing them, in this case complete removal was a better option.

Action/neck angle correction

Correcting high string action on a lute can be achieved by either planing down the top edge of the bowl, or by removing the neck to correct the neck angle. In this case, the high action was due to a failing neck joint, so neck removal and refitting was the obvious choice.

Damage repairs

The soundboard on this vihuela had some damage below the bridge. A section was cut out and replaced with a matching piece of cyprus from my stock.

I'm focussing mainly on lute repairs now, but can still take on a limited number of guitar repairs.

Finish repairs/refinishing

I offer anything from small touch-ups to full strip/refinish for French polished or oil-finished instruments. Sorry, I no longer do repairs on modern lacquer finishes.

Setup work

Action adjustment, replacement nuts and saddles, relief correction, fret levelling and re-crowning, fret replacement

Crack repairs

Cracks in soundboards, backs and sides are usually fairly straightforward to repair. The biggest job is often re-finishing afterwards.

Bridge repairs

Whether the bridge has completely detached, or is just lifting away from the soundboard at the back, the best solution is to clean up and re-glue the whole bridge.

Inlay repairs

Older guitars often have inlays set in black mastic, which shrinks over time, and the inlays can fall out and get lost. In this case, a new mother-of-pearl inlay had to be made.