Maton CW 80/6 1977 Dreadnought.

This 1977 Maton CW 80/6 is easily the the most damaged guitar that I have ever attempted to repair.

I took it on as a challenge and because I like the owner so much, besides which the back has Keith Richard's signature scrawled across it!

The owner had attempted to repair it himself but I had my work cut out just undoing his efforts before I could begin the repair. The back had come completely apart, the result of exposure to moisture. Every glue line to every single component in the back had let go. The owner had re-secured it all with PK screws.

The action was very high, the result of belly in the bridge (over 3 mm)
The owner had removed the saddle and rebated it into the soundboard! This was something I had no desire to touch.

Here is an example of a brace smothered in hot-melt glue.

Please don't attempt your own repairs if you don't know what you are doing, it makes it so much harder to repair.

The original label and model number.

Maton had driven a holdfast nail into the heel of the neck!
With the back removed I was able to punch it out from the inside.

Neck block

X bracing was loose in one spot to the left of the sound hole.

No reinforcement around home cut preamp slot and insufficient bracing for the bridge string holes.
This area had pulled upward an alarming amount.

The owner had drilled an oversize hole to accommodate the Fishman tailpiece
resulting in a stress crack in the tail block which (incidentally) has the grain running the wrong way.

I glued a wall nut veneer over the split after first glueing and mending the crack.
This reinforces the block.

I added a fillet of birch ply to the preamp slot cutaway.
I also glued a cherrywood reinforcing block under the bridge.

I cleaned up the mess on the braces and began the process of reassembly.

The two halves of the back are reconnected and the joint reinforced with wall nut battens.
the braces start to go back on.

The assembled back ready to be glued back on the body of the guitar.

I made 30 spool clamps which proved ideal for the replacement of the back.

I decided to remove the finger board as I could not understand the neck joint.
This is unique to this Guitar. There is no one at Maton that recalls how this joint should be separated.
I tried conventional methods but no luck.

The truss rod extends all the way to the sound hole while I have never seen before.

Close up of the truss rod.

Because the neck would not come off my only option was to make a long wedge under the fingerboard.
I fabricated this out of .5mm laminated of maple stepped gradually from zero at the nut to 3 mm at the sound hole.

Once cured I sanded it fair and straight.

I then re glued the finger board.

The owner wanted to retain the road worn aesthetic of the guitar so I settled on re coating it in several layers of shellac and a couple of coats of gunstock oil on the back, sides and neck to protect the bare wood. 

Reassembled with a new ebony saddle with string height and action adjusted, the intonation is perfect and it
plays like a new guitar with all the tone and character that it has accumulated over the last 44 years.

Baby Taylor Disaster.

My latest mission?

To repair this.

Baby Taylor after altercation with Airport Baggage Handlers. Gig bag protection is just not enough folks!

Sound board separation

Bridge separation

Neck joint separation and neck fracture

 The owner of this guitar had attempted a repair to this neck joint but failed to make a proper connection. I wrapped the joint in a damp towel over night which softened the PVA wood glue.
Luckily for for everyone it separated cleanly.

Neck Joint separation

Neck joint separation.

Neck and head stock separation.

Head stock finger joint

Neck finger joint

Bridge removed

 The bridge was partially lifted on account of the distortion of the sound board so I removed it using a pallet knife and a hot clothing iron. I discovered that Taylor attached this bridge with double sided tape! The problem with this adhesive is that it is terribly difficult to remove. The tape residue is rubbery so all traces have to be scraped off before the bridge can be re-glued with wood adhesive.

Sound board re glued

The threaded rod is used to push the rib of the lower bout back outward under the edge of the sound board. the damage to the guitar plus the lack of kerfing meant the the rib had distorted inwardly. I made an adjustable rib thruster by running a nut and washer along the length of threaded rod and adjusted it until the rib and to aligned perfectly.

detail of neck finger joint fracture repair.

 The Neck fracture was a problem. The crack runs at an angle to the grain, lifting the finger board between the nut and the first fret. The crack also distorted the fit in the first finger joint grove.

Detail of neck finger joint repair

I drilled a 3 mm hole into the valley of the first finger joint, deep into the crack. I then fitted a PK screw into the hole to force the joint apart. I was then able to clear the splinters. I then removed the screw and forced wood glue into the hole then blew the wet glue into the fracture with compressed air

Clamping Jig for neck joint repair

 I built a jig to support the neck in every dimension to allow clamping force to be applied to the freshly cleaned finger joint. I made a tiny sanding board with which to sand the inner surfaces of the finger joint to remove all traces of glue. I dry fitted and trial clamped the joint, spot on!

Clamping Jig for neck joint repair

Clamping Jig for neck joint repair

Detail of neck Joint repair

Detail of neck Joint repair

Detail of neck Joint repair

Sound Board lower bout repaired

Checking lower bout sound board repair interior.
Note lack of kerfing blocks

Sound board reconnected and bridge re-glued.

Refinishing soundboard

The Baby Taylor guitar is getting a refinish on the neck and sound board. On the Taylor website the Baby Taylor and a number of other lower end guitars in their range are finished in what they call Varnish. I can confirm that Taylor's so called "Varnish" is in fact shellac. The surface finish is soluble with Methylated spirit. Shellac is hellish to sand as it galls up sand paper very quickly.

Baby Taylor with fresh shellac finish.

Baby Taylor with new set up and new strings. The saddle had never properly fitted the pocket in the bridge. Once I began adjusting the fit it dropped right in to the bottom of the slot and resulted in ultra low string height. I shimmed the saddle up with copper which brought the saddle height up by 2 mm!
Now it's all tuned up and settling in nicely. it has a big sound for a small guitar, the lack of bracing and kerfing probably accounts for that.