MIMF

I saw an Ibanez a couple of years ago that had an ultra thin body. I have no measurements but it looked to be a maximum of 3/4". Even thinner at the edges. I seem to remember that the body was laminated.

Personally I like resonant woods for all parts. I want the wood to ring when I wrap my buckle on a node. So I tend to go with some type of rosewood or mahogany back & sides, and old spruce for the top (high stiffness / low weight). Any subdivision further makes little difference sonically, more ...

I made a mold out of a single piece of 3/4" plywood which worked fine.

Most of what I learned is from a bunch of YouTube videos by Wes Lee. He is a pro band instrument repair tech and holds back nothing.

Or just make a new neck. The existing neck already has two serious issues.

Thanks Bob!

Yes, that is the only reliable way to fix it. The best way to remove the braces is to plane them off with a finger plane.

Tighten the screws on the spring claw. You will need to remove the plastic cover on the back of the guitar to access it.

A bolt-on has no disadvantages and several real advantages. It’s easier to build and adjust the neck angle. It makes finishing easier. And it makes future adjustments (like a neck reset) MUCH easier. Any tonal benefits to a dovetail iare largely urban myth.

Nice. Feel free to ask questions if you get hung up on something.

Karl, if you are interested in repair work check out Ferree’s Tools Inc. They are the Stew Mac of band instrument repair. Here are a few pics of some dent removal. I DIY’d my own version of Ferree’s dent machine. One of the basic principles of dent removal is you can push a dent out from the inside ...

Why stop here. This is my daily player. A Holton TR-150. Got the same treatment as the others. It’s got a rose-brass bell. One of the coolest things is that a brass instrument only needs one coat of lacquer and no post sanding of buffing. Who needs pore filler? Not me.

Bryan, I am having a blast. I’ve been doing guitars so long that it is getting a bit stale, so mixing in the brass instruments has breathed new life into my shop. Here is another instrument that I refinished. It’s a marching trombone.

Most joints are with normal 60/40 or 50/50 solder which is just like sweating copper tubing. But there are a few joints that are brazed with silver solder. I have learned a lot about soldering and working brass. One of the first tools I bought was a Smith Little Torch that burns propane and oxygen. ...

One more pic of finished horn and also one in progress photo showing parts after disassembly. One thing that is cool about brass instrument work is you can quickly take things apart and solder them back together quickly and as many times as you want.

Here are some “afters”.

About a year ago I started playing the trombone again after a layoff of 53 years. I am in a community band and also a small jazz band. Really enjoying it. And of course, as soon as I started playing I had to start repairing them. It was like I had no choice in the matter. But there is a lot of new t...

Your drawings show something much greater than a 5 degree angle.

Why can’t you raise the saddle a bit?

I made some for a steel string guitar about 40 years ago but I didn’t like the tone of the open strings. It took away a lot of brightness in the tone.