MIMF

I usually scuff sand and clean the surface and just before spraying lacquer, spray a light but wet coat of thinner on the old lacquer, then give it a few minutes to evaporate and soak in before the new wet lacquer goes on. You need to spray enough to make the surface wet but no more or you risk runs...

Ryan, you're getting in pretty deep. Probably no saving you now.

The finish should be nitro lacquer, Martin necks are generally 'satin', but if the headstock is shiny then use gloss lacquer. "Generally" all Martin mahogany gets stained with red mahogany stain, but if your neck isn't the typical reddish brown Martin look then you get to choose something ...

Ryan, put some cork pads on it. I regularly cut up wine corks to make clamping cauls and for other related uses.

Strive for perfection, settle for excellence. And for many, the journey is the destination.

Chuck, I loosened up some of those tight StewMac tuners by heating the end of the worm gear so it slightly softened the plastic washer that is squeezed in there. Be careful to avoid overheating or you risk destroying the little washer. A cigarette lighter is barely enough heat, so I ended up using m...

Basically, yes.

I have found that masking the bindings is a great benefit to making a very clean appearance. Use the vinyl striping tape available at auto paint supply stores.

Face of headstock might well be celluloid. If you scrape or sand it, if it smells like camphor it is celluloid.

Whose idea was it to cut a hole right in the path of stress? Oh, wait, it was for gut strings that don't have much tension so it didn't matter much. But then steel strings were introduced, and they cause predictable damage. It's just architecture and physics. Someone should come up with a bracing pa...

Especially during the learning curve it helps to lay down a good seal coat to put the color on top of. Just in case you eventually sand or buff through the color anywhere it can all be sanded off and done again without disturbing the surface of the wood. It's a lot of work to sand off all the color ...

Hair dryer for heat. Naphtha or mineral spirits to dissolve the adhesive after the old guard is off.

Leave the bottom of the new bridge flat and it will help keep the top flat. If you make it fit the 'contours' of the top they will become a permanent fixture. Possibly someone has 'cleaned out' the area under the bridge by removing some of the spruce. Tsk tsk! Clean the surface of any glue or finish...

Usually a crack can be closed with putting humidity into the box, but sometimes the wood has undergone some change and the crack will not stay closed. I just happen to have two guitars in my shop with this issue. Both were exposed to extreme dryness and or heat. Once the cracks were nicely closed an...

Charlie, I put some LED strips up under our kitchen cabinets, and it really is great to be able to see what I am chopping on the cutting board, or where did that dollop of peanut butter go? Got them from a place called Superbright LEDs. They come in self stick strips or on a reel, you get to decide....

I would put the neck on first and then position the bridge. You might need a slightly larger footprint to cover any uncovered wood. I sometimes make a bridge and don't slot it for the saddle until it is glued in place. This way I can check for intonation for each string, mark the path and rout the s...

When resetting a neck on a guitar with a shaved bridge the bridge should be replaced with a standard Martin design 5/16" high (the wood part) and the saddle should be 1/8" - 3/16" above the wood when you are done. I am assuming the neck joins precisely at the 14th fret and has not bee...

A crack along the grain like this is usually not a structural issue, but more of a cosmetic issue. It really shouldn't hurt the use of the instrument as it is, and just remember that it is much easier to make it all look worse than to make it better. If the crack will not close with re-humidifying t...

Someone should look up the old video by Bob Benedetto. He shows installing the bindings loose and all at once. It takes a bit of practice but once you understand the issues that are inherent to the process you can make decent progress. I admit it can be an intimidating process, especially when putti...

Possibly some mandolin buttons would fit the size and shape your looking for. There are LOTS of possibilities out there. Do you have a pic of your current buttons? Is it possible they have shrunken over the years to an unavailable size? Many celluloid buttons from the 50s and before have succumbed t...

You might do a search for Baxendale Guitars. Scott Baxendale does a fairly brisk business rebuilding old Harmony and Kay guitars to more modern specs. I'm not suggesting you do a re-make but it is a consideration. As the original guitars I have mostly found to be rather klunky. Look up the market va...