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I have a guitar that I am just not happy with the top. It doesn't ring or sustain as much as I would like and I sanded through the purfling in a spot during final clean up. Despite my attempts to fix it, the fixes seem just as noticable as the sand through.

So now I am thinking about taking the top off and remaking it. However I have never done this and I have some fears about:

1) routing off the bindings (take the purflings too, or just the binding?
2) Taking the top off (I think I know the trick on this, but anything to worry about?)
3) screwing up the linings in the process of getting the top off.
4) and this is the biggie.... remaking the top to fit EXACTLY in the lining pockets.

Is it just easier to take the linings out too? If so, how do you heat these enough to get them out.

Outside of this problem.. it is a pretty nice guitar... so I don't want to screw it up.... so I thought I should ask first.

Sorry for such basic questions, but this is new ground for me.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Here's what I would do:
Rout off the bindings, then carefully rout off the top from the linings, you can re-use the top on a smaller body guitar if you want.
Now, you're going to want to sand back the remaining bits of top from the linings, then reduce the height of the linings/sides slightly, just so that when you've re-topped it, you can then route fresh binding & purfling ledges without leaving bits of the old stuff on the sides. Make sense?
Next step, if you thin the top edges in your final procedure of tuning the box, do it before you cut the binding ledges.

Oh...and you can re-build the linings and make new pockets while the top is off.....

Good luck.Don Williams38566.7050231481

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Here's what I would do.

Leave the bindings on till after you glue the new top on.
Use your binding cutter, set to the thickness of the top, or just under to route as much of the top (the portion that is glued to the lininbgs) off as you can, then remove the top carefully with a knife and or chisel and resand the radius in the the sides.
Install the new top and then re-route the new binding chanels to whatever depth they need to be to cover the old bindings.

If your careful about removing the top after routing as much away as you can from the edge, you won't have to replace the linings at all and you can just sand back to were you were before installing the top and then put the new one on.John How38566.7269675926

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Brock,
I did this not long ago.
Here's what I did.
I used my binding jig and set the depth of cut to the thickness of my top, and using a rabbit type cutter cut the top off, leaving my lining intact. I reshaped the radius on the lining howeve prior to glueing the top on.
Sorry you have to go through this.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

oh,
I then re-did the binding. ( I had some extra binding that mathed the binding on the back very well)
A lot of work but it came out very nice.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Brock,

Here is what I did.

Jig saw a cool pattern in the top.    Quit playing around and cut as close to the side as possible. Chisel off the bindings, purfling, and lining. Reline it, sand it, cut brace pockets, add new top, route purfling and binding chanels. I managed to gouge the top of the sides pretty good in a few places, but they disappeared under the linings and binding.

I tried to save the, purfling, bindings, lining, but I did not have the skill to do so. Worked out better, because I did not have to try and match up the new top brace ends to the old brace pockets on the old linings. I did manage to save the side braces.

If I can do it, you most certainly can, and no one will ever know.

Jeff

Thanks for the ideas guys.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Brock Don't feel too bad...I had to do it twice for a custom, prepaid build once. The guy picked out a top in person...before it was sanded and jointed. When done and near finished(just began FP) customer changed his mind... wanted more exotic bear claw...I made a new one and then got to the finish stage only to have the customer say he wanted more "claw" ( almost gave him the axe...literally) anyway I charged for it and now have two tops hanging on my wall waiting for ???? Hey its' all a learning experience and you are very talented. You will have no problem! I am sure!

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

When I was working with a friend we worked out a nice way of replacing a top on production guitars, that should work for you as well.

Join the new top, inlay the rosette, and cut the hole the same size as the original. Remove the fingerboard from the guitar (heat usualy works) and clamp the new top down on top of the old one, with the soundhole and center line lined up. Trace the shape onto the new top, and trim it to match the outline _exactly_. Now brace it up.

Remove the old top by routing around it just inside the linings. Stop on either side of the end blocks, and saw across inside them to remove the top. Scribe around the edge of the top just inside the binding and chip up the top wood that is glued to the liners and al the purfling. Scrape all the glue off the liner surfaces, and be careful not to touch the binding.

Trim the width of the binding off the edge of the new top carefully, so that it can drop into the space, and inlet the bracing. You may need to fill in old inlets. The ideal situation is to drop in the new top with it just butting against the binding all the way around. You will almost never get it just right, but close is OK. Make sure you don't trim the new top to some shape that will distort the sides: that was why you started out tacing the shape of the top off the _assembled_ guitar.

Glue the new top in. It's likely enough that it will be just a little proud of the bindings all the way around. If not you might need to build it up a bit here and there with tape or something. I use spool clamps to glue on tops.

When the new top is in you can use a marking gauge to scribe inside the bindings for the purfling groove. This will cover up any little boo-boos and gaps in the shape. A tiny chisel will be needed to dig out the wood, and, of course, the gauge has to be _sharp_.

Once the purfling is in you glue on the fingerboard and finish the top. The big advnatage of this system is that you _don't_ have to replace the bidings and touch up and refinish the sides. This might not be too much of an issue with your guitar, but on something older it can present problems, as the orange color of aged lacquer is hard to match. I like to French polish the top myself. The main tricks, of course, are getting the shape of the new top just right, and inlaying the purfling. It's far less difficult that it might seem, and saves a heck of a lot of finish work, which is always more time consuming than you'd like.   

I used a similiar technique repairing a classical guitar a 16 stone rugby player had landed on recently, the only difference was i made a little spacer for my laminate trimmer so I could cut the purfling line inside the bindings, saved time and cost refinshing the sides. THe only drawback with the laminate trimmer is you can't use it on anything with plastic bindings as they melt.

Don't ask me how I know

yea what Al said way do it most at Bourgeois

Bourgeois removes tops??

Wow...

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com