A 1960s Gibson J-50 in for a setup. Note the super thick pickguard on these.
![1964 Gibson J-50 [4.3 lbs] :: setup](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53dfcee2e4b0c0da377c65c7/1487710997694-03W3F3P3XKFBS0SLMANN/20160929_1964_Gibson_J-50_bench.jpg)
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![New archtop pickguard :: 1933 Gibson L-12 [4.9 lbs]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53dfcee2e4b0c0da377c65c7/1484371952220-KGC3GQ63OXSSNKAX5IR9/20160902_1933_Gibson_L12_bench.jpg)
A gorgeous 1933 Gibson L-12 archtop in for a new pickguard. The guard was supplied by the customer without any hardware so I needed to source the appropriate parts. I did not want to drill any new holes so I used the same mounting points on the guitar. Gibson neck mounted some of these but this one was anchored in the top. First I made a wooden spacer and found an old slotted brass screw that looked right.
The tricky part of this installation is finding the best elevation over the top. Too close to the top and you will not be able to mount a floating pickup in the future. Too high and the guard interferes with your right hand. Another consideration is the angle in which the guard gradually falls away as you move from the strings towards the lower bout. This is more of a cosmetic thing that just looks good or odd.
Note that I had to add spacers to both ends of the bracket to get the angles right. There is even a little piece of leather on the bracket spacer where it comes in contact with the body binding.
A noisy pickup that needs to be replaced. This pickguard assembly is super clean, but the pickup is epoxied and screwed to the ebony making it difficult to remove. The tiny screws stripped and/or broke on me so out comes the heat lamp to soften things up. Aluminum foil helps direct the heat to only the pickup mounting tab, though some heat does transfer via the metal tab to the pickup. Not a big deal since the pickup is bad.
I've been busy with the daily videos so I'm a little behind on posting photos of projects coming through the shop. This was finished up a few weeks ago.
Final task on the 70s EB-3 is to plug the rotary switch hole in the pick guard since I moved it back where it should be. I've grown a shine to this fella. It's a short scale so a little easier on my guitar player hands and there are so many good tonal variations to be had out of these 3 pickups. This would make a monster studio bass.
Note I will most likely put together a blog post on this project sometime soon, but in the meantime check out #eb3mystery.
Loose neck joint :: Lyon & Healy bowl back mandolin
The neck on this old Washburn mandolin was coming loose from the body so the two were separated and the fit will be tightened and re-glued. I'm guessing this is around 100 years old - the finish has an awesome patina.