Elevated fingerboard for improved playability in the upper register.

Beveled armrest is improves comfort of playing.

Tapered body gives the feel of a thin body guitar.

Walnut burl rosette on cedar top guitar.

Concert classical guitar with ergonomic design features.

Ergonomically designed classical guitar

Concert Classical with Indian Rosewood Back and Sides

Concert Classical Guitar

Classical guitar headstock with ebony headplate

Elevated fingerboard for improved playability

Classical Guitar

Classical Guitar Headstock

This guitar features a wedge shaped body giving the feel of a thin body guitar while retaining the volume and basses of a normal guitar.

Padauk has a beautiful tap tone and is a vibrant orangish red.

Walnut Burl Rosette

Cedar Top Classical

Walnut Burl Rosette

Spruce Top Classical Guitar

Classical Guitar Padauk Back and Sides

Classical Guitar Headstock

Modern Heel Design

Spruce Top Classical Guitar

Classical Built With Salvaged Woods

Modified Dreadnought - Front

Modified Dreadnought - Back

Headstock of the Modified Dreadnought

Bridge, Rosette and Pick Guard - Modified Dreadnought

Modified Dreadnought

Steel String Guitar Headstock

Dreadnought Guitar with Indian Rosewood Back and Sides

Sitka Spruce top Dreadnought Guitar

Steel String Guitar Headstock

Classically Inspired Steel String Guitar Bridge

Modified Dreadnought Guitar

Bending sides for a classical guitar.

Dreadnought Mortise Adjustment

Using a gouge I carve the sides of the braces to reduce their weight.

Once the braces are glued down, they are carved to allow the back to vibrate.

Guitar back ready to be voiced.

Cutting fret slots

Flattening the edges of the ebony fretboard.

Planing the Heel Cap

Nathaniel Hollis Rich - Luthier

Carving the Heel

Carving the Heel

Carving down the braces on this modified dreadnought to give it a voice.

Walnut Burl Guitar Rosettes

Rough Cutting a Fingerboard on a bandsaw

All the old repairs and broken bass bar must be removed before the re-arching can begin.

making bridges

Temporary anchor points have been installed to correct the bulge of the top opposite the collapse.

The top is now placed in the casting form and the covered in plastic to protect it from the plaster.

Now the top is placed in traction to push on some sections and pull on others when the top is cast.

The top casting can now be carved down to the correct arching.

Using silicone heating blankets and 100 pounds of sand the top is heated and pressed into the casting correcting the collapsed areas.

Damaged areas of the top are carved out and replaced with large area patches that will hold the form of the top.

More area patches and cleats are installed to reinforce cracks and support weak areas.

Here the new bass bar is being fit and glued on top of all the new repairs.

Now the bass bar is voiced and the top is nearly ready to go back on.

Here you can see all the patches, cleats and re-edging cleaned up. The top is now ready glued back onto the body.

The top is now glued back onto the body and the bass is setup. The top is holding the pressure of the strings without deforming. The bass is now sounding better than it ever has.

These old repairs were poorly done eventually failed causing the top to collapse in.

Dimensioning the Bass Bar

Here I am shaving down the new bass bar to the target heights where the top can vibrate.

Once the pocket is created, the tapered insert is chalk fit to a perfect size. The crossgrain insert will prevent the forward pull of the scroll and prevent the damage from spreading

This bass was hit on the back of the scroll causing fractures on both sides of the cheeks. I have began carving into the pegbox to inlay a crossgrain insert to prevent further breakage.

After the insert is sized and glued in, it is contoured and finished to match the existing varnish.

Closeup to show the gap at the button when the neck is pushed out to a modern over-stand of 35mm

Here the mortise is prepared for the final fitting utilizing chalk fitting to make for a perfect fit.

Preparing the Mortise for a Reset

Once everything is fit and the neck is tight in the mortise it is removed and finally glued in using clamps and straps.

When this neck was broken out the geometry was off, the bridge was way too short and the fingerboard was too close to the body. Here you can see the improved over-stand improving playability in thumb position and increasing the bridge height.

After the neck is glued in the heel is sanded and the color is matched to the body.

Glueing in a shims and a false button to increase the over-stand and correct the alignment.

The scroll has been cut off the old neck. Next step is the prepare it for the grafting block.

Now the pegbox is carved out tapering all surfaces to create a pocket for the maple neck.

Here the pegbox is being chalk fit to the neck maple neck.

After the scroll is fit and glued the neck is roughed out and the neck setting begins.

The neck carving continues rounding and smoothing the new neck.

Here the new neck is being glued onto the bass.

The new maple is carved down to match the contour of the original pegbox.

Now you can see why it is called a blind graft. The top of the pegbox is preserved hiding all the joints in the pegbox.

This is the completed blind graft with the bass strung up and playing great.

With the new neck the over-stand height was increased to 35mm making the bass very easy to play in thumb position.

This is the beginning of a neck graft. The neck has been removed leaving the old dovetail joint which will be converted to a mortise.

This is the completed repair of a bass with many cracks. All cracks need to be reinforced with spruce cleats.

Here the top is being attached using hot hide glue and 60 spool clamps to insure a good joint.

After the cleats are fit the are glued to the ribs using hot hide glue. Once placed the clamps apply pressure for 24 hours while the clue cures.

These cleats have been carved down to a thickness just over 1mm to allow for flex while holding the weakened area together.

After fitting the cleats are glued onto the top.

After the glue has set the cleats are carved down to allow the top to flex and vibrate while stabilizing the cracked area.

Once all the internal repairs are completed the top is glued back on and clamped using about 60 spool clamps.

Fitting cleats to repair a rib crack.

This guitar had a few cracks. Once the top plate is unified diamond cleats are installed to reinforce the cracks.

This guitar top was damaged in shipping causing multiple cracks. These cleats reinforce the cracks preventing the from opening again.

Gibson B-25 Bridge Replacement

Filling holes to replace the original plastic bridge with an ebony bridge.

Replacing the original plastic bridge.

The new ebony bridge is now fit and installed replacing the original cracked bridge.

19th Century Crack Repair