Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 65
4 neck and body blocks, but rather than solve the problem, it caused more. Like a surgeon, Mike went to work. 3) He removed the bridge anchors in the top and body block... 4) ...then drilled into the block and installed two eye bolts. 5) After rigging padded boards on the back and top, Mike slowly pulled the collapsed top upward over a period of week or so. 6) Under the slow, steady pressure, the body block broke free from the buttresses. Mike removed them and, with upward pressure from his rig, was able to work a spatula into the glue joint between the back and underside of the block, which popped open the joint. 7) He sanded this shim to the thickness of the open joint (the holes just happened to be in the wood; they served no purpose). On the right is a new brace to support the arch of the back. 8) To keep the gap open while he glued-in the shim, Mike slid two small wood dowels into the joint, running the length of the block. The shim was wider than parts of the open joint, but not as wide as the gap, so it slid into position with the dowels holding the joint open. 5 6 7 8 February 2018 65 VINTAGE GUITAR