On Kneeland Guitar Works blog you will find posts about what I’m currently working on, informational posts, announcements, and past works I enjoyed working on.
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- Family Vacation Time!I will be on vacation the week of July 1, 2024. I will be back in the shop on July 8th. I am currently still about 1-2 weeks backlogged, but am finishing a half dozen large repairs and should be available to take… Read more: Family Vacation Time!
- Neck Reset on 1954 Gibson Southerner Jumbo
Sometimes, despite over 23 years working on instruments, I see something weird. And this one is bizarre. Notice anything weird? The clues were there, had I thought about them. The guitar was brought in by the son of its original owner. The action… Read more: Neck Reset on 1954 Gibson Southerner Jumbo - Yamaha SA700 Refret with Jumbo Dunlop 6100 Fretwire
This customer has two early 80s Yamaha SA700s. His other already had jumbo frets, which her preferred over the original medium frets. When he bought this one, we decided to put some Dunlop 6100 wire in. Fingerboards with binding require an extra step.… Read more: Yamaha SA700 Refret with Jumbo Dunlop 6100 Fretwire - Reminder: Please Call Ahead to Make AppointmentI am unfortunately unable to easily accommodate drop-in customers. I work from home, and try to maintaining “shop hours”, but often have to run errands. Or more likely, I am working on customer instruments. I do my best to respond to any contact… Read more: Reminder: Please Call Ahead to Make Appointment
- Back to Normal Business HoursIt has been a very busy year. We are loving our little girl like crazy, and enjoying everyday with her. She turned 10 months this week, and we are planning her 1st birthday party already!!! Unfortunately, I have had to take quite a… Read more: Back to Normal Business Hours
- Temporary Closure to Care for Baby GirlAnnouncement: The shop will be closed temporarily so that I can be “daddy daycare” for little baby Peanut. We had hoped that our daycare would have an opening for her by now, but are told it will likely be late March before they… Read more: Temporary Closure to Care for Baby Girl
- Amazing Estate Find: Vintage Tenor Banjos and Parts
A friend has asked me to help find homes for some banjos. A lot of banjos. A whole lot of banjos. Like, dozens of banjos. From the estate of a violin luthier is Southwest Kansas, one who apparently also had a fondness for… Read more: Amazing Estate Find: Vintage Tenor Banjos and Parts - Restoration of P-13 Pickup in 1949 Harmony Lapsteel
Fixing up this old Harmony-made lap steel for a friend. Never seen one quite like this: Poplar body with oak veneer. The fingerboard is just dyed darker! I dig the random brown sunburst on edge of headstock and on body curves. When we… Read more: Restoration of P-13 Pickup in 1949 Harmony Lapsteel - Winter is coming! Controlling Humidity in the Cold, Dry Winter
Winter is coming!! Cold winter air is already dry, and your forced air furnace dries it even more. It is not uncommon in Kansas for homes to reach humidity levels in the teens in winter. Acoustic instruments should be kept at a “relative… Read more: Winter is coming! Controlling Humidity in the Cold, Dry Winter - 1958 Gibson J-45 vs 1961 Martin D-18: Battle of the ‘Hogs
Battle of the ‘Hogs; Which do you choose? On the left, a 1958 Gibson J-45. On the right, a 1961 Martin D-18 (with custom pickguards). In 1958, the J-45 you would’ve run you $149.00. The ‘61 D-18 would’ve been $210.00 (a D-28 a… Read more: 1958 Gibson J-45 vs 1961 Martin D-18: Battle of the ‘Hogs - Back to Work! After Paternity Leave, Shop is Now Open
Well folks, little Baby Kneeland has arrived. She came early, which caused a little “hiccup” in my work schedule. I had planned on taking a couple months off anyway, but wasn’t quite ready…meaning some of your projects had to be put on hold.… Read more: Back to Work! After Paternity Leave, Shop is Now Open - I Am a Dad! Our Baby Has Arrived!!
Baby Kneeland finally decided to join us last week. Baby and momma are both good, and both beautiful. Kneeland Guitar Works will be temporarily closed while I take my paternity leave. I may be taking in some work…small stuff only…over the next few… Read more: I Am a Dad! Our Baby Has Arrived!! - We’re Having a Baby Girl!!
Hi everyone! Well, doctors are telling us to expect little baby Kneeland a few weeks earlier than expected. Mamma and baby are both fine, but our little girl wants to meet us sooner. I fully expect to be holding her by early August.… Read more: We’re Having a Baby Girl!! - Replacing Tuner Buttons to Bring New Life to Vintage Kluson Tuners
I often get asked to replace old sets of tuners that have crumbling or missing buttons. And I guess over the years lots of folks did just throw these old sets away, as evidenced by the large number of vintage guitars I’ve seen… Read more: Replacing Tuner Buttons to Bring New Life to Vintage Kluson Tuners - Making New Bridge to Replace Plastic Bridge on 1960s Gibson B-25
On the bench today is yet another Gibson with one of those clumsy molded plastic bridges. Some executive…who clearly was not a guitar player and VERY CLEARLY did not understand the legacy of this great brand…thought this would speed up production and cut… Read more: Making New Bridge to Replace Plastic Bridge on 1960s Gibson B-25 - Baby Boomer’s Dream! Rare “Faux Ostrich” Leatherette 1957 Danelectro U2.
1957 Danelectro U2 with “Faux Ostrich” covering over Masonite body. Been in same family since at least 1962! Plays and sounds fantastic, and gets a 9.9 for coolness. I’ve only seen a few of these with this textured vinyl covering…and never in person!… Read more: Baby Boomer’s Dream! Rare “Faux Ostrich” Leatherette 1957 Danelectro U2. - 1930s-40s Archtop, Chicago Made No-Name “Jobber” Catalog Guitar
A Labor of Love… My customer really wanted me to restore his aunt’s old archtop. Sometimes the sentimental value is worth more than the actual instrument. I do not judge. In fact, I think this is going to be a swell old archtop.… Read more: 1930s-40s Archtop, Chicago Made No-Name “Jobber” Catalog Guitar - Upgrading or Replacing Tuners
At some point, you may want to replace the tuners on your guitar. Maybe the original tuners slip, maybe they are broken. Or maybe you just want to change the look of your guitar. But not all tuners have the same footprint, or… Read more: Upgrading or Replacing Tuners
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