It's not that I'm trigger happy with the router and can't wait to pull the soundboards off of guitars. It's just that bad things can happen to good guitars and sometimes you just have to cut the bad away from the good.

This 1967 C. F. Martin D-28 sounded terrible as if there was a wet beach towel laying on it's face.

With the top off the offending structures are visible for all to see. There was a wood screw that was drilled through the bridge and then attached to a long brace that straddled the cross and transverse brace.

You'll note that in most of my top replacements I prefer to keep the outer top binding intact.

A new Sitka spruce soundboard ready for bracing.

The back and sides were sanded bare and refinished to hide the previous and current rosewood crack repairs.

The freshly finished Brazilian rosewood is alive with vibrant colors.

I used a nitrocellulose lacquer that will yellow in time. A colored toner coat could have been applied but I prefer the look of natural aging.

The original celluloid pickguard was salvaged and reapplied.