I like seeing things go wrong in videos, too. I don't want anyone to fail, it's nothing malicious, but more of a true look into the real world of repairs, and other problems that can arise as soon as one is solved. It's much more interesting.

The Upgrade from tone nails to the timbre screws was a fantastic choice .

Red Knuckles, that guy could belt out some great railroad songs.

His slight reflection in the chrome part of the scale (around 2:00-2:30) gave this a Wizard of Oz type feel. We don’t get to see his mannerisms very often so this little bonus was nice! “Pay no attention to the man inside the scale!”

Extending a syringe with shrink tubing! Always some jewel in these vids.

I'm really glad your channel is growing. KZfaq has enabled a luthier such as yourself, to make an income that is more deserving of the level of skill you possess. I really enjoy these videos and look forward to them every week. Thank you for putting the time into making your craft available to the viewing public.

I am a retired Tool & Die maker of 42 years. I am so impressed by your skill. One of your best talents is figuring out the problem and the solution. Love your tools also.

The guitar sounded pretty good when you finished it. Kudos for hanging in there!

Not that you made a mistake, but the difference between novice and master craftsmanship is how well we fix our mistakes, or mishaps.

The art of being a master Luther that you are at bringing guitars back to life and saving them from becoming dust collectors. 👍

Watched this one again. You really have to respect a repairman who worries about leaving some visible glue inside a Harmony instrument. S.S. Stewart mutiny thwarted.

A wonderful articulation of what can go wrong and how best to repair the damage. Elementary my dear Woodford !

Rotating the spur drill backwards was great! could have done with that tip 50 years ago.

You nearly quoted a luthier-friend of mine who used to paraphrase Newton's first law of physics when asked "will it change the tone?" in reference to his guitar work and his amp-tech jobs. His answer was "Everything changes everything". Beautiful work Ted, thanks for sharing it. And Happy Holidays!

It definitely sounds better with the bridge doctor and the additional repairs. Nice job.

Brother. I am always impressed by your transparency! Thank you for showing all of the things that happen. Gracias!!!!

Thank you Pyotr Ilych Woodford...

I just love your sophisticated humor! “Tone nails” indeed.

I love your creativity when solving problems. But what really amazes me is your patience, just the thought of fumbling around in the soundhole makes my blood boil. That would drive me insane. So kudos to you!

Heat shrinking the tube onto the syringe...I love stuff like that! Practical genius at work. I really love the sound of these smaller bodied guitars. They lack the bottom end boom of a dreadnaught, but can have a really sweet middle, and ringing high end. Very nice for blues and older forms of guitar music.

There’s something special about watching his hand move back and forth inside the guitar while he thanks us for our enthusiasm about his merch. A shot that would look extremely odd without context, especially to anyone who isn’t used to guitars, is somehow totally normal and enjoyable to us! Great show!

I secretly love it when you fail Ted, because I think it makes your true skill and expertise of your craft shine when you adjust/evolve to the new resolution. Bravo, and thanks for always sharing your videos. 🤙🏼

The fact that this guitar still makes music has to be a Christmas miracle

SS Stewart was on the rocks! Her back was broken! Incredibly our expert salvor made her fast and effected suitable repair so she could continue her voyage. Quite remarkable. Well done Ted. I was thinking of you tonight when I relocated the bridge rearwards 5mm on Yamaki made 1979 Washburn Hawk. I plugged and filled the old screwholes... And as I dropped a bit of finish onto the plugs which is very visible... I though hmm success, but I'm no Ted Woodford!

First you “un-nailed” the repair then you “screwed up” the repair. This seems like an unlikely sequence of repairs, but in reality a very amazing display of your skill and creativity. I still like the sound of this salvaged ship.

Sisyphus…..definitely rolling the boulder up the mountain. I know it was a PIA…but this “spit and bailing wire” conservation is a beautiful act and it gets to live on and give many more years of joy. I just loves these old basket cases. I’m about to start on one myself. It sounded probably better than it ever had a right to. A fine job T!

Practice makes perfect... Every cheap old basketcase guitar repair means an old guitar lives to play another day and it keeps you sharp for future expensive old basketcases. I don't care what you fix, I love the how and why of it.

I bought one of your shirts. I will wear it proudly in Auckland New Zealand. :)

Wow. I think it sounds way better! Good job.

Sometimes it's good to let those finished jobs 'simmer' just a little while to see if there will be any surprises, especially after major surgery. Nice job!!

Bridge Doctors work very well. I have used them on many guitars that experienced a bulge including 12 string guitars. I have a customer had one installed that did not need one because to his ear it increased the sound of the guitar and to his ear made the guitar sound better. I would need equipment to measure the before and after to see what type of a difference it makes. Ricky from IBM, Ret -Now a guitar tech in Englewood Florida

I cant tell you how much I appreciate these videos, KZfaq is still pretty much the wild west as far as what gets "published" as good information on here, and I have personally occasioned to tell people who clearly have no idea how to properly repair string instruments, Granted, you will hear plenty of:" that's not the way i would do that" that luthiers are famous for , but on youtube, there is still just plain horrific work done and presented as acceptable repair work, complete with folksy mandolin intros, slick graphics and long, loquacious monologues with facial closeups in fisheye lenses from horrific butchers who love the sound of their own voice and are too darned arrogant to bother to research the instruments they were charged to restore, I saw a guy take a beautiful, slbet worn and scratched up early 50's Gibson Southerner Jumbo, stating at outset that he didnt even know what model it was or when it was made, and sand the top without removing that bridge and rubbing black anioline stain directly into the bare spruce, and burying the whole thing under a thick coat of lacquer and power buffing it, The guitar was clearly ruined, and he waxed about having to "keep the cost down for the customer", who was a couple thos had inherited the guitar, and for hiis ruination, he charged them $800USD! I wrote my feelings about his presenting this trash as acceptable work, and later I noticed that he culled everything but positive comments from his videos, I think it is unethical to teach poor luthiery Refdeshing to see someone who makes quality, practical repairs and cares enough to know what he is working on.

Love the improvisation of items like the heat shrink.. 👍👍👍

I get hooked every time.

Adam Savage just named your channel as one of his favorites.

“Was is hubris? Am I Icarus, with wings too close to the glue?” “. . .” “My evening plans have been altered.” That bit was golden, had me rolling.

I like seeing things go wrong and than seeing your brilliant idea for solutions..

The bridge truss (ie Bridge Doctor) does sort of the same thing as a sound post in a violin, however it does it to different degrees in different guitars; the back and sides now are no longer just reflective. They actually vibrate to the point you can feel it vibrate against your chest in many installations. A truss is an absolute must in a 12 string, and in a Penco I have actually gave it a sort of reverb effect. Trusses usually gives a guitar a more complex voice, sometimes quieting it, sometimes making it louder. Regardless, having the action and intonation back along with the top stability typically far exceeds any negatives brought on by its installation. This is why I've installed countless trusses in low to mid priced guitars. I also have a 22 year old Bridge Doctor in my personal 37 Martin 0-17 which sounds amazing and has thwarted a neck reset for decades now. Trusses are gooooood schtuff!

Well, the S.S. Stewart fared better than the S.S. Minnow. Great save Ted. 👏

I feel your pain Ted. Sometimes repairs on anything can become a house of cards.

I haven’t found better repair videos on utube. Thank you for teaching your craft. We live in a Star Trek episode, on our wrist and in our pocket we have access to every encyclopedia ever written, in seconds we can access thousands of lifetimes worth of solutions. Incredibly addictive

hello from sunny Scotland love your videos defo genius at work

Haven't watched the episode yet but I have to give it a like just everyone else in anticipation.

Sorry Ted, this repair does make me feel a little more normal, as with my repairs, Murphy lends scissors to Damocles. I appreciate your honesty and integrity. Respect

Bravo, man over machine once again.

Always entertaining AND informative - Cheers

my hand cramped up watching you drill those holes

I really enjoy watching your craftsmanship -you deal with issues so calmly and neatly! I would put you in my top 3 luthiers on youtube- alongside Jerry Rosa and Dan Erlewine! You 3 should get together and start a business together- world class !!!

Good job this guitar now can continue to fill the measure of its creation i love that and your willingness to help it down the road 😊

This is one of my favorite videos of yours in the last couple of years, thanks for posting it.

Perfect screw holes. What you are doing is the best way to set up the screws to hold. Great Job! You play so well also.

If you use hex head screws, either surface or recessed, you could secure them using a 1/4” ratchet. That works well in the access of a guitar cavity, and you greatly limit the risk of stripping the Philips screw heads. Torx would work too. I’ve been through the frustration of removing someone else’s stripped head Philips screws on such a repair. (Disclosure: I am a hobbyist/novice at this) The repair failed because the chucklehead who did it stripped all of the screw heads and could not fully sink them in, and called it quits. I doubt he predrilled properly, and he did not countersink anything either. I predrilled them and used recessed hex head screws. Hex made it a lot easier to torque them in fully and evenly with a ratchet wrench.

I think I'd have been using it for firewood when that crack opened up. Good work, you have the patience of a saint.

This was incredibly educational. The actual process wad dense with technique. I will have to watch it several times, and I AM an experienced woodworker. Thank you.

The next round of tee shirts should include something like "Woodford's world famous tone enhancing screws and extraordinary glue applicators". Of course you'd also have to include the slogan, "Because penetration is paramount!".

Wow! Tough Problem - Clever Solution. Great Work!!!

As usual you amazed me and many other fans. You are a true renaissance man!!!

sounds great ! You have the patience of a Saint .

The work with the jeweller's drill looked very carpal-intensive.

Enjoy your vids Ted. I wish you'd been available 40+ years ago, when I did setups and minor repairs for a couple local mom & pop music stores. I remember having a Yamaha 12 string come in with a cracked neck block almost identical to this one. I ended up doing the exact same thing, running screws in to pull the block back together. It worked and it's still working to this day (the owner is a friends and still plays it), but at the time I wasn't 100% happy about the repair, feeling like I should have done it differently, but it was the least expensive solution at the time. Watching you do the same, makes me feel better about it now.

Uhoh. Were those stainless steel screws, standard steel or carbon steel screws? That'll change the tone you know.

I'm a huge fan of the artistry here. Cheers!

Oh. My. God! But you fixed it - like always. Chapeau 🎩☺️

No need for preemptive strikes against the trolls. Your work is superb.

Thank you for inspiring me to be a little more hands-on in maintaining my own collection of axes. Always look forward to your channel posting!!!

Oh, my life did not go according to plan either! C’est la vie. Thanks for sharing! 👍👏🏻

Once again I am amazed at your attack to the odd repair situations, love the videos, thank you

To the ninety-nine percent of us unsurprised by the video title, apparently, upon occasion, things go right. I know...I know. This flies in the face of all experience. However, I have heard that it happens. Ted, you've gotta know that you are right in the middle of our living room...this is where most of us live with the exception, of course, to the Sugar Plum Fairy Pas de Deux soundtrack. We only live there when your reference sends us flying to KZfaq's search bar. Our sound track more closely resembles cracking timber superimposed with the sound of the wife calmly informing us that the furnace is very probably broken and the sewer has backed up in the bathroom...again. But, by God, we've got a luthier that plays Tchaikovsky and a few minutes of flashing genius on display in Hamilton. Much appreciated.

About small drills that you can operate at weird angle, flexi shaft engraving heads to dremel and there are other branded products like it is neat. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

Great job. These videos never fail to amaze me. 2thumbs up.

Wow,what a marathon,I think you did what was needed for such a basic instrument and did it well........................

I'm glad this one made it into your hands

🤣 A sailor playing railroad songs? I think sea shanties would be more likely 🤣 BTW - love your approach to problem solving! Happy Holidays everyone!!!

Your explanation was picturesque enough for me to understand, but I appreciate the beautiful painting, especially those screws! Also great work as always - I wonder if these projects where things go wrong and it's a surprise around every corner are more fun than straight forward ones?

Thanks, Ted!

Wow, incredible work on that guitar. The owner must really love it because I imagine this repair is not cheap, and the guitar itself is not a high end guitar by any means.

I think you actually worked some magic with this one! Amazing - love the sound when you were done.

OMG I probably would have gone and got drunk after you discovered that crack after you retuned it.🤣

Ingenuity and perseverance. Bravo!

C'est la vie !! Bravo 🤩

Love that string spreader!!

The Stewart has an amazingly balanced sound and nice tone. Great work, as always!

Massive difference with the sound, and definitely for the better.

Never gets old watching you work. Excellent job!

Red knuckles? No judgement, simple respect, dude! And like everyone I know, you play guitar better than I do.

Outstanding!

Guess those nails that "weren't helping us at all" was in fact, holding everything together!

I really enjoy your videos, Ted. As well as the repairs you do, I particularly enjoy your playing the end of the videos. Thanks you.

Watching you drill on old acoustics is so suspenseful! I’d be so nervous. I’d give myself an ulcer! Very impressive work, very impressive, indeed…

Understanding the cause of the failure is 30% of the battle. Engineering a sound solution priceless. Most fail in the first 30% so will their solutions. Well done sir.

Another wonderful adventure in luthiery-thank you. Can't wait for the tall t shirt

Even the fact that it was a job and 7/8 didn't keep you from getting it done in only 2 videos. Thanks much for all the tips, and the swap from tone nails to timbre screws was very nicely done.

I have to say that as much as it fascinates me I don't actually "enjoy" when things go wrong in videos like this. It's impressive and enlightening to see the problems you come up against, your explanations of what the problem is, how the problem might arise, and what your solution to these things has to be. Seeing a surgery job as gnarly as this doesn't really bring me joy, especially when you consider that the work you've put into this guitar is more than the guitar really justifies, but still seeing the process of you working your way through a gauntlet of issues is fascinating. I think the video of what you've had to do justifies the work far more than the instrument does, so keep up the good work.

Thank you very much for your videos. So instructive.

Adam Savage brought me here. I build guitars myself so the heads up is greatly appreciated. Great channel.

Thank you Ted or simply just being you.. it's a very refreshing take on reality..👍👊

Your ingenuity and problem solving never stop amaze me Ted.

My fav shirt lol. Great work Ted.

Just so cool !!

You had me at “Tone nails.” 🤣