This is a list of tools used to evaluate, maintain, or enjoy your Mossman.
Why wood? You are much less likely to damage the top accidentally.
Using a table saw, rip a strip of 1/4 inch plywood, 3 inches wide by 24 inches long. Verify your "straight edge" against a known straight edge. Actually, I made mine from a strip of Cherry. Cherry forms a sharper edge and is more stable over the long run. (I am blessed with a nice table saw.)
String Action Gage: It's a measuring card.These are available from Stewmac Company Their part number is 0670. Size is approximately the same as a credit card. Use this to check string height at the twelfth fret.
This is also a great tool for locating frets higher than their neighbors. If you detect a string buzz, place the card over the three frets where you thing the buzz is occurring. If the card rocks on one fret which is high, you may have found the buzz. Remember, buzz diagnosis is a real art, so don't jump to conclusions if you are not completely sure about the process.
You really should look inside any guitar you are preparing to buy, new or used. I was almost ready to plunk down $2000 for a beautiful Great Plains Custom several years ago. However, just before I paid, I looked inside the body using my trusty inspection mirror and flashlight. Unfortunately, the main braces (just below the bridge under the top) were badly and irreparably cracked. That guitar was not worth five cents.
There are square and round versions. The round version is less likely to damage the edge of the sound hole. These are available at auto parts store. I do not recommend the Sears Craftsman mirror. The handle rotates on the shaft too easily and there is no way to correct the problem. This is one of those rare cases where a Chinese import is the best you can buy. The version made by General tool is very nice.
Use this to adjust the tuning gear screws.
It is important to keep the screws holding the tuning knobs or keys gently tight so the gears don't start to run out of the gear housing. This is especially true of American made Grover tuners installed on vintage Mossman guitars. How can you tell if you have American made Grover tuning gears? The screw head takes a flat blade screw driver (assuming the screws are original). Japanese made Grovers used a Phillips head screw.
You may not need this if your Mossman has newer gears or a different brand installed.
Never use loc-tite to "glue" the screw into the worm gear end. Sooner or later someone will have to remove the screw to clean and lubricate the gears. The lubricant in old Grovers turns to wax after 30 years, so re-lubrication is required.
OK, so this is not really a tool, but worth mentioning here.
If your Mossman has plastic bridge pegs, run, don't walk to the guitar and de-tension the strings. Then, install a set of bone bridge pegs. Bone pegs do not deform like the plastic ones do. This prevents, or at least stops, damage to the bridge reinforcing plate. Plastic pegs are bad news. Every ruined reinforcing plate I have seen had old, deformed, worn out plastic string pegs. Replace them now!
By the way, some Mossman guitars have slotted bridges which require and will sound better with unslotted pegs. Mossman's with unslotted peg holes need slotted pegs. Email me if you can't find slotted bone pegs at a reasonable price.
Make sure you use silicon free polish. I like Martin Guitar Brand Polish best. There are other good brands.
Make your polish rags out of old 100% cotton T-shirts. You might try one of mom's best table napkins, but she might put a knob on your head.
The kind with an arrow, rather than just lights is best. This is great for testing intonation and general tuning requirements.
Occasionally, you will find a guitar with bad intonation. (This happens in all guitar manufacturers, by the way.) Compare the tone at the twelfth fret with the harmonic at the twelfth fret. A good tuner can "hear" the difference. If the differences are bad enough, bridge or saddle relocation may be needed. I would not accept a guitar with bad intonation unless the deal was very, very good.
Test the tuner in the store. If the needle bounces around, get another unit. The needle should lock on to the frequency and gradually creep towards the center (i.e. tuned) as you crank on the gear knob.
Prevent Damage to the fret board: cut the nails on your chording hand.
File down those nails on your chording hand. You will build up calluses faster and chording is easier and more precise.
The is the tool you use to protect your investment in a fine guitar. Why take a chance on the wrong case? Make sure the case is a hard shell wood (better and more stable than plastic or fiber-glass). Most important: make sure the case has an arched top. Both arched top and bottom are better, but at least the arched top is required. Flat top cases are likely to cause split bridges, broken braces or a cracked top. If you notice that the string pegs are digging into the inside of the top, get an arched top case.
My dad has big feet, so I get one of his old worn out socks (a hole in the heel is cool) and cut off the toe. When I play I slip this on my strumming arm, over the elbow and up over the bicep. That keeps the sweat and body oils off the top, thus protecting the finish. Plus, the sock allows my arm to slide around on the top: Strumming is easier. You need a sock from someone with big feet because smaller sizes won't fit over your massive arms.
This is a piece of card board (tag board not corrugated) cut to an exact 3 23/32 inch diameter. Make a little handle out of tape: Stick one end of the tape to the center of the circle, bend the tape over on itself, and stick the other end right beside the first piece of tape. Anyway, make a little handle. This little disk should fit exactly into the sound hole. Using this, you can easily see if a guitar has upper bout distortion. In other words, there is upper bout distortion or collapsing to the extent that the sound hole is out of round. One thing you can count on, the original builder cut a perfectly round hole in that top.
On post-1974 Mossmans, the truss rod nut is usually not accessible with a socket and extender or "Spintite" tool. Here is a tool that works easily: Sears Craftsman 3/8 Stubby combination wrench part number 44103.
Warning Truss rod adjustments are best left to a skilled repair person. It is not at all hard to crack or break a neck if you don't know what you are doing. The only thing the rod can do is modify neck bow or "relief". Adjusting the rod cannot correct a bad neck angle resulting in high action.
This is definitely not a recommendation to go out and buy or use this tool. I am recommending that you allow an experienced luthier use the Bridge Saver to repair a badly damaged bridge reinforcing plate. This is the thin 2 inch x 4 inch hardwood plate glued to the top under the bridge. The string ball ends pass through, rest on, and exert considerable pressure on this plate. Most of the sound quality of your acoustic guitar depends on this plate. If the string holes are enlarged or damaged and if the ball ends are pulling up into the plate, the guitar is likely to suffer serious damage, not to mention reduction in sound quality.
Frank Ford's repair people also recommend this tool.
The hard part of the repair is cutting and fitting the matching plugs, one for each hole. (I suggest operating on all six string holes.) For best quality sound, I recommend using fresh mixed, hot hide glue (from powder) and Brazilian Rosewood plugs. On most instruments, this repair causes some improvement in sound quality. On a few instruments, the improvement is dramatic.
There is no evidence pro or con as to the longevity of this repair. The tool -- and therefore the repair technique -- simply has not been around that long. We may find that plugged bridge plates crack or deform in twenty years. However, the bridge will certainly fail if the reinforcing plate is not repaired. Since removing the plate is hazardous and may not completely solve the problem, plugs are often the best solution.
If performed with care and skill, the Bridge Saver repair is a guitar life saver. Just don't try this at home. You will ruin that prized GP Custom.
A note to you DIY'ers out there: Dan Erlewine's video tape shows him applying super glue to the string holes. Other resources suggest filling enlarged string holes with super glue and saw dust. The Bridge Saver repair using Brazilian Rosewood plugs is much superior to both of these techniques in terms of improved tone quality. I tried the super glue technique, followed by the Bridge Saver repair on the same guitar. The Bridge Saver technique is the clear winner. However, at this point, no one can guarantee how long Bridge Saver repairs will last. I think this is a stable repair, but who can tell what will happen in twenty or so years.