I have an early H1203 excellent rebuild candidate. Top looks in perfect shape no cracks. Neck needs reset and is coming loose. A crack in the upper bout near the neck. I want to change to X bracing, string thru pin bridge, and so on. Never done this sort of thing before and I'm taking my pointers from a company that specializes in Sovereign rebuilds. I have a few questions, such as... what is the best way to remove the back? I've seen one youtube where the guy used a thin Japanese luthier saw and carefully sawed between the back and purfling removing very little material. What about applying heat or does that risk ungluing nearby areas i.e. back braces?
The rebuild company mentioned above like to structure their X brace with 100 degree forward shift. I'm guessing that would mean the angle(s) on vertical axis adjascent to lower and upper bouts are 100 degrees, which would result in the angles facing the sides 80 degrees... would that be correct?
Not quite ready to start this project. Just gathering some info at this stage.
