00:22 - Morning. My name is Dick Boak

00:23 - and welcome back PCN to the

00:25 - third tour.

00:27 - Martin Guitar Factory in

00:28 - Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

00:31 - We did a tour in 1995 and once

00:35 - again in 2003 and I understand

00:38 - they were very popular, but a

00:39 - lot of things have changed.

00:41 - So I'd like to take you through

00:43 - once again and bring you up to

00:44 - date.

00:46 - We're downstairs in what we call

00:48 - the machine room and this is

00:51 - where the parts are prepared.

00:53 - The wood inspection and matching

00:55 - station for rosewood and

00:57 - mahogany.

00:58 - And also the the joining station

01:01 - from where the tops and backs

01:03 - are glued together and then

01:06 - sanded.

01:08 - This is where most of our high

01:09 - technology is. A pretty big area

01:13 - where we have CNC equipment

01:17 - together with a lot of hand

01:19 - operations.

01:21 - Basically it will prepare all

01:22 - the wood to get it down to the

01:24 - mat and get it ready for

01:26 - assembly and move it upstairs

01:29 - where the guitar process will

01:31 - begin.

01:33 - Now we're upstairs and this is

01:35 - Larry Fannel, our master side

01:37 - bender.

01:38 - Larry has been doing this job

01:40 - for a couple of years. How many

01:41 - years?

01:43 - Forty five years.

01:46 - You get pretty good at side

01:47 - bending after 45 years.

01:49 - So the sides are mounted into a

01:52 - special press.

01:53 - The press is heated usually to

01:56 - about 400, 450 degrees and we've

02:00 - come a long way with our bending

02:01 - presses.

02:02 - They're on automatic timers so

02:05 - that we don't break the wood and

02:09 - the wood will cook in the press

02:11 - for about four or five minutes.

02:16 - After coming out of the press,

02:19 - the wood will sit in a form and

02:23 - cool down until it's ready to be

02:26 - glued to its blocks.

02:29 - This is one of the hardest jobs.

02:32 - Larry also does a lot of hand

02:33 - bending on the hand irons. These

02:36 - hand irons are heated with a

02:38 - staff that can be controlled for

02:40 - temperature and sides are

02:43 - actually checked against a

02:46 - pattern until they're perfect

02:48 - and ready for gluing to the

02:49 - front block and the rear block.

02:57 - After the sides are bent.

03:00 - The sides are then brought over

03:01 - here and glued to the front

03:03 - block and the rear block, making

03:05 - what we call a rim and that's

03:06 - really where the guitar making

03:08 - process really starts to take

03:09 - shape.

03:10 - This is a front block laser

03:12 - etched with the serial number

03:13 - and the model number and the rim

03:18 - is mounted and ready for glue

03:20 - up.

03:27 - The front block will eventually

03:30 - get the dovetail cut into it.

03:32 - Right now it's a mortise joint

03:35 - that's glued tightly into place.

03:38 - All the aspects of the rim are

03:40 - kept perfectly on center and

03:42 - flat while they're being glued

03:44 - up.

03:46 - This is one of our most clever

03:47 - fixtures I think because you can

03:49 - work on it and remove all the

03:52 - pieces from the fixed here and

03:53 - keep keep working.

03:57 - This is the rear block that

03:58 - supports the end of the guitar

04:01 - and will hold the strap pin

04:03 - where the strap can be attached

04:07 - for people that like to play

04:08 - standing up. So now the front

04:19 - and rear block are glued up and

04:20 - the whole unit can come out of

04:22 - its clamp, be set on the shelf

04:25 - until the glue dries. After the

04:29 - front rear blocks are glued to

04:31 - the rim.

04:32 - Then we route out and then lay

04:35 - the end piece.

04:36 - The piece is strictly decorative

04:38 - covering up a seam and it's also

04:40 - where the strap pin will be

04:42 - drilled in for the straps.

04:45 - This is a rosewood guitar.

04:47 - Looks like a D28. And pieces can

04:52 - take many different colors and

04:55 - styles.

04:56 - We've got ivory wood, tortoise

04:58 - color, black or white, and

05:00 - basically these will match the

05:02 - bindings.

05:03 - I wanted to show you this

05:04 - because this is an antique mold.

05:07 - The molds for a guitar making

05:08 - have evolved from being made out

05:11 - of spruce and mahogany into

05:14 - being much more rigid and long

05:17 - lasting in aluminum and steel

05:20 - and the same is true with all of

05:22 - our patterns.

05:23 - The wood patterns would shrink

05:25 - and change in dimension.

05:27 - So we've modernized greatly. The

05:31 - lining of the guitar is made of

05:33 - Spanish cedar.

05:35 - It's a very difficult piece to

05:36 - make.

05:38 - The lining will be glued to the

05:40 - inside of the rim to stiffen it

05:43 - up. Right now it's just too

05:45 - flexible.

05:46 - So that's what's going to happen

05:48 - now.

05:56 - And now we're going up the

05:58 - linings. This is a very high

06:02 - tech process. As you can see

06:05 - we've got an external mold that

06:07 - just keeps everything in line

06:09 - while the linings are glued into

06:12 - place using closed pens and

06:16 - these green handles spring

06:17 - clamps. The clothes pins are

06:22 - most effective because they

06:23 - exert just the right amount of

06:25 - pressure during glue up. And the

06:28 - glue used here is fairly

06:30 - conventional. Type font style

06:33 - yellow glue woodworking glue

06:36 - could do this job.

06:43 - So once the linings are glued on

06:46 - then the rim gets unclamped and

06:50 - can be prepared for the fitting

06:53 - of the top and the back while

06:55 - the rim is being prepared and

06:57 - ribboned. The tops and the backs

06:59 - are being glued with their

07:00 - braces. The braces really are

07:02 - supporting the inside of the top

07:06 - under all of the tension that is

07:08 - being exerted by the strings.

07:10 - It's kind of like hanging a

07:12 - young teenager from a very thin

07:13 - piece of wood. About 120 pounds

07:16 - of pull on the top.

07:18 - So the braces are there to

07:20 - counteract the pull without

07:22 - interfering with the tone.

07:24 - Actually enhancing the tone.

07:27 - This is a pretty high tech

07:29 - little scenario here where after

07:33 - the braces are glued to them,

07:35 - this latex gluing fixture is set

07:38 - into place.

07:39 - The vacuum is turned on and you

07:42 - can see through the Plexiglas

07:45 - here that the latex is vacuumed

07:48 - down onto the brakes, is

07:50 - exerting equal pressure, and

07:52 - holding everything down during

07:54 - glue up.

07:55 - And this is actually a heated

07:56 - platen as well which accelerates

07:59 - the drying of the glue.

08:01 - So she is on clamp 1.

08:03 - This is called A frame bracing.

08:05 - This appears on our more

08:06 - economical model. The rosed has

08:10 - been laid about halfway into the

08:13 - top.

08:14 - This just reinforces the sound

08:16 - hole and this little frame

08:20 - supports the pull of the neck

08:24 - and then these braces really

08:26 - have a lot to do with the tone

08:27 - of the guitar.

08:29 - They want to be as light as

08:30 - possible without jeopardizing

08:33 - the strength of the instrument.

08:36 - Now while the top is being

08:37 - braised, we're also working on

08:39 - backs. The backs are made of a

08:44 - number of different types of

08:45 - wood.

08:46 - This is called the back center

08:47 - brace.

08:48 - It's been prepared for the glue

08:50 - up of four lateral braces, which

08:53 - are actually arched, which will

08:55 - hold the arm to the back.

08:59 - And that's what's being glued up

09:01 - here with a brace back.

09:05 - This is a cherry back.

09:08 - This is one of our sustainable

09:11 - wood models. Certified wood.

09:14 - And the interesting thing here

09:16 - is that this would come from

09:17 - Pennsylvania.

09:18 - It's native to Northwestern P.A.

09:22 - and it's certified sustainable,

09:25 - harvested responsibly in

09:27 - accordance with the rules of

09:29 - smart wood.

09:30 - And the fourth stewardship

09:31 - council. You can see that the

09:37 - back has a very slight arch.

09:40 - Plus it's going to have an arch

09:42 - in this direction as well.

09:45 - So this is the carving of the

09:47 - braces.

09:47 - This is one of the most critical

09:49 - parts of your job. Braces that

09:53 - are too heavy yield a very thick

09:56 - sound. A sound that's too bass-y

10:00 - and bases that are too light

10:01 - would jeopardize the strength of

10:03 - the top so the braces are carved

10:06 - to a very, very exact dimension

10:08 - that gives the right combination

10:10 - of strength and tone.

10:14 - These lower braces are

10:15 - scalloped. The scalloping is

10:18 - scooping out of the brace to

10:20 - lighten its weight and allow the

10:23 - top to vibrate.

10:25 - And this is really critical.

10:27 - Below the brace for the

10:31 - liveliness and vibration of a

10:33 - top that brings out the

10:35 - crystalline highs and the

10:36 - brilliance that you want out of

10:38 - the treble response without

10:40 - first sacrificing the bass.

10:44 - This is a very skilled, skilled

10:46 - job. Takes a lot of time to

10:49 - develop chisel skill and to know

10:51 - about how the grain is going to

10:53 - react to the chisel.

10:56 - If you take a look at this

10:57 - little piece, our wood is cut

10:59 - very, very carefully.

11:01 - It's quarter sawed, which means

11:03 - that the wood is vertically

11:06 - grained and when the wood is

11:08 - perfect it will come off the

11:09 - chainsaw just like this.

11:12 - That's a perfect piece of wood.

11:27 - I suppose it's important to

11:28 - explain exactly what quarter

11:30 - sawing is. If you can see the

11:33 - end of this piece.

11:34 - You can see the grain lines are

11:36 - standing vertically. Perfectly

11:38 - vertically, 90 degrees and

11:41 - that's giving more or less an

11:44 - IBM effect to its grain line,

11:46 - giving tremendous strength to

11:48 - the top.

11:49 - And remember we've got about 120

11:52 - pounds of pull pulling on the

11:54 - top so we want the most strength

11:56 - out of our wood as possible.

11:58 - Perfectly cut piece of spruce

12:01 - will show lateral markings in

12:04 - the grain called medullary

12:05 - raise.

12:06 - And that's what these lines are

12:08 - going width wise to the grain.

12:11 - That shows that the top has

12:12 - either been hand split or cut

12:14 - perfectly.

12:21 - So now the rim is done and needs

12:26 - to be prepared to accept the

12:28 - back and the top. These special

12:35 - sanders have a geometry to them

12:38 - that will put the exact radius

12:42 - for the back to accept the

12:44 - arched back braces as well as

12:47 - flat top and as you can see the

12:53 - mold here and the molds are now

12:57 - made out of cast aluminum.

12:59 - They're extremely rigid and

13:01 - accurate. Much better than the

13:04 - old wooden mold and they're also

13:06 - at the exact right weight to

13:09 - exert on the sanding belts here

13:13 - to get them fit perfectly for

13:14 - the top and the back geometry.

13:23 - So this one is, this sander is

13:25 - actually a dish shaped like

13:28 - this, putting the back geometry

13:30 - on.

13:32 - And this is ready to accept the

13:33 - back of top. So now that the rim

13:40 - has been prepared.

13:41 - Geometry wise. For the top and

13:44 - the back. Notches are made into

13:47 - the lining to accept the main

13:48 - structural braces and then the

13:53 - actual glue off of the top and

13:55 - back will be facilitated. The

14:03 - top fits perfectly in place, all

14:05 - the braces into their notches,

14:10 - two locating pins keep

14:12 - everything on center. Now the

14:24 - weight of the mold itself keeps

14:27 - everything in place while the

14:30 - back is glued once again. The

14:34 - glue here is similar to a yellow

14:37 - woodworking glue like type.

14:41 - You can see that the notches

14:43 - have also been made into the

14:46 - lining to accept the back

14:47 - braces.

14:48 - Here this is really what

14:58 - separates a really well-made

15:00 - guitar from a cheap guitar.

15:02 - All the attention to detail on

15:04 - the inside that most musicians

15:08 - would never even see unless they

15:10 - took an inspection mirror on the

15:12 - inside of the instrument, which

15:14 - a lot of our customers do.

15:15 - Just to check up on it, this is

15:23 - a cutaway guitar. The cutaway

15:27 - just enables track access up to

15:29 - the lower registers of the neck

15:32 - and allows more notes to be

15:33 - played. A little more difficult

15:36 - to fill the cutaways and that is

15:39 - a standard model. For now the

15:51 - back is put in place and this is

15:53 - rosewood once again. These

16:13 - gluing presses are actually

16:16 - using an inflatable bladder. The

16:19 - inflatable bladder is the black

16:20 - part at the top and it simply

16:23 - puts exactly the right amount of

16:26 - light pressure all the way

16:27 - around so that we don't crack

16:30 - the sides with too much

16:32 - clamping. These presses are also

16:37 - heated.

16:39 - The wood will cure nicely with a

16:40 - slight amount of heat. How long

16:45 - will they stand?

16:45 - About 15 minutes. The glue will

16:49 - set up in 15 minutes.

16:50 - And so he can work continuously

16:54 - with the glue-up of another

16:56 - body.

16:57 - And now this one is going to

16:58 - come out of its mold so after

17:05 - the top and the back have been

17:06 - glued, this is what we would

17:09 - call a completed rim ready to be

17:13 - trimmed and ready to be bound

17:16 - with its findings and

17:18 - decoration. Sounds a little like

17:38 - an auto mechanic shop.

17:49 - Now we move to the binding area.

17:56 - So here we are trimming the

17:58 - bindings. The bindings are very

18:00 - delicate and go around the edge

18:02 - of the guitar.

18:03 - It's very, very precise.

18:06 - The binding is actually this

18:08 - outer white piece.

18:10 - The inlay is inset.

18:12 - So it goes around the corner

18:14 - like an L shape so that cut has

18:17 - to be perfect and that's what

18:19 - we're doing here.

18:20 - After which the bindings will

18:22 - actually be applied. This is the

18:31 - application of the bindings.

18:33 - Bindings are made up of usually

18:37 - one or two or more pieces glued

18:40 - around the perimeter of the

18:41 - guitar. First you see masking

18:44 - tape and then actually wrap with

18:47 - a cloth, strapping kind of like

18:49 - a mummy.

18:51 - So the instrument will sit like

18:54 - this overnight after which it

18:56 - can be sanded.

18:57 - The purpose of the binding is to

19:02 - protect the edge of the guitar

19:03 - from dents. To seal off ingrain.

19:08 - And also this is the primary

19:10 - decoration on each instrument.

19:13 - This is in here wrong.

19:14 - When we get the over here, the

19:30 - bindings are levelled with the

19:33 - sides in the back.

19:39 - And this is really the last

19:40 - operation before the body meets

19:44 - up with the neck. Depending upon

19:47 - the price.

19:49 - There are many different styles

19:50 - of bindings and declaration that

19:52 - you might find on Martin

19:53 - instruments.

19:54 - D18 for example would have a

19:57 - very simple bindings whereas the

20:00 - number increases to a D45.

20:03 - That's the most fancy of the

20:04 - bindings so many, many different

20:07 - styles. Tortoise, white, black,

20:11 - ivory, wooden bindings, a

20:14 - variation of black, white, or

20:16 - colored inlays. Herringbone trim

20:21 - and then some of the bindings

20:23 - get very fancy. Pearl inlay.

20:26 - Whereas the plain guitars are

20:29 - simple. Black, white, black

20:31 - inlay.

20:40 - We're in the process of moving

20:41 - everything around in the shop

20:43 - because we've been working on

20:44 - what's called lean manufacturing

20:47 - and the way that works is

20:49 - instead of having a ton of

20:51 - inventories stacked up on trucks

20:53 - waiting to be worked on.

20:55 - Instead we have perhaps one or

20:59 - two or three pieces waiting to

21:01 - be worked on and the minute the

21:03 - next person is ready for them,

21:05 - they have something, but they

21:07 - don't have too many.

21:09 - It's kind of like water flowing

21:11 - through a pipe.

21:12 - And so this will reduce the

21:14 - amount of trash and inventory on

21:16 - the floor and actually

21:18 - accelerate the process and

21:21 - relieve everybody of any stress

21:23 - from having a lot of pieces

21:25 - waiting to be worked on.

21:27 - It really is very effective and

21:30 - we're kind of reassessing our

21:32 - entire production process to

21:34 - implement lean manufacturing.

21:37 - So now that the body is

21:39 - completed, we will assemble the

21:42 - neck.

21:42 - The neck has been pre-machined

21:44 - downstairs and this is the

21:47 - installation of the truss rod.

21:49 - Truss rod is a two way rod that

21:51 - can adjust the neck by turning

21:55 - clockwise and putting a

21:59 - curvature this way or by turning

22:03 - it counter-clockwise it puts the

22:07 - the opposite.

22:09 - It's a very clever device and it

22:12 - can help to adjust the back

22:13 - under string pressure.

22:16 - Now she's gluing up the heel cap

22:23 - and setting it into the press.

22:28 - This area used to be filled with

22:30 - clamps so it was an ocean of

22:31 - clamps.

22:33 - But because of possible carpal

22:35 - tunnel or repetitive motion

22:37 - injury, we invested in these

22:40 - special clamping devices, which

22:42 - were heated platens that allowed

22:45 - the frets to be recessed and

22:49 - once again the heating allows

22:51 - for accelerated glue drying and

22:56 - very, very efficient tools.

23:08 - So these nets are being glued up

23:10 - and once they come out of the

23:11 - press, they'll get joined up

23:14 - with the body and individually

23:17 - hand fit to each body.

23:20 - This is Buddy Silvius. Buddy,

23:22 - you've been working here.

23:23 - How many years?

23:25 - 43. 43 years and he's just as

23:28 - handsome as he was the day he

23:30 - started.

23:32 - But he is doing the final part

23:35 - of a neck fit here on this D35.

23:38 - Fitting the heel cap, making

23:40 - sure that the lines align nicely

23:44 - with the back binding.

23:47 - This is the most crucial aspect

23:49 - of the guitar's construction

23:52 - because the fitting of the neck

23:54 - controls how the guitar is going

23:56 - to play.

24:00 - This is heel cap will eventually

24:03 - be a hand shaped kind of to the

24:06 - shape of a church window. It's a

24:09 - lovely little feature. A

24:12 - traditional feature and

24:14 - primarily decorative.

24:17 - This is a dry fit.

24:18 - The neck isn't glued into place

24:20 - yet. It's just here fit dry

24:24 - without glue. So that's a lot

24:58 - that's drying. He's going to

25:01 - unclasp this one and just make

25:04 - sure that it's a good fit and

25:08 - code them with a number.

25:10 - This is a matching number now

25:12 - that is no longer

25:14 - interchangeable with any other

25:16 - neck. So by shaving minuscule

25:27 - amounts of material from the

25:29 - dovetail area, the neck can be

25:31 - thrown to the left or the right

25:33 - or up and down.

25:37 - It can also be pitched backward

25:40 - at a slight angle, which is

25:42 - critical to the play ability and

25:47 - the dovetail is a very

25:48 - complicated joint, but a really

25:51 - effective joint not only for

25:53 - tone, but also for stability and

25:57 - the fit of the neck to the body

26:19 - so that it's all down and ready

26:23 - to go through lacquering.

26:25 - As you can see.

26:26 - We've made quite an investment

26:29 - in the special sanding station

26:31 - that evacuated all the sawdust

26:32 - stuff and out through our dust

26:33 - collection. It's really

26:38 - important to the quality of our

26:39 - work environment, but also keeps

26:42 - our plant clean especially

26:45 - during the lacquering process.

26:47 - So the other clever thing is

26:49 - these special holders. These

26:51 - holders are vacuum holders with

26:55 - suction cups that hold the

26:57 - guitar without putting any

26:58 - marking on the guitar. She's

27:01 - actually sanding a slight radius

27:04 - into the lip of the sound hole.

27:07 - And just preparing the body for

27:09 - lacquering. So the sanding

27:21 - scratches have to come out of

27:23 - every little aspect of the grain

27:26 - and top and back prior to

27:29 - lacquering. We want the guitar

27:30 - to be flawless because lacquer

27:33 - actually will show or accentuate

27:35 - any defect or anything we miss

27:38 - so we want a perfectly standard

27:42 - body like so. This shaping of

27:47 - the neck. Traditionally or shall

27:52 - I say historically Martin has

27:54 - had a little diamond or volute

27:57 - or dart on the back of the neck.

27:59 - This is actually the result of a

28:02 - two piece headstock and neck

28:03 - attachment.

28:06 - In the olden days we actually

28:07 - had a little dovetail joint and

28:09 - the byproduct of that dovetail

28:11 - was a little volute.

28:13 - But these days we make the neck

28:14 - out of one solid piece and as a

28:18 - result the little dart or volute

28:21 - needs to be hand carved and this

28:24 - is just one of the beautiful

28:25 - features of our guitars.

28:29 - So he's using a combination of

28:31 - files, brass, and even a small

28:34 - paring knife. Razor sharp little

28:37 - paring knife to get all of the

28:40 - contours of this volute in the

28:45 - final shape.

29:18 - Another interesting thing is

29:20 - this small tool.

29:21 - This is a template that enables

29:24 - each worker that's doing the

29:27 - next shaping to check the next

29:29 - shape as they're working at the

29:31 - tenth track, at the first fret,

29:34 - at the heel cap, at the side

29:37 - profile of the neck as well as

29:40 - the inside cove of the neck.

29:43 - So we have a template like this

29:45 - for every single style and shape

29:47 - of guitar that we make.

29:56 - So after the bodies are sanded,

29:58 - we apply filler, which is like a

30:00 - liquid paste to close the porous

30:02 - wood.

30:03 - But one of the things that the

30:04 - filler does is stand the

30:06 - bindings so they need to be

30:08 - scraped clean prior to lacquer

30:11 - and that's what's going on here.

30:33 - Once his job is complete, then

30:35 - the guitars will go in for

30:36 - another sealer coat and then

30:38 - start to receive multiple

30:39 - lacquer coats and sanding until

30:43 - they're fully coated and ready

30:46 - for polishing.

30:57 - And even the neck has elements

31:00 - that need to be cleaned before

31:02 - lacquering.

31:02 - He's cleaning the filler. The

31:05 - filler from the nut and also

31:10 - from the side dots and this area

31:20 - right here is where the filler

31:23 - is applied.

31:24 - It's probably our dirtiest area.

31:28 - If you walk down with me, the

31:33 - filler is applied like paint and

31:38 - after the filler sets for a

31:39 - couple of minutes, it takes on a

31:41 - leathery texture and then it's

31:45 - hand wiped into the grain as

31:48 - well as buffed with a buffing

31:50 - bonnet.

31:51 - This is a filler bonnet here and

31:57 - here you can see what the filler

32:00 - has done to the bindings.

32:02 - It's got it muddy in color.

32:05 - Ready for scraping off the back

32:08 - inlay strip, which is actually

32:10 - wood and that prevents the stain

32:12 - from getting into the ingrain of

32:14 - the wood.

32:17 - So this is the application of

32:18 - the filler that has had its

32:20 - brush drawn much like paint.

32:23 - But it sets up pretty quickly

32:24 - into a kind of a leathery

32:27 - texture and then it gets forced

32:29 - into the ground using a

32:31 - polishing bonnet.

32:33 - This is probably the messiest

32:36 - part of our application, but the

32:38 - filler serves the purpose of

32:40 - closing the pores of the wood so

32:42 - that lacquer doesn't sink in

32:44 - like a sponge.

32:47 - Saves the amount of lacquer we

32:48 - need to apply and it gives a

32:50 - beautiful smooth almost dining

32:53 - room table type of finish. So we

33:00 - mix filler in the same basic

33:02 - color as the wood that's

33:04 - underneath it so that it becomes

33:08 - more or less invisible.

33:09 - This is a walnut colored filler

33:12 - and once the filler sets up then

33:22 - she'll use the buffing bonnet to

33:25 - force it into the grain.

33:39 - So after the necks are filled,

33:41 - you can see that they're masked

33:42 - off to prevent lacquer from

33:44 - hitting the fingerboard, which

33:46 - gets no lacquer.

33:48 - After the filler is applied then

33:50 - the tuning machine holes are

33:51 - drilled and that's done on this

33:53 - machine after which the neck

33:55 - will proceed to lacquering.

34:18 - So the last thing that happens

34:19 - before the neck goes into

34:21 - lacquering is the application of

34:22 - the Martin logo.

34:23 - Of course this is an important

34:25 - part of the process.

34:27 - We have a lot of different types

34:28 - of logos.

34:29 - These are the foil transfers.

34:33 - Actually very thin slivers of

34:36 - gold foil.

34:39 - We also use decals and some

34:42 - logos are pearl inlaid. Just

34:45 - burnished into place and then

34:51 - the coating is peeled off,

34:53 - leaving the logo in place.

34:56 - That's all there is to it.

34:59 - So this is one of our several

35:01 - lacquer booths.

35:03 - Unfortunately, I'm not allowed

35:04 - to take you inside because this

35:05 - is not only a medically clean

35:07 - area, but it's also susceptible

35:10 - to electronic devices like

35:12 - cameras and cell phones.

35:14 - But I can just open the door.

35:16 - And show you that it's a busy,

35:19 - busy little area where our

35:21 - sunbursting is done and where

35:25 - the lacquering process begins.

35:28 - Much of our lacquering is done

35:30 - with robots and that's also a

35:33 - medically clean area, but we'll

35:35 - get to see what that's all about

35:37 - from here.

35:39 - So this is the lacquer sanding

35:40 - area.

35:41 - Once again, we've made a big

35:42 - investment to remove dust from

35:44 - the air into our dust collection

35:45 - system.

35:47 - But what we're doing here is

35:48 - just leveling the lacquer.

35:50 - After several codes have been

35:51 - applied, they'll level it and

35:53 - then apply more coats until we

35:55 - get a perfectly smooth surface

35:58 - that's ready for polishing.

36:00 - As you can see here, the

36:07 - application of the lacquer

36:09 - leaves a pebbliness and in some

36:11 - cases the pores where the filler

36:13 - has been applied are still

36:15 - sinking in a little bit.

36:16 - This is pretty far along so we

36:19 - have some peanut shell or

36:22 - pebbliness to the lacquer.

36:23 - But most of the pores are gone.

36:32 - So after the sanding is done, go

36:34 - back for more coats and then

36:37 - into the drying room overnight.

36:40 - The drying room is important

36:42 - because it gives us a perfect

36:45 - environment for the lacquer to

36:47 - cure and for the fuming of the

36:50 - lacquer and the temperature in

36:54 - the drawing room is critical to

36:56 - that process.

37:01 - Of all the processes involved in

37:03 - guitar making, the finishing

37:05 - process is the most complicated

37:07 - and it takes several weeks.

37:10 - We're looking at many, many

37:12 - dozens of steps, coats,

37:16 - sandings, waiting time, drying

37:18 - time, more coats, more waiting,

37:22 - more sanding until the process

37:24 - is completed and can move

37:25 - towards polishing.

37:29 - All in all about two to three

37:30 - weeks.

37:35 - So this is our brand new drying

37:36 - room.

37:37 - Once again, a fairly large

37:39 - investment in a special

37:40 - environment for the lacquered

37:42 - bodies next to dry and cure. The

37:46 - temperature inside the dining

37:48 - room is quite warm and that's

37:52 - ideal to let the lacquer fume.

37:56 - The other thing that we're doing

37:57 - here is instead of heating cold

37:59 - air from the outside, we're

38:01 - research circulating and

38:03 - filtering the air that's already

38:05 - heated so that this is a very

38:08 - green process in here. One that

38:12 - recovers heated air and recycles

38:14 - it. The recycling of the air is

38:21 - quite complicated and involves a

38:23 - tremendous amount of ductwork

38:25 - above the room that enables us

38:29 - to recover a lot of the energy

38:32 - from the heat air that already

38:33 - exists.

38:35 - So I'm standing in the Martin

38:36 - repair department.

38:38 - Customers call up and get

38:40 - authorization to return guitars

38:42 - either for warranty work or for

38:45 - repair.

38:46 - A lot of things happen to

38:47 - guitars. Marital disputes, all

38:50 - kinds of things. Guitars come in

38:53 - packed in boxes.

38:54 - We will unpack them, get them

38:58 - prepared for repair, and then

39:01 - set them into motion. And

39:03 - typical repairs will be a

39:07 - regluing of a bridge or a

39:09 - resetting of a neck.

39:11 - Here we've got an orchestra

39:13 - model.

39:14 - This is a custom or an OM28.

39:18 - John Mayer model.

39:20 - This is John Mayer's guitar,

39:21 - isn't it?

39:22 - This is his actual guitar.

39:24 - He sent two guitars in last week

39:28 - that have been out on the road

39:29 - with him for many, many moons.

39:31 - Many years, actually and they

39:33 - just needed a little bit of work

39:36 - in this case.

39:37 - Looks like they're getting it a

39:38 - little bit of lacquer retouching

39:41 - and a new bridge and probably a

39:45 - resetting of the neck.

39:47 - So we'll get them all back into

39:48 - shape.

39:49 - We want John to be singing his

39:50 - songs. So all types of repairs

39:56 - here. Some older ones, some

39:59 - younger ones.

40:00 - This guitar is one of them. Mark

40:02 - Knopfler. Guitarist Mark

40:03 - Knopfler from Dire Straits.

40:05 - One of the best guitarists in

40:06 - the world and some standard

40:10 - models, probably some more work,

40:13 - but also some some restoration

40:15 - work.

40:16 - This is a Brazilian rosewood

40:17 - guitar from probably the 1960s,

40:21 - early 60s. Getting some

40:23 - relaxing. It's much more

40:30 - difficult to repair a guitar

40:31 - than it is to actually build one

40:33 - from scratch and that's why we

40:35 - have our finest crafts people

40:36 - back here. Some of which have

40:39 - worked with us for many, many

40:40 - years and back here we have our

40:45 - famous Milt Hess. One of our

40:48 - master repair people and Milt's

40:51 - been working on some some

40:52 - beautiful restorations of

40:54 - antique guitars.

40:55 - We have the...

41:00 - If I'm careful here this guitar

41:03 - dates back to the mid 1880s.

41:06 - It's a renaissance model.

41:09 - Renaissance referring to this

41:10 - unique body shape made by Martin

41:16 - and quite rare. So Milt's been

41:19 - restoring a lot of the

41:20 - collection from our museum and

41:25 - also works on some of the more

41:28 - important instruments.

41:30 - This being one of the Stephen

41:31 - Stills signature guitars, an

41:35 - O45. My favorite work bench. The

41:40 - best tools. And Traci's working

41:59 - on something here.

42:00 - This is one of the Gene Autry

42:02 - models. A special limited

42:05 - edition made in honor of Gene

42:08 - Autry and actually if you can

42:10 - see that, it's signed by Gene

42:12 - Autry.

42:14 - This is number 65 of 66 and it's

42:18 - getting a new bridge.

42:19 - She's scribed a line and is

42:21 - about ready to scrape away the

42:23 - lacquer so that we have a wood

42:25 - to wood joint on the glue on the

42:27 - bridge gluing.

42:28 - So everybody thinks of Martin

42:33 - Guitars as handmade so it's a

42:35 - little incongruous perhaps to

42:38 - see a robot at the Martin plant.

42:41 - But that's what we have.

42:42 - And the reason we have it is

42:43 - that the robot does this

42:45 - particular job better than we

42:48 - can do it by hand.

42:50 - Traditionally, we polished our

42:52 - guitars with bonnets and we

42:54 - still do that.

42:56 - But lacquer is extremely thin

42:58 - and it's very important not to

43:00 - bare down too hard or too

43:01 - lightly on the lacquer during

43:03 - the polishing process.

43:06 - So what this robotic arrangement

43:08 - does is apply exactly the right

43:10 - amount of pressure to the

43:11 - lacquer to give us an initial

43:14 - polishing without burning

43:16 - through.

43:17 - Does a great job.

43:19 - We were a little bit worried

43:21 - about the reaction of people

43:23 - taking a tour and seeing this,

43:26 - but it turns out this is

43:28 - everybody's favorite part of the

43:29 - tour.