Clements Guitars, LLC

Clements Guitars, LLC Boutique guitars finely crafted in Bryan, Texas

04/21/2026

First rounds of shellac sealer coat on the JDC-Fuller. Th

04/20/2026

This Martin J-1 has seen quite a bit of h***y tonkin' and as a result was starting to come apart at the seams. The binding was missing and the top plate had begun to separate from the kerfing. Rather than trying to match new binding, all the old binding was cut away, the top plate reglued, and new tortoise shell celluloid binding installed. A light dust of satin lacquer and a setup and its ready to play again.

04/17/2026

Moving forward on the JDC-Fuller build. The heel has been shaped and now its all a matter of getting the fine details cleaned and scraped before it's ready for shellac.

04/15/2026

Something a little bit different that's both fun and educational.

In order to replicate the look of real tortoise shell and ivory, lot of vintage guitars were made using celluloid pickguards and bindings. Celluloid just so happens to be extremely flammable with a low ignition point, making it perfect for fire tinder. So while I replace the binding on this vintage Martin, here's a quick demonstration on why you should keep vintage guitars away from the campfires.

04/02/2026

You've heard of a banjo and you've heard of a mandolin, but have you ever heard of a banjolin? Interesting little repair that came through the shop. While there's no markings, the customer states that this May Belle banjolin is probably from the 1920's. It was in need of a little TLC and a fretboard reglue, but other than that was a fairly fun and easy job. Just don't ask us to try to play it.

03/25/2026

Back to working on builds after a tidal wave of repair work. Getting this neck cleaned up and ready for glue up into the body. You've probably noticed the unique shape of the JDC headstock, affectionately called "The Can Opener". All of the Can Opener shapes are carved by hand due to CNC bit size constrictions. Just another added personal touch to each one.

Clements Guitars is beyond excited to see its first ever Featured Artist play his personalized black sparkle JDC Semi-H...
03/23/2026

Clements Guitars is beyond excited to see its first ever Featured Artist play his personalized black sparkle JDC Semi-Hollow in front of a record breaking sold out crowd of 80,203 for none other than the World Famous ! Couldn't be happier for him and all his accomplishments!

03/07/2026

All's quiet on the social media front doesn't mean we've gone anywhere. Quite the opposite. Between new builds, repairs, setups, and some new models in the works its never been busier in the shop. Sometimes doing it for the Gram falls between the cracks.

02/05/2026

Carlos Classical Repair: Final

After having cleaned up the old bridge glue and the underside of the bridge, its time to glue it back on. Considering I didn't have any clamps long enough to reach the wings of the bridge, I used a trick feom a friend and used No. 10 bolts to help anchor the wings down into place. They're close enough to 3/16" that there's no play.

After the glue up, the bolts are removed and a 3/16" dowel is installed that I capped off with a custom MOP dot for good looks. Everything was then wet sanded and hit on the buffing wheel to shine up. A quick saddle adjustment and strings, and this Carlos Classical is back to almost brand new.

01/29/2026

Fender Banjo Repair: Part 1

Lots of big repair jobs going on in the shop all in various stages of completion. Trying to get them off my bench so I can get back to builds. This Fender banjo unfortunately had an accident while moving homes without a protective case and its headstock is hanging by a thread. Luckily it is a fairly clean break and can be glued back together. I cleaned it up of the dirt and dust a bit then swabbed some hot hide glue into the break and clamped down hard. After a little clean up its ready to go get some fresh lacquer over the break and we'll see how seamless we can make it.

01/26/2026

Part 4 of the Carlos Classical Repair.

With the bridge now removed, its time to clean everything up. I utilized the CNC to make a router jig out of some old scrap wood, then used a hand router to barely skim the surface of the top plate. The corners were cleaned up with an extra long chisel. Because the top on this guitar is practically flat, there was really no need to make any kind of radius to the bridge, so I hand worked it down until the bottom was flat as well. We now have a perfectly clean and fitted bridge to get glued up.

Next step: gluing cauls and glue up.

01/20/2026

Another day, another repair. Today we have some binding separation on a customer's Martin they're looking to sell. Obviously a buyer won't take it in the condition its in, so thats where I come in.

The area is fairly self-contained, so its not much work getting some binding glue down in the gaps and getting them taped. The glue is Bind-All from and has a fairly long set time and cleans up easy. I prefer it now over CA or wood glue. After a little bit of polishing and buffing, it's ready to go again.

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Bryan, TX
77801

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