FRETS.NET2024-03-28T17:05:08ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddardhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2192730170?profile=original&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://fretsnet.ning.com/forum/topic/listForContributor?user=2upnsvg5tb5e7&feed=yes&xn_auth=noFixing a sunken toptag:fretsnet.ning.com,2024-03-08:2177249:Topic:2965622024-03-08T14:02:50.012ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddard
<p>Could use some help figuring out the best repair strategy for this Tacoma, whose top has sunk. I mostly see this on Martins, but sometimes on other types as well.</p>
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<p>This particular guitar is not worth the expense of removing and regluing braces. Maybe some gentle heat and pressure on the inside to get the glue to creep and let the top come up? Just bag it and make a taller saddle?</p>
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<p>Humidifying it has had little effect.…</p>
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<p>Could use some help figuring out the best repair strategy for this Tacoma, whose top has sunk. I mostly see this on Martins, but sometimes on other types as well.</p>
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<p>This particular guitar is not worth the expense of removing and regluing braces. Maybe some gentle heat and pressure on the inside to get the glue to creep and let the top come up? Just bag it and make a taller saddle?</p>
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<p>Humidifying it has had little effect.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12398601466?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12398601466?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="750" class="align-left"/></a></p> Vintage Gibson pickguard removal.tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2024-02-11:2177249:Topic:2964212024-02-11T16:01:40.227ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddard
<p>Got an early 6o's LG that has the picjguard curl which has caused 3 separate cracks in the top...Problem is , VERY thin guard , finished over with NO separations...No gaps anywhere...I'm worried about opening a gigantic can of worms..</p>
<p>Got an early 6o's LG that has the picjguard curl which has caused 3 separate cracks in the top...Problem is , VERY thin guard , finished over with NO separations...No gaps anywhere...I'm worried about opening a gigantic can of worms..</p> Gibson LP Jr's feeding back .tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2024-01-22:2177249:Topic:2962152024-01-22T05:54:01.057ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddard
<p>My customer has a lot of experience and is touring , he is having trouble with his Gibson les Paul Jr's feeding back , they would be less than 10yrs old , maybe 5 . One is more prone to f/b than the other . I cant say Ive had this problem before with P90's , my 1st thought was to wax pot them although they are probably already potted , or maybe to float them more loosely from the body ? Any ideas please ?</p>
<p>My customer has a lot of experience and is touring , he is having trouble with his Gibson les Paul Jr's feeding back , they would be less than 10yrs old , maybe 5 . One is more prone to f/b than the other . I cant say Ive had this problem before with P90's , my 1st thought was to wax pot them although they are probably already potted , or maybe to float them more loosely from the body ? Any ideas please ?</p> any body recognize this peg head logo?tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2024-01-18:2177249:Topic:2962902024-01-18T15:36:27.476ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddard
<p>any body recognize this peg head logo?</p>
<p>(SEE IMAGE)</p>
<p>any body recognize this peg head logo?</p>
<p>(SEE IMAGE)</p> Ramirez 1a Refinish Next Stepstag:fretsnet.ning.com,2024-01-13:2177249:Topic:2958862024-01-13T20:59:41.711ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddard
<p>After going around in circles on diagnosing this '71 Ramiriez 1a, I've determined and done the following:</p>
<p>1. The soundboard had been refinished...stripped of the original finish...recoated with a poly glop...uneven, runny and wrong color. </p>
<p>2. The soundboard is original...any strange edge issues showing the binding is lower than the top is just that...the binding has been trimmed down to, presumably, eliminate the nicks and dings in the binding. The top is original, the…</p>
<p>After going around in circles on diagnosing this '71 Ramiriez 1a, I've determined and done the following:</p>
<p>1. The soundboard had been refinished...stripped of the original finish...recoated with a poly glop...uneven, runny and wrong color. </p>
<p>2. The soundboard is original...any strange edge issues showing the binding is lower than the top is just that...the binding has been trimmed down to, presumably, eliminate the nicks and dings in the binding. The top is original, the lining inside has not been disturbed. The guitar finisher who worked on it previously, a Ryan Martin, did not show great quality in his work, and would not have been able to remove and replace a top without leaving telltale signs. His signature inside the soundhole could have been done with the top on. My earlier idea that it was removed is likely wrong.</p>
<p>3. I've decided to remove the old finish by scraping and slowly sanding the top to remove the lousy coating, to bring the top edges down a bit to blend with the binding, and to eliminate some superficial blemishes. I've measured the uneven binding and it averages 0.1mm below the top surface. It's irregular and by scraping I've gradually blended and lowered the edge. I'm not all the way down yet. </p>
<p>4. I still have the strings on, so the final bit of cleanup will be after I pull the strings. I love playing it and have been listening to the tone as I clean it up. I do have a wolf tone b flat on the 3rd string, and am listening to see if that changes as I remove the finish and thin the edge. As I am at bare wood for 80% of the surface, I try to keep from soiling the wood. I am not fully sanded and am leaving that final bit to an overall sanding. I've used 400 grit which is really slow.</p>
<p>5. I bought a cheap classical to try out various finish approaches....the guitar actually sounds terrific and the case is worth much more I paid for the guitar...anyway I've done some scraping and sanding and application of STEWMAC #3883 sanding sealer. My original plan was to get it stripped down, and use the STEWMAC system to do a Nitro finish, getting a few coats of lacquer on, and then tinting a few layers until the color is right, then clear coat.</p>
<p>6. I may get the grunt work done and see if my friend in Rockport Maine will do the final prep and finish it. His guitars are superb and he's obviously set up for this, and tho I don't expect to duplicate the original Ramirez finish, which I think was a poly anyway, it should be a nice looking guitar. </p>
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<p>Any guidance on the last bits of finish prep would be much appreciated. The sanding and scraping around the bridge and rosette is challenging. The rosette area had been quite disturbed and I am very cautious about working in this area, wishing to flatten it, and remove the poly finish which has some tint. I am using 400 grit paper and a single edged razor blade for this work. Cleanup of the old finish around the bridge is tricky, hoping for a clean joint that will take the new finish well. </p> Latitude for oversized fret slot widths on a new nuttag:fretsnet.ning.com,2023-12-21:2177249:Topic:2955202023-12-21T19:53:39.216ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddard
<p>Greetings,</p>
<p> I am wondering if there is an accepted oversize dimension for nut slot withs on steel stringed instruments (i.e. banjo, guitar). To accommodate players that might use heavier stings (and to relieve the luthier from buying every slot file under the sun), is there an acceptable oversize criterion? For example, for a nominal .011 string, is a .013 slot OK? .015? .017? What about wound strings? This would be for new bone nut blanks. Any thoughts would be appreciated. ...…</p>
<p>Greetings,</p>
<p> I am wondering if there is an accepted oversize dimension for nut slot withs on steel stringed instruments (i.e. banjo, guitar). To accommodate players that might use heavier stings (and to relieve the luthier from buying every slot file under the sun), is there an acceptable oversize criterion? For example, for a nominal .011 string, is a .013 slot OK? .015? .017? What about wound strings? This would be for new bone nut blanks. Any thoughts would be appreciated. ... Mark</p>
<p></p> Frank Ford, 1944-2023tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2023-12-18:2177249:Topic:2953782023-12-18T23:32:37.625ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddard
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<p><a href="https://www.gryphonstrings.com/blogs/news/frank-ford-1944-2023">https://www.gryphonstrings.com/blogs/news/frank-ford-1944-2023</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12328663282?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12328663282?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><a href="https://www.gryphonstrings.com/blogs/news/frank-ford-1944-2023">https://www.gryphonstrings.com/blogs/news/frank-ford-1944-2023</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12328663282?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12328663282?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p> Crack in the wood or just in the finish?tag:fretsnet.ning.com,2023-12-04:2177249:Topic:2952652023-12-04T11:04:33.837ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddard
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I just discovered what it seems to be a crack in the wood, it runs just parallel with the grain, so at first I thought it was a crack. It’s an Atkin with Aged finish, so the whole body and neck has the finish checking. Looking closely could be a deeply crack just in the finish? Deep enough to feel it under the fingers?</p>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I just discovered what it seems to be a crack in the wood, it runs just parallel with the grain, so at first I thought it was a crack. It’s an Atkin with Aged finish, so the whole body and neck has the finish checking. Looking closely could be a deeply crack just in the finish? Deep enough to feel it under the fingers?</p> Remove staining on unfinished sidestag:fretsnet.ning.com,2023-11-26:2177249:Topic:2949292023-11-26T22:56:29.571ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddard
<p>I'm building a pair of parlor guitars, one of which has a set of highly figured sides. I was a bit worried about these sides cracking while bending them, so I used a piece of sheet metal to support them while bending on the hot pipe (note, this was not the Stewmac supplied spring steel bending aid, it was just a random relatively clean steel sheet I had lying around my shop). The sides bent just fine, but it looks like this piece of sheet metal stained them somewhat. Does anyone have any…</p>
<p>I'm building a pair of parlor guitars, one of which has a set of highly figured sides. I was a bit worried about these sides cracking while bending them, so I used a piece of sheet metal to support them while bending on the hot pipe (note, this was not the Stewmac supplied spring steel bending aid, it was just a random relatively clean steel sheet I had lying around my shop). The sides bent just fine, but it looks like this piece of sheet metal stained them somewhat. Does anyone have any advice on how to remove the stains? I'd rather not sand them out, besides, I think they may go pretty deep. </p> '68 Stratocster re-fret questiontag:fretsnet.ning.com,2023-11-24:2177249:Topic:2950862023-11-24T18:22:58.651ZJoe Stodddardhttp://fretsnet.ning.com/profile/JoeStodddard
<div class="discussion"><div class="description"><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Hello All,</p>
<p> I have an old strat neck that I am getting up the nerve to re-fret. I have done a few original fret jobs over the years, but re-fretting is not something I have much experience with. The neck is from the era at Fender where the frets were driven in sideways from the bass side rather than hammered/pressed in from the top. </p>
<p> My primary concerns are regarding tearout. The tangs being…</p>
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<div class="discussion"><div class="description"><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Hello All,</p>
<p> I have an old strat neck that I am getting up the nerve to re-fret. I have done a few original fret jobs over the years, but re-fretting is not something I have much experience with. The neck is from the era at Fender where the frets were driven in sideways from the bass side rather than hammered/pressed in from the top. </p>
<p> My primary concerns are regarding tearout. The tangs being withdrawn vertically where the blunt end of the barb is against unsupported 'virgin" rosewood sound like a bigger challenge than withdrawal of a frets barbs coming out the way they went in, as in a standard top-down installation. On the other hand, knocking the frets out the way they went in (bass to treble) seems like an invitation to tearout on the treble edge of the fretboard. Additionally, tearout at the treble edge seems like a much more challenging repair than to CA chips down under the bead of the new frets to be installed, and fill where needed. </p>
<p> Does anyone have experience and/or advice on the practical pros and cons of these two methods of extraction, or any tips to share? Regards, Mark</p>
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