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Post by jcgss77 on Aug 23, 2010 21:00:05 GMT -5
Someone, please help me!
I was playing my guitar tonight, just minding my own business, you know, rocking out, when something on my guitar caught my eye.
Something small.
So I looked closely, and there are termites hanging out in my guitar neck pocket-you know, the one we just had a nice big discussion about? So I am thinking, that is not good. Someone please let me know what I do to evict those squares before they turn my Hamer into a piece of driftwood!!!
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Post by newey on Aug 23, 2010 21:30:41 GMT -5
I'd suggest a can of raid, removal of the neck, and a good toxic soaking. No guarantees this doesn't wreck your finish, though, so a good masking job beforehand would be advised.
Are you sure they've taken up residence? Maybe it was just a couple of scouts from the barroom floor, crawling up to take a whiff . . .
Removal of the neck would probably tell you if there was a nest in there of some sort. There'd have to be a pretty big gap for them to get in there, I would think.
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Post by cynical1 on Aug 23, 2010 23:02:21 GMT -5
Whoa...the temptation to pun this out is irresistible...however... Do they look like this: I feel your pain. When we lived in South Carolina our brand new house had them. They're a solid gold b h to kill. Pesticides fail as the termites don't digest the wood they eat...nasty little protozoa in their digestive track do the heavy lifting for them... So, you have to kill the protozoa so the termites starve to death. Builders will use sodium borate as a pre-treatment...but that ain't gonna help you here. Most pesticides don't do much more then piss them off...or kill the ants that eat them. You need to find a termiticide. Termidor is about the only effective way to kill the little beggars...and that's a crap shoot. Not sure where you're at in the world, but a Google search should find something close. Keep in mind, this stuff will smell completely unlike a guitar...and you may find your bandmates drifting to the other side of the stage. There, made it all the way through without a pun... Happy Trails Cynical One
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Post by D2o on Aug 24, 2010 8:31:58 GMT -5
cyn brought up one of the things I was thinking about - ... not to add to the pain regarding your guitar, but ... Where did these buggers come from? ... are there termites in the house or apartment? Regardless of whether it is your place or someone elses, the dwelling in which you live is likely someone's biggest investment, and where there is smoke there may be fire. Protect your guitar - for the love of God, man, protect your guitar. But don't forget to do what you can to protect the bigger investment! Cheers, D2o
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Post by jcgss77 on Aug 24, 2010 9:17:03 GMT -5
Thank you all for jumping in. The neck joint on this guitar has lots of space to begin with. There were lots of 'em in there, when I saw them. My rig stays in the basement, where my wife can't hear me play. I keep my guitars in padded gigbags, and my Hamer stays on a stand. These little punks somehow got into the bag, which does not touch the floor. I have to commend them for finding the good wood. Apparently, they like mahogany (who doesn't?). I am baffled how they found the neck though. I wonder if they were already in the guitar when I bought it, as it was definitely not taken care of by the previous owner. Could be from the house I live in now, as talks with the neighbors and landlord reveals the habits of the former tenants...nothing good.
So, research now has to go to termite blasting. I wonder if sumgai has ban hammer for them?
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Post by sumgai on Aug 24, 2010 11:20:11 GMT -5
I wonder if sumgai has ban hammer for them? My usual pest-control product of choice is Siphotrol. However, they are not listed as being able to take out termites, and since I've never had the "pleasure" of testing in this manner, I'd hesitate to recommend that for this. However, according to HoyleGoogle, Cyonara is your best bet, check that out And for the record, the neck joint didn't have plenty of room/space to begin with. It came out of the factory nice and tight, or else it would've never made it through shipping, let alone gotten hung on some store's showroom wall. Trust me on this. HTH sumgai
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Post by chuck on Aug 24, 2010 12:26:14 GMT -5
termites .... nature's neck pocket router
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Post by ijustwannastrat on Aug 24, 2010 15:06:11 GMT -5
Sorry to ask, but I believe we need pics....
Also, is this a set neck or a bolt-on? If it's a bolt on, I would think to remove the neck.... But I don't know.
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Post by chuck on Aug 24, 2010 18:12:20 GMT -5
i would assume it is a bolt ( wood screw ) on neck ... if a set neck guitar has gaps between the neck and body termites are the least of your worries
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Post by jcgss77 on Aug 24, 2010 19:01:29 GMT -5
Status report Captain! I took my axe apart to see if I could find some of 'em, and I couldn't find even one. So what else could I do, other than make sure that if they were in there, that they were very uncomfortable. I rocked. I was playing HARD trying to make the little invaders come out again, and wouldn't you guess it? They are all gone! Not one bug! So I am wondering now...Where did they all go? BTW-here are the pics of my disassembled Slammer by Hamer. It is a cheap guitar, but it can produce a decent tone. I even believe this one has a mahogany body too, you may notice no veneer lines. One solid piece of wood. That tone-sucking neck shim can be seen in those pics as well. Also, don't worry about being so gentle with me, I do appreciate a good joke. Just keep it clean, please. I know that some of you are dying to let out the one liners that are swimming in your head... Yeah, it helps if you post the link. Here it is: s744.photobucket.com/albums/xx81/jcgss77/
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Post by newey on Aug 24, 2010 19:35:02 GMT -5
Like I said, maybe they were just cruising through!
And, as D2o said, makes you wonder where they came from . . .
I envisioned you in a dingy juke-joint, on a half-eaten 4 X 8 sheet of plywood "stage". If it was at home, maybe it's time to call in the Pros!
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Post by chuck on Aug 31, 2010 23:20:46 GMT -5
you sure they were termites , and not just some non wood eating critter ?
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Post by sumgai on Sept 1, 2010 3:19:20 GMT -5
After seeing those photos, I'm inclined to believe that the neck never did match the body.... maybe it was shipped that way, and maybe it even got to hang on a wall somewhere for awhile, but that doesn't make it right. All that means is that someone, or several someones, was/were sleeping on the job..... That neck joint is so loose that Shaq himself could hide in there! I'd work on fixing that "little detail". HTH sumgai
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Post by jcgss77 on Sept 1, 2010 19:44:13 GMT -5
I am with you sg. There is some wiggle room there, all right. How does one go about correcting this kind of error? The neck positioning in the pocket in relationship to the bridge seems very important to me. Got any suggestions, anyone? Seems like the never ending project, this guitar.
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Post by cynical1 on Sept 1, 2010 21:36:40 GMT -5
...How does one go about correcting this kind of error? The neck positioning in the pocket in relationship to the bridge seems very important to me. Got any suggestions, anyone?... My, these are deep waters here... If I hadn't gotten up at 4:00 AM this morning I might draw this out a bit more...but instead I'll give you a bit of information to ponder over. Refitting, or retro-fitting a neck to a body can be an involved process. By the look of the shim I would have to agree with SC that this might not be the neck that came with this guitar...or someone fitted a different neck to this body to play it themselves, then put this one back on to sell it. First question, what's the intonation like? Can you dial it in, or is it always off on one side or the other of the octave? Assuming the frets are good, what's the action like? Too high? Just right? Any fret buzzing? Considering the neck is off in the pictures and there are no strings on the guitar, do the strings line up with the pickup poles when assembled on both the neck and bridge pickups? Do you want the quick fix, or the permanent fix? Depending on how you answered that one... How handy are you with stripping and refinishing? How handy are you with power tools? Get back to me on these and I'll see what I can suggest...or maybe I'll just toss some more questions out there... Happy Trails Cynical One
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Post by jcgss77 on Sept 1, 2010 22:45:22 GMT -5
Since the addition of a TOM, it is on.
The action is too high, with just the junk shim in there. With my temporary fix, a few layers of paper laying over the shim, it brings it to a more playable condition. I haven't quite found the issue, but it seems to need a fret job. However, the frets are a little low for my tastes, but they do the job.
No. e,a,and d are all on the poles. g is close, and b and e are both off.
sorry, but I would like to hear both. I want a quick one that I can do now, as long as it is reversable, and the permanent one once I have access to the power tools/materials I will need.
I am adept with power tools. I am green to stripping and refinishing, but I have been looking at a wood finish remover, you pour the stuff on and work it off with a plastic putty knife. Then sand. Sorry about the lack of remembering what it is called, but would such a technique be recommended?
As always, thank you for your help. I always had a feeling that this guitar had more in it, and that I just needed to bring it out. Well, truthfully, we are. I certainly couldn't do it on my own.
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Post by gumbo on Sept 2, 2010 19:58:03 GMT -5
Oh the puns, the puns.... ....ok, I 'll keep them to myself ..seriously though, all the right questions there..now you've got to find all the right answers.. ..good luck.
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Post by cynical1 on Sept 2, 2010 23:12:51 GMT -5
Well, the intonation is good. The scale is correct for the bridge placement. So, I can assume that the action is still high after you lower the bridge. The shim was in there for a reason then...but until you dial the shim in you're always going to have high action. Go back and read Does it matter what is in my neck-joint? for all the insights you'll need on shimming the neck pocket. OK, quick fix: Go to your local home improvement store and buy a roll of veneer edge banding. Looks like this: It generally comes with a heat adhesive on the back. Soak it in some acetone (remember that cheap nail polish is 100% acetone...and cheaper then the stuff at the home improvement store) until it pulls off and you're left with just the wood. String up your guitar, but keep the tension low. Loosen the mounting screws on the back so the neck can move, but not flop around. Keep inserting pieces of the veneer into the neck pocket on either side of the neck until the spacing of the neck in the pocket is right. Same same for the shim. Keep adding pieces until the angle is correct. This is the quick fix...I never said it was fast... If this method does not solve the string alignment over the pickup poles, and your bridge doesn't have side to side adjustment then get back to me. Half-assed Permanent fix: Very similar to the quick fix, but once you have the shim dimensions right you're going to go one of two ways. Either glue all the shims together, or use the dimension you've arrived at to make a single shim from raw stock. Honest to God Permanent fix: Cut and plane a piece of raw stock to completely fill the neck pocket, glue said piece in place, clamp overnight and re-route it in the morning. We've covered that ground here before, and some may disagree with me, but in your case, the neck pocket is hosed. This works to your advantage, as it'll be hard to make it worse then it is now... If it were me, this is the path I would take. Use the veneer shims to determine your neck angle and the width, log it, then when you route the new neck pocket just set up a fixture to ensure that once you cut the new neck pocket all is set for the neck. (IE:, pitch, width and depth) This is a better fix if you're planning on re-finishing the guitar. I know this is a pretty vague and generic explanation, but if you're serious just holler...I'm slowly weaning myself off of long dissertations unless they are specifically requested... Finally, stripping and finishing. From the pictures you have some finish issues, but it's a matter of personal choice whether you strip and refinish it. As far as strippers, Klean-Strip has about the best two things going. First off is the kinder, gentler stuff: KS-3 Premium Stripper...and don't forget to buy the After Wash with this: Paint Stripper After WashFrom experience, forget the recommended 15 minutes until taking out the PLASTIC ONLY scraper... Modern guitar finishes are just slightly less durable then kevlar, so allow 45 to 60 minutes before trying to scrape anything. Dope it on heavy and just go read a book. Taking some 60 grit sandpaper and opening up the clear coat prior to application helps occasionally. Using the after wash between coats with a 3m 100 grit pad is essential. Repeat this process as many times as necessary. If you have a really durable catalyst coating then you have three options. 1.) Sand it off. Just slightly more fun then having your gums scraped... 2.) Apply about 20 coats of the KS-3 Stripper...and light a few candles while praying that it'll work... 3.) Bring out the good old fashioned, environmentally unfriendly and highly toxic stripper the professionals use: The name says it all...If this doesn't take it off, then get a blow torch... Stay away from the conventional Aircraft Stripper, as it is some really potent stuff, trust me... Now, one caveat, this stuff will change the color and character of your wood. You can use some of this stuff to bring most of it back: Alright, two caveats, ALWAYS wear a heavy pair of rubber gloves. Neoprene works the best as I recall... OK, three caveats...a VERY IMPORTANT thing to remember when using the Aircraft Stripper is to NEVER use any type of scraper with it. You will gouge the crap out of your wood. Just use the roughest steel wool you can find and throw it out as soon as it starts clogging up. Don't use 3M pads as they can melt...trust me... Also, once you have all the finish and stripper off the body hit this stuff with the After wash several times. Re-finishing has been covered here ad nausium, so think about what you want it to look like and we'll help you if you get stuck. Feel free to ask for clarification on anything I might have glossed over. Happy Trails Cynical One
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Post by gumbo on Sept 3, 2010 1:42:56 GMT -5
...and if any of the stuff above is anything like the toxic c&%p they still seem to be able to sell in Oz...get yerself a GOOD mask suitable for filtering out the micro-particles of airborne nasties.....buy your neighbors (sp just 4 you guys!) a case of beer the week before and send your pets off to stay with friends for the weekend..
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Post by 4real on Sept 3, 2010 3:18:01 GMT -5
Hmmm...your guitar has fleas?!...
Well, it might not be a complete dog, but you have identified it as a cheap guitar.
I had a bit of a look at the pics...so...
Shims are generally acceptable, not as tone sucking as you might suspect but there isn't a lot of support on a neck joint like this with so much of the neck clear of a double cutaway and the bulk of the neck thin and below the neck pickup...
That veneer can cost a bit, an icy-pole (ice cream) stick generally does the trick, you don't need "tone wood" and no one is going to see it. I've used washers before, folded sandpaper for slimmer shims is also acceptable as the sand tends not to compress.
Also the pickup pole alignment is not that serious except aesthetically...move the pickup over (but then you might see holes) or accept it. The magnetic field around a pickup is generally pretty wide and you are not losing much in the way of 'sound'...
I'm not quite following, you changed the bridge to something very different, or just replaced it...strings all well aligned along the fretboard? That's the main thing.
Action, how is the nut...this can be a little tricky to replace, but can make quite a bit of difference...easier to replace with something like a Tusq XL that's preslotted and file and sand away at the bottom till right, long involved process, go to far and you have to do it again. If nut ok, perhaps leave it, slotting tools and such are expensive and involved.
How about the neck bow. How straight is it...fret the first fret to the last fret to see how much of a gap is there, the truss rod may be able to take out excessive problems there.
The frets look ok, again, not a job for the faint hearted to replace and probably not worth it. Resist the temptation to take a file to any of them as problems are usually more involved and lowering one fret may require every fret to be adjusted and I don't think you want to go there...look to see if any have lifted.
A well playable guitar is crucial, far more important than wiring, you don't need excessively low action all over, but you do need it so that it plays in tune and works for what you want to do. Most would find my guitars action a little on the high side, however, if the nut end is too high, you get all kinds of tuning problems especially in the open positions as every time you fret a note you are bending it slightly. So, I am kind of fussy about my nuts!
Both of my main guitars are "cheap"; ones a squier and the other is a no name LP that I put together from an asian import body and neck. The squier was professionally painted a solid colour by a car sprayer. In the past I have tried some simple finishes, but rarely is stripping enough and the results can be a little despairing. The finish tends to seep in fairly deep and there will be grain filler on this kind of wood to deal with...not all mahogany is equal! Even once stripped and sanded you can find that the wood itself is pretty impervious to finishes in patches that you cant see and without good equipment to spray, plus the environment, experience and a lot of work, it is hard to beat the finish already on the guitar...it is something to avoid and a lot of work.
Really, a cheap guitar has limitations. I think the best you should aim for at the start is to get the guitar to play as best you can before thinking about things like finishes...and consider the limitations of what the thing is.
While both my main guitars are "cheap" they are actually very decent examples of their kind. The squier is a solid ash tele 25th anniversary model, the LP really does have a 3/4" maple carved top with a nice tiger grain (the bass is mahogany, but like yours, not the fabulous kind, fairly splintery and requiring a fair amount of grain filler.
Anyway...keep working on the playability and then see how far you want to go with things. As I say, shimming is not as bad as many make out, you could shim the sides a little if there is any looseness, but the bolts are the main thing holding things tight.
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Post by cynical1 on Sept 3, 2010 10:47:46 GMT -5
Shims are generally acceptable, not as tone sucking as you might suspect but there isn't a lot of support on a neck joint like this with so much of the neck clear of a double cutaway and the bulk of the neck thin and below the neck pickup... Thank you. Like you said, a well made shim is virtually undetectable from a solid joint. In many cases it can improve the sound as it allows for a better set-up on the guitar. What I was talking about was home improvement grade veneer. Here's a link to an example at Home Depot:
3/4 in. x 25 ft. Red Oak Real Wood Veneer Edgebanding With Hot Melt Adhesive
Model # 34210 Store SKU # 642297
$6.32/EA-EachAnd the nail polish remover is about a dollar. I pre-cut my strips, put the nail polish remover in an old glass jar with a lid and soak the strips for about 5 minutes. The adhesive just peels right off...along with your nail polish...but there's a price to pay for everything... Instant 0.023" thick shims, .75" wide...and more length then you'll use in a lifetime. It also makes a real good applicators for epoxy wood filler... Very good point...I missed that one. Another good point. I'm just going to sit over here for a while... ;D Best point for all guitar and bass players to consider. I glad you said that, though... All in all a very good set of guidelines and rules to follow. And the points about stripping and finishing are all very true. I've been doing it for over 25 years, so I tend to dismiss a lot of this, which is something I should watch when offering advice. Thanks for bringing this up. Re-finishing is not easy, or quick. And as 4Real clearly points out the results can vary quite severely from expectations... +1 to 4Real for bringing in a much needed perspective. Happy Trails Cynical One
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Post by jcgss77 on Sept 3, 2010 16:05:35 GMT -5
...Wow...Thank you BOTH for the much needed insight. I am not worried about finish at this point. Just want it playing right. I will perform the veneer shim repair for now, and when I arrange the tools/materials, it is a new neck pocket for this axe! I do believe it needs the nut higher up a little, so I think I will be buying a new nut for it. Since I will be soon(hopefully) building a 7 string, I will be working this one from a blank for practice. If indeed the frets are an issue, that will be the absolute LAST thing I do. There is another development though-in this picture see the lower neck-joint bolt holes? This guitar uses regular wood screws, and those holes stripped the last time I bolted up. Since I work in Lowe's, I have been browsing the hardware section for a fix, and can't find anything that will work, except for the brass insert and machine screw fix. There is not a lot of room there. Have a better idea?
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Post by sumgai on Sept 3, 2010 22:38:46 GMT -5
Something doesn't add up here...... Either the neck has an almighty damned short attachment span, or else the body has a cutout for a pickup routed right across the neck attachment area - which is it, please? IOW, I need to see an image of both the neck and the pickup in place, although they don't have to be screwed down - just located as if they were fully assembled. Another image, this time of the backside where the neck screws are mounted, that'd be nice too. And Lowes doesn't sell toothpicks, you'll need to go to your local grocery store for that one. Toothpicks and wood glue will fill a stripped hole nicely, giving you enough meat to seat your screw firmly. HTH sumgai
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Post by 4real on Sept 4, 2010 6:17:33 GMT -5
This ain't no fender.... Basically this kind of joint is more like an SG or PRS kind of thing, the neck join is deeper and a tongue extends under the neck pickup...that last picture shows the neck in place. Probably filling the holes and regluing them with araldite epoxy is your best bet...toothpicks are not really the go for a neck join...or a more aggressive screw perhaps...hmmm...you only need fill the holes in the neck itself you understand. Is there a neck plate? If not, potentially I suppose you could move the screws, but I'd be inclined to do a super solid fill and fix, redrill and back to normal. Shims need not be anything special, that veneer can get a bit pricey for 2" of "stuff". I've used washes before with success, you only need to shim around the back of the neck. You know you get a lot of leverage out of a tiny shim over the length of the entire neck. Problem with this kind of thing is it is a bit of a design flaw, you got a lot of neck clear of the body and this will give you a bit of a "rubber neck" kind of effect...it hasn't got a lot of inherent support for a bolt on neck as you'd find on a tele or strat or LP even. As I say, a cheap guitar, so it's got it's limitations. If thinking of building a guitar from scratch, you are likely to need a lot of skills and this is a place to start, but don't get too ambitious or be thinking "cheap" custom guitars always tend to cost a fair bit. Even though my main guitars now are all "cheap" (I used to play a real LP but it is too expensive to leave the house, and impractical and doesn't do what I need from it). If you are going to "build a guitar" you are going to want quality as you can buy pretty decent guitars cheaper and better than most can "build" and specialist tools are expensive (which is why I don't build 'em from scratch). A lot of the stuff that's "wrong" with this guitar, from what I can see, is that it is sorely in need of a proper set up, you have to get all that side of things (in fact everyone needs to learn the basics I think before they start modifying the electronics or other 'tinkering')...nothing really is going to save it from design flaws or general 'cheapness' and as far as I can see probably not something you will want to throw a lot of money into. However, for a long time all my main guitars (even though I always owned the gibson) were super cheap pawn shop strats. It is surprising how good you can make these things play and sound with attention to detail and build up your skills and ideas. I've never gotten a really professional finish due to limitations nor had the cash or patience to do much in the way of fretting...basically, it's near impossible to compete as an amateur or first or second or third time builder with what's churned out of CNC machines in asia, so may as well take advantage of that. There is a glut of secondhand guitars and decent cheapies about as well...the trick is generally to be sure of what you are buying, being able to spot a 'bargain' because you know what you are getting and how to 'fix' it. I'm not sure how that extends into 7-strings, but this is where things like e-bay can be a curse...if you can't see the thing, you can't really know what you are getting. Anyway, you seem to be getting a bit of experience but you'd be wanting a lot more before you want to be investing $1K into a custom job...both my 'cheap guitars' probably started edging that way with the hardware on it, though they play and sound like guitars far more expensive than they cost...it's an expensive hobby once you start going down that road and the results are not always certain,,,many have come unstuck!
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Post by jcgss77 on Sept 4, 2010 9:29:58 GMT -5
That is it. I am sure that is why it stripped, because there is little meat for the screws to hold on to.
This is one of those that I have heard described as a Gibson double cutaway, but not an SG. I am a little leary of the toothpick fix, as the holes are VERY close to the bottom of the tongue, as seen in my last picture. I just don't want to force too much in there, and then have the bottom of the neck split. I was thinking more in the lines of a washer with nut on the tongue, under the pickup, and a machine screw from the neckplate.
Also, the screws which came with the guitar thread tightly not only into the neck, but in the body too, which is why I think I over-tightened the bottom two, as it is very hard to tell when you are actually getting the neck tight in comparison to over-tightening.
I have quite a predicament here, it seems.
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Post by newey on Sept 4, 2010 9:56:01 GMT -5
What 4Real says largely comports with my experience as well. Most of my guitars are "cheapies" I have rebuilt. At the risk of repeating some of what was said above, I would note that: - The neck is usually the part in cheap guitars that keeps them from playing well. If I buy a cheapie with the assumption that the neck will need to be replaced, I don't worry so much about buying sight unseen off of EBay or the like. Decent brand new Strat or Tele replacement necks can be had for $100, so if I buy a $50 guitar, I assume I'm going to be into it for $150 to get a decent player.
- Everyone who is involved in building guitars should know the basics of setup and intonation- but also know your limitations. While I can do the setup stuff, I'm not very good at it, it takes me hours of frustrating fiddling around to get it right.
But I know a good guitar tech who'll do a setup and intonation for $30, a bit more if any fretwork needs to be done. He can do it quickly, since he does so many, and better. So all my finished projects go off to the tech once they're done.
- As far as refinishing goes, 4Real is right, you're not going to get a factory-quality finish from a rattle-can in your garage. But if you want to try, a cheap guitar is a good place to start, so long as your expectations are in line with reality. All my refinished guitars look pretty good from about 3 feet away . . .
Refinishing is time-consuming, and you have to be patient to get a decent result. Solid colors are tougher than stains or clearcoats. What I do, if I'm going to refinish a cheapie, is strip and sand it down to bare wood, see what I've got. If it's full of filler, then I'm left with repainting it a solid color. But surprisingly often, I find decent wood underneath which can be just done in a natural finish
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Post by 4real on Sept 4, 2010 18:36:43 GMT -5
Well...there is no need for the screws to be biting into the guitar body part of the neck join...this causes problems.
The screws are there to for a tight clamp, if there screws need to screw through both pieces, then the join has to be tight (I seem to see a clamp impression on the neck tounge) before screwing them together. If the body holes are outsized so the screws don't bite, then the screws themselves will pull the join tight.
Now, if the neck screw holes are shot, which they appear to be, the only options are to redrill in a different place (but that isn't advisable for a lot of reasons, you want to be back in the join and the existing holes already weaken things, fill and redrill...something I'd probably do...or use a different screw or even a bolt kind of arrangement as you seem to be suggesting.
If I thought you were "confident" and properly equipped and knew exactly where the neck was supposed to be, there is even an option of gluing and setting the neck...however, with stuff like this, it is often useful to be able to take it apart...
Because, lets face it, it is a "cheap" guitar. Now, it is a bit of a concern that you are considering "soon" to be embarking on building a 7-string when these things seem to be difficult...these kinds of 'problems' happen at almost every step along the way, you need to be able to find solutions and make mistakes and correct them as these things will always occur.
Still, this is perhaps a good guitar to start the process....
...
Newey...yep, there are good necks out there, but also bad ones too, it can be hit and miss sight unseen. Good timber will not be found at lowes so you can be lookng at quite a bit for a body blank, finishing can really add up...then there is all the hardware and the many tools that you need to build an instrument...plus all the skills and time required to do the thing...It is definitively not a cheap thing to aspire to and you need to be very careful about your aspirations and budget and compare what you can do for that money to what you could buy off the shelf...except at the high end, it is generally a false economy.
I don't have anyone that can 'set up guitars' other than me. It takes me a long time, to get the nut right on my LP recently, it took a week and I literally filed through my jeans leg doing it in front of the TV over many nights...plus taking the strings on and off the guitar at least 20 times! Intonation is a bit easier, but even then a lot of adjusting, retuning, adjusting, retuning...playing and adjusting and retuning...again, it's a process. Much of this you can't "pay" for if you have an idea of what you want a guitar to feel like and the way you play.
Any of the fundamental things like fretting is so complicated...you need those fret slots to be absolutely perfectly place, the frets perfectly seated, the whole thing stable and be able to predict what's going to happen when you put the considerable pressure of a set of strings on the thing.
And finishing, most finishing is going to take a lot of time and effort and preparation...and do you have the facilities to do such things effectively. You need a very dust free environment, good ventilation, quite a bit of experience, etc...and many hours and hours of work...or...you could take a body to a professional spray painter with a booth and experience equipment and possibly an attractive left over auto paint and oven all ready to make a fantastic flawless finish...just a thought.
Any kind of "economy" seems to me to be a problem...you see cheap pickups and hardware...but this is the same stuff that you are finding on cheap guitars. I just off loaded 5 fully functioning cheap guitars for $50 each the other day to get them out of my house...strat types with trems, machine heads and pickups and a playable neck! Now, you do not want to spend hundreds of dollars to build something worth $50 or that I would give away just as easily to get them out of my house!
But hey, I don't waht to put anyone off 'tinkering' renovating or rejuvinating their guitars and I would certainly encourage people to have a go at the 'set up' procedures.
A good book on this kind of thing is the "guitar player repair guide" by earlwine...something of a bible even if it is a bit like a stew-mac add at times....ok, ok, I'll look it up...
In this case, I wouldn't go with the plug because your holes are so close to the edge that an oversized hole will mean little for a plug to glue to. I would be making the body holes slightly larger so they are free and gluing the holes and neck better and use the originals. The "wax" (rub the screws on a candle) is important and the reason you stripped them in the first place most likely from repetitive neck removal and the type of neck join in this guitar.
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Post by sumgai on Sept 4, 2010 22:20:14 GMT -5
jc, Well, that answers my question. You wondered about using machine screws - in this scenario I think that'd be a good idea. Simply hammer in a T-nut (or actually, a pair of them), and get machine screws to fit (the right length). Failing that, get over-length screws and cut them down to fit. Cosmetically it might not be a perfect match, but then again, we're not talking about clobbering the value of a high-ticket item here..... Strength-wise, this is your best bet because it'll do the least damage to the surrounding wood. (Providing you don't use Mjolner to pound in the T-nuts! ;D) Cost-wise and time-wise, it's also a no-brainer.... a win-win situation if there ever was one. And just to weigh in on supporting your neck in that slot, I'd go for the most permanent thing you can manage. Glueing in a block of wood that fills the cavity, and then rerouting it would give you the best chance of long-life, good tone, playability, etc. However, c1's tape-into-shim stock is an excellent idea, and doesn't require a router (plus the attendant jig, masking off, etc.). Either way should end up working as expected, choose the one that most closely fits your comfort level. HTH sumgai
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Post by jcgss77 on Sept 5, 2010 19:26:26 GMT -5
The whole point of me doing this work on this pwn shop special is for practice. I have lots of wiring practice, thanks to my now-sold Peavey Raptor Plus EXP and my equally gone Arbor PRS-wannabe.
However, I do want to get this guitar done right, for said experience, and also because it is just really a nice sounding guitar. The body is one piece, and you just don't see that very often at this price range. I do not intend to sell this, I know that it won't fetch much, but I do want something that sounds good.
The whole 7 string is an idea I am designing at this moment because they are just really expensive, and I am NOT going to buy a cheap one. The downside to that is that the ones that are not cheap are usually over 5-600 dollars. Talk about a wallet pounder!
Not to mention I just LOVE to work on guitars and effects. There is no better feeling to completing a mod or circuit that works!
Also, keep those ideas and advice coming, I have not learned nearly as much about guitars anywhere as I have here.
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Post by cynical1 on Sept 5, 2010 23:36:33 GMT -5
Sorry, kind of late in the game...been working on a drum track...
I know this may sound overly simple...but what about just using a bigger screw?
I've take the next diameter size up, cut it to length of the old screw and saved myself hours of aggravation in the past.
For what it's worth...
HTC1
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