1. Complete re-fret.
2. Fixed a broken headstock.
3. Repaired the electronics a number of times.
4. This includes replacing pots and capacitors.
5. Buffing out the guitar.
6. Replacing both pickups.
7. Repairing/replacing the screws that hold the tuners in place.
8. Set-ups (of course.)
So yeah, I've tweaked it a few times to say the least. Well, this last time the guitar ended up falling and putting a hell of ding into the binding and fretboard.
So, what to do? Well, if this was an episode of Dan Erlewine's trade secrets here's what he would do. He would take out all the frets. Then remove the binding. Next, he would fill the small pieces of the wood back in. Then it would be time to install new binding. After that was set, new frets would be installed and dressed.
That, of course, would be something like a $700 job. For $869.00 Phil could buy a brand new Dean resonator from Musician's Friend.
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/folk-traditional-instruments/dean-chrome-g-acoustic-electric-resonator-guitar/515945000457000?rNtt=dean%20resonators&index=2
So I had to fix it in a way that wouldn't interfere with his playing, but not cost an arm and a leg. Here's what I decided to do.
First up, it was time to break out the C.A. glue. I was simply going to fill the crack, and sand it smooth. It sounds easy, but a lot of things can go wrong. Here's what's going on in the photo. I filled the crack with C.A. glue, covered it in cellophane. and clamped it tight. C.A. glue won't stick to cellophane which is why I used it to protect my clamp.
Now let's see what we are working with.
The good news, is that, it's holding all together. The bad news, is that, it doesn't look great. But that's to be expected. That's what the next phase of the project is for.
I normally don't put duct tape on guitar, but this called for special circumstances. I planned to use my rotary sander, and I didn't want it sanding parts that weren't the binding. Important note: With a rotary sander I made sure to wet sand with a fine grit sandpaper. In this case 600 grit.
Since I can't hold the guitar, sand, and take photos at the same time, we're going to fast forward to after I've sanded.
The side is getting there, but let's concentrate on the top. I took a straight razor blade, and shaved the binding flat.
Now, to smooth this down I needed to sand it with a high grit sandpaper. Luckily C.A. glue sands out extremely nicely. I used 1500 grit automotive sandpaper.
The trick is to wet sand. Keep plenty of water on it, and don't be afraid to wash out the sandpaper.
If you look up on the neck you can see where the neck had previously broken. But back to the sanding. The sanding smoothed everything out. I also shaved down a few places on the fretboard with the straight razor again.
But my next tool is the real secret that shouldn't be a secret to anyone in the luthier trade. Break out a buffer!
I've found a buffer to be my best friend in my workshop. It can take care of all sorts of things. In this case, it smoothed out where the wood met the binding. It also smoothed out the hardened C.A. glue. This is the result.
I should have taken a better photo, but good news is that, the side of the guitar and fretboard are smooth once again. The binding is whiter where I repaired it, but it is smooth. After this, there is one last thing to do.
Don't forget your Ken Smith polish. That stuff is great. It's getting kind of hard to find these days which I don't understand. It's the best stuff I've come across in over 20 years of repair.
After all the work that came before, the next part was easy. I set her up, double checked a few things, and make sure everything was right. Phil was happy with her. So yeah, it was a tough break, but at least I kept the cost way, way, way below the Dan Erlewine special of $700 or so. And if Phil puts another ding in her, he knows I'll be here. Repair's my thing, and I enjoy doing it.
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