Not from a junk shop, but a gift from a friend. She found this in her mum's closet
https://i.imgur.com/U54wki6.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tLso5Ot.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/pHP2zrN.jpg
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Not from a junk shop, but a gift from a friend. She found this in her mum's closet
https://i.imgur.com/U54wki6.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tLso5Ot.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/pHP2zrN.jpg
That is some funkiness, i likes it!
So much potential in this one. It's gorgeous. Whats the plan? Bare minimum to get it playing would be my approach.
Pretty much my thoughts exactly. Still thinking about it, but the tuners should clean up fine, it needs a few new frets, new nut and a new bridge but apart from that (and a good clean!) I think it should stay pretty much as it isQuote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Oh, and it's missing a fretboard inlay dot, but I have a bunch of those in a drawer somewhere so will try to match it with the old ones
Looking at the bridge it seems I could do one of three things:
- Keep the base but replace the missing thumbwheels and top/saddle
- Replace the whole thing by buying a new one
- Replace the whole thing by making a new one
The scale is quite different from most of the floating bridges I've found online (only 126mm long, to fit between the F holes). The only one I've found so far that looks like it fits the bill is this:
http://www.chguitars.co.uk/bridges/a...ar-bridge.html
There are a few missing tuner screws, so I'll replace those too. I've also got a bag of bone nut blanks somewhere, so I'll start cutting a new one tomorrow when the kiddos are back at school.
Also, just went to replace the inlay dot and found on closer inspection the original ones are bone. Will have to have a search for a suitable replacement...
Some info here on Wayne guitars...
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=385727
Just found that too - pretty interesting. Haven't found much more though, but will keep digging.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
I just took out the nut, which had been shimmed up by gluing a couple of jagged slivers of wood underneath (I think they're matchsticks), which overhung the nut slot by a mm or two either side. I've managed to get those out too, so now I'll clean out the slot and cut a new nut.
A few other observations:
- The tailpiece is pretty oxidised, but I think will clean up fine.
- The fretboard is radiused, but it doesn't seem very consistent. I'm not really sure how to approach that when it comes to replacing the missing frets
- The fretboard has also been finished in the same way as the rest of the guitar, which feels pretty weird.
- The neck has a slight bow to it, but nothing drastic. Still thinking about whether it matters or not.
- After a bit of a clean it's clear the inlay dots are cream plastic of some kind, but looked like bone because the lacquer over the top was both cracked and dirty. I've ordered some replacement dots, and will see if the colour matches.
- I've taken all the tuners off to clean, but notice they aren't the original. There is an indent in the finish from what I assume was the original 3-on-a-plate style tuners. The bottom tuners are also screwed right on the edge of the timber, which isn't great. I initially thought I'd keep them but now I'm contemplating replacing them with a vintage style 3-on-a-plate as it seems there are some available that are the right dimensions (like these)
- The only real damage to the instrument is on the back of the neck, but I'm still considering what to do about that, if anything.
https://i.imgur.com/q51VhZy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/rb967LK.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7tioB2U.jpg
Hmm got some work ahead of you there. Going for a 3 on a plate system seems sensible. Do you think the fret board finish is original?
I think so, though I'm no expert. Sanding it off/giving the fretboard a new radius would make refretting easier and also make the board flatter and feel nicer. I know it's probably not the done thing in terms of keeping the instrument true to the original, but that doesn't usually bother me. I'll think on it a bit while I potter around with the other bits and pieces
Last nights progress... Took a bit over an hour, but now it looks as good as new.
https://i.imgur.com/YKN6BVI.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Qi2KOqE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/CRFOtBv.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/25TCeNm.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/37gnofd.jpg
I've been quiet on the forum but I've actually been doing a lot of instrument work since the lockdown started here in Canberra, because a few people brought me things to fix to donate to the people on the coast who lost their property and belongings in the fires.
One friend brought these two gems, and was really worried they were unusable. They were in AMAZING shape - level necks and frets, no bracing issues or finish issues (apart from one scratch on the front of one), tuners work well, etc... I polished the frets and cleaned the instruments, got some new strings on and they were ready to go in about two hours total.
One was strung for a leftie but still set up for right handed playing, so I set it back up as a right handed mandolin.
One was also missing a tailpiece, but I actually had an almost identical one in a drawer, so that was an easy fix.
https://i.imgur.com/nIjcE1D.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xAjfzhL.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8QHMqcW.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/eW6a3GA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xtAySg7.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/LXGeF6P.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/AqjQcJE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VSZ79ad.jpg
I can't believe I managed to forget to take pics when they were done. They looked so sharp, and sounded really nice too.
I also donated the TGS Special, without taking photos of it finished (D'oh!).
Even though you forgot the "after" photos, you're doing good work purely by preventing any musical instrument going to the tip and hopefully filling a void that has been created in someone else's life. Good on ya!
Yeah, it's always nice to give them new life, and the community down the coast really got hit hard so I hope they help some people out.
Next pay I'm going to try to get some tuners, fretwire and a bridge for the Wayne guitar and see if I can get it going. I've realised the neck has a compound radius, so have been reading how to do the fret crowning/dressing
Keeping this here partially so I don't lose track, but I think I can fix the original bridge just by replacing the thumbwheels with these ones
These tuners seem to fit the original spacing
And the fretwire seems to be this wide/low set
It's taken me forever, but I've finally ordered a new bridge, fretwire and tuners for the Wayne guitar.
I also did a bit of measuring and reading - it looks like the fretboard is a compound radius going from 9.5" to 16", so I also ordered a set of small radius blocks in various diameters to do the fret levelling. Hopefully there won't be any surprises when I'm putting it together and it should be playable pretty soon.
Jealous of the acoustic f hole guitar. I look forward to following what you do with that.
Finally got that old Wayne guitar up and running!
It was going to cost $60AUD for those replacement thumbwheels, but the time you factored in exchange rates and crazy shipping rates, so I ended up pulling some from an archtop bridge I already had, and fitted them into the original bridge.
I got a fret bending tool to match the frets to the compound radius, and can honestly say that it was the least fun I've ever had working on a guitar. I did a very far from perfect job, but it's playable, which is still a 100% improvement.
So, fixed the bridge, replaced an inlay dot, replaced the tuners, re-fretted, new nut, cleaned everything up, and she works! Currently strung with some Rotosound Top Tape 12 - 52 Monel Flatwounds
https://i.imgur.com/To22com.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/D6ZRZZD.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/q7gpMA6.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kZJYKnn.jpg
Well it looks good. Well done.
Did you fix up the other musical instrument in the last photo?
Oh, no, it has always worked! It's a yue qin, and lots of fun to play - tuned GDGD, and currently strung with some nylgut ukulele strings (which are very nice)
I'm sure I have seen pictures of them before, but never realized that the frets are wood and there is no fretboard. Very cool.Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnH
Oh, yeah the wooden frets take some getting used to, ha ha.
I have another similar instrument (a zhong ruan) which has 'bone' frets (actually some sort of plastic), and I have another (a liu qin) which has the wooden frets but they're capped with fret wire.
The ruan and liu qin are both really lovely to play, and are actually my main instruments.
I was about to ask what the sam heck that was! :D