2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.....

Setup, repair and restoration of Rickenbacker Instruments

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Sir Ricardo
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2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.....

Post by Sir Ricardo »

.

Greetings -

I've got a 360, and at some point someone installed something (a bridge? who knows) behind the current bridge. There are 2 little holes in the top of the body, as you can see in the photos.

They are stable, and are so small you don't really see them....until you look right at them, and then......there they are.

What to do about them? I know the safest answer is 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'.....but if I WERE to do something, what would I do?

Ideally fill them in with something, and then more-or-less match the faded Fireglo finish?

How to do that? Or?

Thoughts?

thanks much -

Richard
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teb
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by teb »

I'd clean them up and inlay two flush small pearl or black dots, like fret marker dots into them. Most onlookers would probably think they're there for a reason and ignore them.
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jps
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by jps »

Can you post a photo showing their relationship to the bridge and tailpiece?
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jdogric12
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by jdogric12 »

Yikes. Could that have been Bigsby tension bar? Since there is some gouging-out around them, you might be screwed...I'd have it plugged and refinished. Probably not the answer you were hoping for!
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Sir Ricardo
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by Sir Ricardo »

jps wrote:Can you post a photo showing their relationship to the bridge and tailpiece?
Here are a couple new photos.

One shows where they are (right between the R and the bridge....about 1" away from each).

The other shows a close-up of the larger hole.

As you can see, the hole itself is about 2mm wide, whereas the total affected area is about 5mm.

Thoughts?

thanks!

Richard
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jps
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by jps »

Maybe a Bigsby vibrato?
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Sir Ricardo
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by Sir Ricardo »

jps wrote:Maybe a Bigsby vibrato?
Maybe that's what caused the holes......now, the question of the hour is what to do about them.

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jps
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by jps »

How about the way Gibson did back in the day? :?:
335 Custom-A.jpg
Have a plate made with whatever you want on it and screw it on until such time you want to refinish the guitar.
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Sir Ricardo
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by Sir Ricardo »

jps wrote:
Have a plate made with whatever you want on it and screw it on until such time you want to refinish the guitar.
Well, it's an interesting idea (thanks for that, Jeffrey), and I could do that.

However, if there is a way, I'm more inclined to somehow plug the holes and 'refinish' the little areas. If possible.
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teb
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by teb »

Well, you could always drill them out to be proper circles and plug them with wood (face grain plugs of similar wood, not dowels). Then you could sand them smooth, but it's going to take some very serious skill to blend them into the finish well.
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jps
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by jps »

Yeah, there's a lot to do to make it right and virtually unnoticeable. My suggestion earlier was somewhat in jest but not totally. It would hide the holes until you went to the extensive drilling/plugging/refinishing route. There is only one right way to fix this problem, really, as Todd discussed.
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lumgimfong
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by lumgimfong »

I vote for laser etched name plate.
maxwell
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by maxwell »

If I were really, really unsure how to address this, I’d try a plate, and probably attach it with screws using those existing screw holes. If you change your mind later, you could remove it and not create/reveal any further damage, e.g., versus if you were to glue the plate on.

BTW, because of the problem(s) I’ve had with my Rick, I really tune in on posts/threads regarding necks and bridges. I’m willing to bet that those two screw holes secured a rod or bar that, in turn, provided for a much more acute break angle of the strings over the bridge. I think this is an ingenious modification (in addition to other solutions to consider) for anyone needing to change that break angle. This is very similar to the bar that was installed on the old, inexpensive guitars of the mid-1960s that served as a single, long “string tree” behind the nut. I’m glad to have stumbled across this thread. Thanks.
maxwell
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by maxwell »

I stumbled across my TEISCO guitar this morning, and so I thought I'd attach a couple of photos showing the "string bar" that I mentioned above, in case someone was curious (a couple of strings are missing). The distance between the (centers of the) vertical attached portions of the bar is roughly 1-7/8 inches or about 47 millimeters. I wouldn't be surprised if the holes in the guitar body we're talking about have the same center-to-center distance, and that a bar just like this was previously used on the OP's guitar.
TEISCO string bar 1
TEISCO string bar 1
TEISCO string bar 2
TEISCO string bar 2
maxwell
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Re: 2 little holes in 360, what to do about them? Cosmetic.

Post by maxwell »

I’ve been thinking about this, and if you’re wanting to get as imperceptible a repair as you can, then you might want to join a woodworking forum. Guys there will have far more collective experience, of course, than members here. However, the “dowel” repair mentioned above would seem the best. You can buy a set of furniture scratch repair pencils that will have three or so color options. You can experiment with the colors before starting, to see how your selected wood will “take” the stain; as mentioned, the type of wood of the dowel is important, as alluded to, again, above.

BTW, that TEISCO string bar (retainer) is attached to the headstock with nuts on the backside of the headstock. If this were attached to a guitar body, the bar would necessarily have to be glued in. Looking again at the photos here, it looks like when the bar/retainer was removed (pulled out), it removed/damage some of the wood surrounding the holes.

Anyway, there’s probably lots of good repair techniques on woodworking forums. Also check YouTube — I’m always surprised what I find there. Please post your decision/repair when completed. Good luck.

PS - If you have any concern about the break angle of your strings over the bridge, you could also place another retainer/bar. Even if you put one in and did not use it, it would look “utilitarian,” like it belongs there. In this case, you could probably just slide it into position without gluing. A few of those retainers are on eBay; just search for “teisco guitar pats.” Prices seem to range $25 — $35.
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