Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 5:24 am
...and back in the '50s and '60s, factories ignored fire regulations, or were in areas that had little government oversight.
This material, which was a nitrocellulose derivative, came in rigid sheets about 1 mm thick by 18" by 24". The sheets would soften when exposed to the heated fumes from a potent, carcinogenic, and highly explosive and flammable solvent--ethylene dichloride (EDC).
To really get this stuff (EDC) to fume, it was put into flat pans and heated over an open-flamed gas burner. Two people would hold the sheet over the solvent pan, and when it softened sufficiently to stretch, they'd walk a couple of steps over to where the guitar (most often a lap steel; Magnatone's smaller matching amps were done up in MOTS, too) was held in a jig so all sides were accessible. They would set the flexible sheet over the wooden guitar body, and p-u-l-l down until it was stretched over the top and sides of the instrument. Within a minute or two, the material would harden and could be trimmed. A sharp edge causes this stuff to tear while it's stretched, so you'll notice the edges on these guitars and lap steels are always nicely-rounded.
I recall going to a plant in Chicago to buy a 5-gallon can of EDC for a project that we were sculpting at the parade float company where I worked when I was in college. They kept their cans of EDC in a bomb-shelter-type of earth and concrete bunker, way out in the middle of a huge vacant field. It was pretty impressive!
Forrest White tells a story in his book about how, in the early '50s, a Fullerton fire inspector pulled a surprise inspection and walked into the area where this was being done. He saw the boiling solvent over an open-flamed burner, the nitron being held in place by two women for softening.
He ran out of the building, got into his car, drove several blocks away, and called Leo's office to tell him that there was a problem--a serious problem--with code compliance. According to Forrest White, the guy--presumably a seasoned fire pro, was scared out of his wits...
Current Gretsches (G6129) have only the top covered with this stuff, and to do this requires only gentle heating and gluing.
Incidentally, I was arrogant to think I was the first one to call new style 360s "toilet seats". I should have realized that this is an obvious (and quite humorous!) visual metaphor. If Dale says they were called that at the factory "back then", then I am a latecomer to this particular name game.
This material, which was a nitrocellulose derivative, came in rigid sheets about 1 mm thick by 18" by 24". The sheets would soften when exposed to the heated fumes from a potent, carcinogenic, and highly explosive and flammable solvent--ethylene dichloride (EDC).
To really get this stuff (EDC) to fume, it was put into flat pans and heated over an open-flamed gas burner. Two people would hold the sheet over the solvent pan, and when it softened sufficiently to stretch, they'd walk a couple of steps over to where the guitar (most often a lap steel; Magnatone's smaller matching amps were done up in MOTS, too) was held in a jig so all sides were accessible. They would set the flexible sheet over the wooden guitar body, and p-u-l-l down until it was stretched over the top and sides of the instrument. Within a minute or two, the material would harden and could be trimmed. A sharp edge causes this stuff to tear while it's stretched, so you'll notice the edges on these guitars and lap steels are always nicely-rounded.
I recall going to a plant in Chicago to buy a 5-gallon can of EDC for a project that we were sculpting at the parade float company where I worked when I was in college. They kept their cans of EDC in a bomb-shelter-type of earth and concrete bunker, way out in the middle of a huge vacant field. It was pretty impressive!
Forrest White tells a story in his book about how, in the early '50s, a Fullerton fire inspector pulled a surprise inspection and walked into the area where this was being done. He saw the boiling solvent over an open-flamed burner, the nitron being held in place by two women for softening.
He ran out of the building, got into his car, drove several blocks away, and called Leo's office to tell him that there was a problem--a serious problem--with code compliance. According to Forrest White, the guy--presumably a seasoned fire pro, was scared out of his wits...
Current Gretsches (G6129) have only the top covered with this stuff, and to do this requires only gentle heating and gluing.
Incidentally, I was arrogant to think I was the first one to call new style 360s "toilet seats". I should have realized that this is an obvious (and quite humorous!) visual metaphor. If Dale says they were called that at the factory "back then", then I am a latecomer to this particular name game.
