Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Thought I'd start a new thread, because the old title was, well...OLD!

David, you'll be happy to see the progress this week. The neck pickup magnet relief has been cleaned up on the mill with a 1/2" router bit.

The paint has been removed from the control cavities and the soundhole. Looks like a new guitar!

The entire guitar has been taken down to #320 grit preparatory to sealing and finishing. The frets have been pressed into place and clipped and filed. The neck is nice and flat, and will be allowed to settle in for a few days. Should be flat, so that strings can pull it concave and then a bit of tension on the truss rods can counteract the string tension, thus bringing everything into nice equilibrium.

Next steps: Crack repair, fit neck dot markers, sealer, sand, prepare the Autumnglo samples for your approval (I'll send them so you can see them in person and pick the one you like.)

Happy 4th of July, everybody!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/filler.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/fill.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/ruboff.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/neckfilled.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/neckfillcu2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/bendy.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/bent.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/DSC00026.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/DSC00028.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/DSC00032.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/DSC00035.jpg

Again Paul, Great work my friend! It really is coming along famously. Looking forward to the next update. Have a wonderful 4th! D.B.

Ditto, Paul. Great shots of a great project.

I like many others I'm sure, would love to see first hand how you and Dale are progressing on your projects. Two totally different jobs, one a restoration, the other crafted from raw materials. I'm sure there are some quite capable craftsmen here in Oz, it would be nice to find out where they are.

Anyway thanks to you both for sharing your projects with us - you are to be commended!!!!

10Q Mr. Viney! Good Day Mate. If you are ever up this way, stop by I'll give you a tour of Portland, Oregon.

Paul, the neck looks brand new. I think its marvelous you have the skill to transform a guitar from poor condition to what it was like (very close) when it left the factory years ago. BTW, what is the radius of the the fret board? I am interested in knowing if the 60s radius is more than a modern-day Ric. Thanks.

Bill, thanks very much. This guitar was not a basket case in any sense; it just had too much paint and primer and Bondo. And aside from fret wear, structurally it is quite sound.

The fretboard radius is 6". Surprising, huh?

Dale, if I win the lottery I'll take you up on your kind offer.

Paul, I really dig how you cleaned up the rout for the neck pickup. What is that red filler you're using on the fretboard?

The fingerboard looks GREAT. Reminds me of the painted desert. My Rics have some nice grain movement on the fretboards also (owing to their great pedigree).

Of course, the guitar will be shipped to me first for testing and extensive diagnostic work when Paul's refin. is complete.

Cheers, Noel

Paul, it's a hardware store item made by Weldwood; lacquer-based, dyed to match the fretboard color with some drops of urethane mixing colors.

Paul,
The guitar looks to be going quite well.I will be restoring my 66 360/12 sometime soon and have been studying your pictures.Maybe its just the angle of the pictures, but the top thickness appears to be much thinner than mine.Mine is a hair under 1/4" thick.If this is the case,it will definately have some nice treble tones.I can't wait to see it finished.

Paul, you even wowed the girlfriend. And she thinks me and my guitars are crazy!

Here we go again, and it's been awhile. These two updates will cover the work over the last couple of weeks. I've got some other projects going, and I just finished up David Blair's JG refinish (see pics of this under its own thread).

While I was setting up to clamp the top, I did a trial run without glue to check the fit of my repair pieces, and, lo and behold, my clamp hit a piece of wood inside the guitar that was definitely NOT factory-original. It was a pine block, put there to support the top under the bigger crack, while the whole mess was laminated with fiberglas cloth.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/pineblock.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/clamps.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/popbrace.jpg

I softened the top piece of maple a bit with a damp cloth and a steam iron, and clamped thin poplar strips underneath, with some Titebond AR glue. I had previously cut and shaped these strips to fit underneath the cracked areas. Note the strip bamboo cauls under the clamps.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/clamped2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/clamped3.jpg

This was allowed to dry overnight, clamps were removed, and the entire guitar top was sanded flat again, with special attention paid to the two cracked areas.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/front6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/flat.jpg

Because of the dirt and fiberglass resin which had leached into the crack when our previous friend the "Bodyshop Luthier" did his Bondo patches, the cracks still show a bit of a black hairline, but there is really no way to economically remove these, and they do lend character to this wonderful piece.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/close.jpg

Next installment, I'll show how it looks with its first coat of sanding sealer applied.

Paul: I'm sure you'll be putting this guitar back together with lots of nice hardware. Do you have a source for nice wood screws? I'd like to find a good source for nickel, chrome or SS screws to use on a number of restoration projects I'm doing. There are only about five or six different screws needed for most Rickenbacker guitars, but I've scoured local sources with little luck.