schmarkty Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hello everyone! I've been browsing the forum for a little while now and it's given me the bug! So I went to a local used instrument store and asked them for some hunk of junk that no one wanted anymore and they gave me this... It appears to be some kind of 3/4 scale Hofner knock-off from who knows when. There are no brand names or serial numbers on it anywhere. I got it for $10, so I'm not complaining. So here's the run down: - The electronics are functional - The truss rod turns easily and seems to work just fine - It's missing a bridge - The body and neck have what appears to be some kind of spray paint or something that got onto it somehow (see pics 3 & 5) - The frets are very worn down and probably unplayable - Tuners seem to work fine - I haven't been able to put strings on it and thoroughly test it because of the lack of a bridge - There are chips and dings out of the finish here and there So what I'd like to do is: - Pull out the frets and go fretless (I don't think I'm ready to take on a re-fretting job yet... babysteps) - Make a bridge for it (the hofner style bridges on Ebay go for around $60 it seems, and I'm not willing to pay that for this junker) - Possibly refinish it with a natural stain (I'm a little weary of sanding it down because it's hollow and only about 1/4 of an inch thick - see last pic - but the finish on it doesn't seem too thick) Any thoughts, tips, concerns, advice? I'm a first timer, but I've done some wood work and tinkered with my guitars many times. I'd love any input you might have. A big question I have is will the binding be an issue if I do decide to refinish it? Do I just sand the binding down with the rest of the body/neck or will I have to work around it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 Nice find! Are you sure it's missing a bridge? Sometimes on inexpensive small scale guitars you'll see a combination tailpiece/bridge that works, but isn't awesome. You can find out really quickly by determining the scale length. Measure from the nut to the twelfth fret, and then measure from the twelfth fret to the tailpiece. If the distances are the same, the tailpiece is doubling as the bridge. If not, the bridge should be located at wherever that point would be...if that makes sense. Look forward to seeing your progress! -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 StewMac has a non componsated archtop bridge that may make betterr starting point than trying to make your own from scratch. they run around $20. Nice project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmarkty Posted March 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 So I checked out the scale length (great suggestion!) and it seems as though it needs a bridge. It's 15 and 1/8th to the 12 fret, which puts the bridge just past the pickup. I'll look into the stewmac bridge, but I'm still not against attempting to make a simple bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmarkty Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Got the frets out pretty easily using just a soldering iron to heat them up and a butter knife to pry them out. Only one mishap where I got a little careless and ended up melting a bit of the binding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 So what I'd like to do is: - Pull out the frets and go fretless (I don't think I'm ready to take on a re-fretting job yet... babysteps) - Make a bridge for it (the hofner style bridges on Ebay go for around $60 it seems, and I'm not willing to pay that for this junker) - Possibly refinish it with a natural stain (I'm a little weary of sanding it down because it's hollow and only about 1/4 of an inch thick - see last pic - but the finish on it doesn't seem too thick) 1. Nothing wrong with going fretless. 2. I don't know about that one, how good are you as a machinist? 3. OK, how are you planning on applying a natural stain onto a painted body? Stains are design to be applied onto bare wood. Do you mean paint? You could remove the paint with either chemicals or a heat gun, then lightly sand and stain. But it all depends on your abilities. For $10, use is as a learning tool, work with it, see how the binding is attached and how it sands, use the electronics and harware for a future project. Just have fun with it, try to remove the paint and see what you end up with. If you mess it up, you only lost $10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 If you purely sand off the finish, you'd REALLY have to work at it to go through 1/4" of material. I'm not saying that it can't be done, like with 40 grit and a lot of aggression, but that it'd be a chore. That being said, I agree with a chemical stripper. There are a lot of tight inside corners that would be a bear to sand out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmarkty Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 That's a good call. It's made out of plywood anyways so a natural stain would probably look awful. If I wanted to paint it, what would be the best way to go about that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 I do fine with rattle cans, as do many others. There are some who would call us lazy heathens for not using the "proper equipment", which would mean getting an air compressor and a spray gun. I brush on my clearcoats, which MANY folks scoff at, but it works for me. There's a tutorial on the main page on how to get a sunburst with a rattle can. It DOES work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmarkty Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Cool thanks, I'll check it out. Will taping off the binding be enough to protect it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmarkty Posted March 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 Can't seem to find anything in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 Cool thanks, I'll check it out. Will taping off the binding be enough to protect it? Were it me: Tape off the binding on one side, then tape off the other. Repeat for the other side of the body. Make sure to press it down VERY securely. Any gaps at all and the paint will seep in. On the good side, after you paint (but before you clearcoat), you'll scrape the binding clean with a razor blade or x-acto, so any seeping will be taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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