pmarlin Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 I have started a project and i think this might be a good way to start before I start building. About 15 years ago my apartment burned down with all my guitars in it. They were all on stands so when the second floor fell thru there went the necks. Well my ibanez iceman I had laying around for a couple of months and I decided to do something with it, I mean it was already trashed so what the heck. I had no experience with this kind of stuff cause I was just a guitar player. The neck was broken at the 1st fret but the fretboard was fine just the neck was bent back, so I drilled some holes and glued it back with some dowel rods. the binding was pretty much all burned so I just took it all off. well heres is the big bonehead idea, I decided to put a tremolo in it. I used some pretty crude hand tools and started cutting away. Then I painted, again with no experience and the paint was real thick including the neck, I know I know....IDIOT!!!!!! Oh yeah and I just painted over the empty binding grooves. So the thing was FUGLY and unplayable. Before the fire After I tarded it up http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9776/icemanafter2vq2.jpg http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3735/icemanafter1it1.jpg Anyway, I decided to make this my first project. I am going to try and fill the trem hole back in and make this thing playable again. I am toying with the idea of a string through. I spent most of the day today sanding it down to bare wood. It looks like a mahogony back with a maple top possiblely, too bad I cut that hole in it cause with a different peice of wood there I will have too use a solid finish. So Iwould really appreciate any words of wisedom and tips. Back then I didnt know what I had, I bought it in a pawn shop for $150, now I have found out that it is a 1978 but not sure of the model number but because of the finsh I think it is an IC400 from some of the research I did but still not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 Sorry to hear about the fire. How many guitars did you loose? This sound like a great project, should be fun and a learning experience. Good luck and enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielM Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 restorations are a great way to get into building. that's how I got into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted October 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 I had 4 at that time The Iceman, an ESP MII, a Gibson Les Paul and a Takamine electric acoustic. Funny thing is the aucoustic was the only one that was still playable. Well maybe the Les Paul because it was never found, but the case was found and they were all in a line together. I think someone pilfered it. Anyway 15 years later and I have 13. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted October 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Got it all sanded down and the body trem hole all filled back in and Sunday I ordered all the binding stuff from Stew Mac and it arrived today, wasnt expecting it this soon, those guys are fast. So I can start doing the binding laminates ( I got the Stew Mac binding laminator) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bz2 Posted October 20, 2006 Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 too bad I cut that hole in it cause with a different peice of wood there I will have too use a solid finish. You can fill the hole and hide it with a nice veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted October 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 I got the 6 layers of binding for the first channel laminated and shaped with a hair dryer and taped in place. A couple of spots are little warped but I think I can live with it for my first binding job, I am learning and if its too bad I can always redo it since I know what I did wrong. I laminated all 6 pieces at the same time and I think I should have done like 2 at a time and then went back and laminated all those laminates together. It makes you really appreciate the work that goes into those handmade guitars and understand why they get such a high price for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Dude, go around the binding and test it every half inch for movement. If it does, wick in some thin CA to hold it (I use coarse sandpaper to stop it sticking to fingers). If you need to fill any voids, melt some scrap binding with acetone in a jar until it's peanut butter thick and fill the voids with that. When the solvent evaporates you can scrape it flush. All worth it to move that bit closer to perfect :-D Careful you don't damage your binding layers however! Please post pics....I love Icemans/men (?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted October 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Thanks for the tip I am going to start gluing when I get home from work today, in fact I am about to sneak out early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexybeast Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Dude, you 'tarded it up bigtime. Bravo!! We all do it one time or another. This will be satisfying restore for sure. And a good way to start building. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted October 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 ater the acetone and glue the binding looked really bad, but after scaping it down flush,WOW. Its not perfect, the lower horn has some issues but I am going to try to fix that. I still need to sand it this is just after scraping it. After I finish the bodyn binding then I will tackle the neck and headstock binding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 That binding looks really nice! Good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted October 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 Thanks and notice the string thru ferrule holes? I traced the end of the guitar and used that as a guideline to match the contour to spice it up a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 Looks sweet. Very interesting take on the string-thru holes. I'm afraid the only thing that will hide the tremolo wood would be a solid paint job, or some type of reverse burst (black in center?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElysianGuitars Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 (edited) really like what you did with the ferule holes, i'm a huge fan of string through body, this is a really cool project. those ferule holes seem quite far away from the bridge, but strings are usually way longer than what you need so it shouldn't pose any problem i'd think... Edited October 28, 2006 by ElysianGuitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted October 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 I used a string to measure and its got plenty of reach. I didnt want to go back that far but I also didnt want to go thru that glued in piece either, so thats why its that far back i wanted to go thru a stronger point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 Good move. Considering the slender length of an Iceman as well, that extra length will suit it nicely. I would however be concerned about the sharper break angle from the body to the ferrule because of the added distance. It may be an idea to cut a smooth transition groove in the ferrule's lip to provide a smoother break over the edge of the ferrule. It's unlikely it would be a problem in the first place but this would be the only negative knock-on effect of moving the ferrules, and breaking your wound strings when bending (or going gradually flat as they unravel) is annoying to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielM Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 looking good, it's been a while since I saw an Iceman and must say that I really like the shape! can't wait to see the rest of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Got all the binding done, body, neck and headstock. The neck took some time because it was done with the little nibs over the ends of the frets, so I had to file and shape each one. I strung it all up to fit the new nut, so you can see what the ferrules look like now. And Prostheta you were right about that string angle at the ferrules, they are pretty sharp, almost scary sharp. Now I need to start sanding it down and get all cleaned up ready to start finishing it. http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/2156/iceman3005tp7.jpg http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1472/iceman3006kv1.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 It's looking great now you've made some progress - how's the binding on the lower horn coming along? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 You can see in that picture where the black looks a little wider, I was thinking about just leaving it but I think I might need to cut that section out and redo it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 It's a bit awkward to work binding into that internal radius. I made three attempts at it before succeeding using heat and softening with acetone. It'll be more difficult for you since you're using laminated binding. Hope you succeed - Iceman's (men?) rule! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted December 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 An update on this, After stringing it up I noticed the neck is jacked up(not level). So I have been thinking about what to do for a while now. I have decided to take the fretboard off and try to sand the neck level and maybe just put a new fretboard on it. The frets are old and worn anyways so that will give me some new things to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 An update on this, After stringing it up I noticed the neck is jacked up(not level). So I have been thinking about what to do for a while now. I have decided to take the fretboard off and try to sand the neck level and maybe just put a new fretboard on it. The frets are old and worn anyways so that will give me some new things to learn. is it the neck, the fretboard or the frets that arn't level? it might be easier just to de-fret the neck and re-radius the fretboard if its the fretboad that's causing the problem. or just re-freting it if its the frets that are worn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted December 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Well from my attempt at gluing the break years ago it seems to be slightly twisted at that point. So I am goint to try and level the neck and see if that works, plus since this is a project guitar that was already ruined it is a good place to experiment and learn on. I think I might even try my hand at inlaying the new fretboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.