Cancun Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 Hi, I got this old leftover Ibanez neck I'd like to build a little project out of. Problem is, it has huge pearl block inlays that have gone badly out of shape somehow: (activate popup blocker before looking at these though:) http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-1-jpg.html http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-2-jpg.html http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-3-jpg.html http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-4-jpg.html http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-5-jpg.html http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-6-jpg.html Is there a quick and dirty way to restore playability? I.e. to sand them down somehow WITHOUT removing the frets AND without inadvertently 'scalloping' the fretboard (too much)? Cosmetics are not an issue, this will be a strictly utilitarian instrument. The neck is from an old Ibanez LP clone I don't know much about, got it cheap on ebay some years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted April 20, 2010 Report Share Posted April 20, 2010 Hi, I got this old leftover Ibanez neck I'd like to build a little project out of. Problem is, it has huge pearl block inlays that have gone badly out of shape somehow: (activate popup blocker before looking at these though:) http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-1-jpg.html http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-2-jpg.html http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-3-jpg.html http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-4-jpg.html http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-5-jpg.html http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/eutw-6-jpg.html Is there a quick and dirty way to restore playability? I.e. to sand them down somehow WITHOUT removing the frets AND without inadvertently 'scalloping' the fretboard (too much)? Cosmetics are not an issue, this will be a strictly utilitarian instrument. The neck is from an old Ibanez LP clone I don't know much about, got it cheap on ebay some years ago. Looks more like plastic. Pearl does not change shape.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cSuttle Posted April 21, 2010 Report Share Posted April 21, 2010 That's really odd. Maybe the guitar sat in somebody's car in the summer and they melted. Oh well. Pull them out and replace them with the same size real pearl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xaromir Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 Ah yes, good ol' mother of toiletseat. <3 But i have to say - to me it looks like it's more of a problem with the wood. It may be just the fact that i'm not really experienced and also new to this, but is it maybe possible that the wood where sort of shrinking? Do the frets maybe feel sharper than at a earlier point? It seems like this gets ignored by many players, like - that stuff would never change shape right? But it can and does. What i would maybe think is that the fretboard lost a lot of water and maybe shrunk? They look slightly out of shape, but there are HUGE gaps between the wood and the inlays. How i would try to fix it? I would get a bit off rosewood - doesn't have to be expansive, grind it down put it in some 2-ton-epoxy, fill the gaps and sand every fret down one by one, till all is flush again. but the less you sand the better it should be imho. No own 1. hand experience there, just theoretic knowledge, but if someone got a better idea - please feel free to correct me! I'm also here to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 That wouldn't be caused by fingerboard shrinkage - that would force the inlays to pop up or out completely. I'm with Cliff, it looks like it's been sunbathing and again i'd concur......pull 'em out and replace 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reinhold Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 +1 on replacing them, get some nice mop inlays or go with something more interesting that would work well with the guitar overall, like a colored acrylic to match an interestingly painted body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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