Southpa Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 (edited) There is something about those 60's Japanese designs that attracts me... sort of like rubbernecking when driving by a car accident. They were made with the best of intentions and despite some design flaws they can be put to rights with a little effort. I don't post near 10% of the work I actually do at home but this "challenge" warrants your attention and input. Its a Kawai from the mid to late 60's, 4 single coils, rocker switches, part of that extravagant era where you find things like a solid mahogany body and set neck sporting a plywood fretboard. Bits and pieces on the body made of high quality stainless, chrome etc. but those real cheap, lousy plastic tuners on the headstock. Man, I kept a box full of those crappy tuners, don't know why, maybe just a reminder that thats where experience comes from. Here she is in most of her current glory. More pics Lots to do, the guitar worked ie., sound came out of at least one pickup before I reduced it to its components. One major flaw that has to be dealt with, a previous repair on the neck near the headstock had failed miserably. It looked like the kind of break that we wish for so much. The kind where a little flexing puts everything back where it should be, but not this baby. Old glue inside the crack that had set, I don't know maybe they tried to string it up before the glue dried. I hummed and hawed over it for a few days then just grabbed it by the head and snapped it off. I just had to laugh, looks like some of that gorilla glue crap, a couple wood screws and some keyed in plugs made of spruce. So I figure I'll take a stab at making this guitar right, obviously the headstock was off before and the way it was "remedied" didn't take. I figure on replacing the plywood fretboard with a stiffer rosewood and putting in a beefier truss rod, cut out all that snot and remesh, then do some carving and fashion a long backstrap that will straddle over the broken area. I'm always into some insights from the community at large so feel free to make your suggestions and comments. I got a long weekend coming, hope to get some fishing in but mainly spend some time with this guitar. Edited April 23, 2011 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 There is something about those 60's Japanese designs that attracts me... sort of like rubbernecking when driving by a car accident. I'm the exact same way. Had I the means right now, I'd love to get an old Japanese beater on eBay and go to town on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Check garage sales. I have let a few pass my by in the $10 to $25 range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 yeah, i wouldnt buy them off ebay unless they happen to go real cheap. Most time they dont, which is why i sold most of mine on ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 kawai got much better later on http://kawaiguitars.com/guitars.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted May 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 This thread is not dead. Waiting for my ISP to get their s h * t together so I can upload more pics. Just finished a successful backstrap on the broken headstock, should be much stronger than original. Filled a few small holes with thickened West Systems epoxy (the BEST Jerry, the BEST!) and will be stripping off that cheesy laminated, plywood fb and replacing truss rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted May 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 Its now a good solid neck! More pics here on how I grafted in a new piece of mahogany. My father gave me one of those wood shaper/carver/sander tools, VERY good unit to have for this kind of job. I popped the old fb last night. Next step will be to level the neck face and cut out the truss rod fillet and remainder of the old rod. Then install a new rod and solid rosewood fb. I might reuse the old inlays if I can dig them out intact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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