runaway Posted July 11, 2011 Report Posted July 11, 2011 (edited) hello first time poster and my second repair,well this is not so much a repair. this a great forum and you guys are so talented im almost afraid to post this. i got this squire at the flea market for $40 its a nice guitar but it was way to thick for my taste,im not realy a player i know some chords and can strum a little so it was no biggie if it didnt work. i started by measuring a inch from the bottom and scoring my line for the cut. then i just cut along the line,the cutting went very smooth the bottom came off alot easier then i thought it would. then i used a chisel to cut away the old kerf,while removing that the side was lifting off the back just a little prying and the sides were separated from the back. i made my own kerf from trim from home depot,i didnt measure the cuts just did what looked right to the eye.i glued the kerf on and am at this moment waiting to take off the clamps,(how long do i leave the clamps on?) all i have to do is sand down the kerf to make sure its level with the sides and im ready for the back. im looking for alternate methods of clamping the back because i dont have big clamps so any suggestions would be great. http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s221/runaway_017/IMG_0502.jpg Edited July 11, 2011 by runaway Quote
dpm99 Posted July 12, 2011 Report Posted July 12, 2011 Wow! That's ambitious. Please post pictures of your final results. This is what you want for your clamps: Buy some long bolts and wing nuts (or whatever kind of nuts), and put a cork on each end. Cheap and easy. What are you gonna use for the back? Are you using the old back, or gluing on a new one? Quote
runaway Posted July 12, 2011 Author Report Posted July 12, 2011 when i took off the back i didnt count on as much flex in the body as i got. the body would fit inside the guitar,i used a ratchet strap and a few wood blocks to form it to the original shape. the back will be reglued right back into place as soon as i make some of those cool clamps you shared with me. would you care to guestimate how many clamps i might need for this project? here is a pic of the back http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s221/runaway_017/IMG_0573.jpg i just found the night setting so the next photos will be better. is this in the right section of the forum should this be in inprogress or finished? i dont know. Quote
dpm99 Posted July 12, 2011 Report Posted July 12, 2011 Good work cleaning up that back! You really want it to look something like this: So...a lot. That's the correct way to do what you want to do. If for whatever reason, you just can't buy enough materials for that many clamps, there's always a way to rig something up. It may not be as good though. As for which forum, no idea. Quote
KeithHowell Posted July 14, 2011 Report Posted July 14, 2011 (edited) Yes ambitious! I would suggest you remove the strings asap. Acoustics rely on the integrity of the full box to be stable. You will distort the body without the back, as I think you have already discovered. You may need to make a outside mold to hold the sides while you glue the back on. Cut one out of a few sheets of cardboard. The type boxes are folded from ie the two layer stuff with the corrugated bit in between. Cheap (free if you can find a few unused boxes) and easy to work with. Keith Edited July 14, 2011 by KeithHowell Quote
runaway Posted July 14, 2011 Author Report Posted July 14, 2011 hello yes it did distort the back if any one plans on doing this make your mold before you cut. ive made my clamps and have set the back on,dont have my camera right now so no photos when the glue dries i will patch up the seem and paint the seem to match. its turning out very good. thanks for the advice and looking. oh and the strings are loose i can stick my hand between them and the neck,so theres no pressure from them. Quote
KeithHowell Posted July 16, 2011 Report Posted July 16, 2011 I think you should rather install a binding around the edge, to seal the end grain of the back. It will cover the seam and look much better than painting. Use a piece around 1 to 1.5mm thick and around 6mm high. Looks like black was used previously so go with that. Keith Quote
runaway Posted July 19, 2011 Author Report Posted July 19, 2011 ok so im some what finished with the major work of it,im very happy with the fit and the sound i thought it was gonna sound dull. but no it didnt. my plans now are to sand down the sides and tha back to bare wood and then stain it,hopefully near the same color. the fit was not perfect so i had to sand the back to meet the sides which cuased me to sand the paint on the sides doesnt look all that good but hey. thats why it will be sanded down smooth and level then stained. if i were to do this again i cant stress enough to make the mold of the guitar first before u cut. thanks for all the help,on to the next project. http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s221/runaway_017/IMG_0580.jpg Quote
dpm99 Posted July 21, 2011 Report Posted July 21, 2011 Congratulations, and you're a good man to post pictures, even if it didn't come out quite like you wanted. Keep at it. I'm curious to see if you can get enough paint off to make it work. How does it sound? Quote
runaway Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Posted July 21, 2011 thanks. the only thing that didnt turn out like i wanted was the paint,i was hoping for less fixing of the paint. i will be able to get all that paint off.it will just take alot of arm work sanding,i will post photos of that part to if you wanna see that also. as for the sound i think it sounds good,i will try to post a video.remember i cant play so it will just be a bunch of chords,maybe some strumming. Quote
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