djhollowman

And I filed the fret tang ends, then filled the gaps with dust'n'glue mix: (Wish I had a better camera...) DJ

Bump! Updated pic of how the neck is shaping up after some serious tearout damage repair, inlay repair and re-fret: That's the frets levelled, crowned and dressed as well. DJ

+1 and I really love inlays which go "under" the fretwire! DJ

"meedlymeedlies"??? You've met my wife then? DJ

Haha, no worries Daniel, I knew what you meant!! I'm trying to find a photo which shows just how bad the whole fingerboard was when I got it. The length of both sides were covered in gouges and file marks. The fret tops were flat, like FLAT like a table!! This one shows some closeup detail: but it doesn't really capture the full horror of it!! Wish I had taken more "BEFORE" photos now! The inlay is surprisingly thick, around 1mm (which is more than it sounds!), however I don't think it's thick enough to handle scalloping the last four frets!! No problem - I tried a scalloped neck and HATED it! The stud and bushing work well enough together, it's just that there's a little more play in them than I would have liked. Maybe there was that amount of play in them before, when they were brand new??? DJ

Though For The Day: Y'know, even on a cheaply-made neck, even made using CNC, that full-length vine inlay must have been quite a lot of work to fit! DJ

Probably. BUT... didn't one of the earliest posts, if not DJ's 1st post, say that more would be learned from fixing this thing than in making a whole new body? It seems to me that learning by fixing has become the whole point of the project. Yeah, both points are right here I think. I'm already confident that I can make an entirely new body for the neck. I'm really only bothering with the existing "Jem" body to gain valuable experience, in the hope that one day I'll be getting repairs like this more regularly. Hey Daniel, your opinion is always welcome too! Grab a beer bro'! Honestly, most of that tearout was already there before I started pulling frets! I actually did heat them to remove them, and they were superglued in as well...nnng! Hmmm....regarding the bridge stud: due to the fact that I can always go back to my initial plan of routing out the bush area and replacing it with new hardwood, I'm now thinking maybe I should try one of the more easy suggestions first. I think if I am to epoxy the bushing in there, it would be wise to epoxy in a NEW one though???? Just in case the old one has changed shape internally, as soapbarstrat suggested. Here's how the neck is shaping up: As you can see, I'm repairing the tearout by filling with rosewood dust mixed with superglue - still more sanding to do, and some more detailed filling. Everytime I gently sand it I find a little bit I've missed, or that could be better! I had already glued down as many lifted tearout splinters as I could, but there was always gonna be some which broke off and vanished! I'm building up superglue to repair where the inlay has chipped out at the fret slots. It should look fine once sanded and fretted. I'm pretty pleased with how it's turning out - once it's finish-sanded and oiled with lemon oil the colours blend together in a much nicer way, and make the repairs look almost invisible! (The repaired areas look very dark right now.) This is how it looked before. This is quite a fun job actually! I'll have to run the saw through the slots again before fretting as well. Everyone's thoughts welcomed. Thanks, DJ

Furthermore, see how little room I have to re-do the trem post bushings: Yikes!! DJ

And here's the retainer scenario, see if you can spot the broken screw end: Methinks perhaps it has been paid a visit by Messrs Heath and Robinson??? DJ

Right, here's a snap of the fret chipping: Just a tedious amount of careful gluing and filling required then! DJ

Yeah, good point, thanks - I'll certainly keep that in mind! I intend to take as little as possible off anyway - more of a "dress" than a thorough sanding. DJ

Yeah, the more replies I get about this, and the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of routing out a channel and gluing in a piece of hardwood! I'll router and sand the top surface flat again, then paint it to match - it'll be an invisible upgrade! Then I'll re-do the holes, and perhaps invest in some new bushes and posts, they're not expensive! Very interesting to hear that this happens on 555s too, BigM555. I've made some progress already - I've pulled most of the frets out. Plently of chipping along the slot edges however, no matter how carefully I pull the frets. They were glued in, and I did heat each one with a soldering iron as I removed them. I think it's recoverable, however. Reckon I'll need to spend some time gluing down the chipped bits before sanding the surface. The entire surface of the fingerboard could do with a "dress" with sandpaper to freshen it up, and to remove the marks the previous owner has made!! There's lots of dried superglue to get rid of. Then I'm going to neaten the whole thing up by filling in all the gaps around the inlay with rosewood dust and superglue. When sanded smooth again I think it should look much better! Then I'll be pressing in new frets, and not using glue. Should just leave the levelling, crowning and final dressing to do then. Also, I'll file the tang back on each fret, then fill the fret ends with the dust'n'glue mix to make it a lot more presentable (same as I did on my R7t) I've noticed another "solution opportunity": One of the screws which hold the string retainer bar has obviously sheared off at some point. Someone has left the broken screw end in the original hole, and just drilled a new hole right next to the original hole. I'm thinking to drill another small hole at the other side of the broken screw end (opposite the 2nd hole, so that the broken screw is in the centre), then pull it out with needlenosed pliers or similar??? The holes would then be filled again, a new hole drilled in the correct spot, and that would all be covered by the finish anyway. What do you guys think? I'll have progress photos of all of this up tomorrow. Thanks for your helpful comments thus far fellas - keep 'em coming! DJ

No joke those arbor presses will help you fit into a few sizes smaller shoe. Actually, you can take a tip from Soap here and use that Baking Soda to add some light near your arbor press to save on the doctors bills. Try using Mountain Dew for lighting the press. Though I must admit I've been on the market for a nerf arbor press. I already have the silly putty radius cauls, so I'm set soon as I find the press. J Oh no, I might have to re-think my plan here I was just gonna tap the frets in with my glass hammer DJ

Yes, that's exactly the case here! The neck is surprisingly good - I've just gone over it again in detail and I'm very pleasantly surprised! Not the highest grade of maple by any means, but a perfectly servicable neck. Lovely and straight. You just know that the cost has been kept down by using realy cheap wood for the body (it's very light, maybe some kind of ply of different types??),Asian no-make parts, and replica castings of the bridge etc, but the real saving has, of course, been on the workers wages. That's your biggest overhead right there. It can all be remedied. Baking soda and super glue? Not familiar with this one yet! (I understand the rest of the procedure obviously) Ah, just done some internet research on this. So, do you feel a repair in this fashion would be strong enough to support the bushing during operation? (Bear in mind I'm a big Vai fan so I do plenty of serious whammy abuse!!) Thanks, DJ

Really nice. Really. DJ

Haha, I like it! Did you make it from scratch? Or is it modification? Not a fan of the game - tried it hated it - but this is kinda cool! What's happened to the bridge pickup pole pieces??? Your scalloping looks very nicely done too. I once tried a Malmsteen Strat with the scallops, couldn't play it at all!! Like the staggered ferrules as well. Is that your initials inlaid just after the last fret? Sweet! ....and I love green..... DJ

I quite like Vaibanez too! Haha, yeah I know! I just can't get enough experience, just love it! I haven't tried the pickups yet TBH! Or any of the electrics, come to think of it. They probably do work, but even if they don't it's all do-able. I love the wiring part! Gonna try the tutorial on the main site to change the jack to a Jem-style, looks like fun! Might hunt down a white DiMarzio Evo [or Evo2] since I feel this axe is gonna cost me very little anyway. But, as I mentioned earlier, I've been kinda thinking about a guitar with a sustainer pickup anyway, so this may end up being a version of Steve's Flo Jem. That would mean the pickups being worth 10x the guitar, but so be it. I can always transplant it all into a better body at a later date. I can get it repainted for free; it's cost me almost nothing to buy; I already have all the requisite tools etc; it fulfills a project ambition I had anyway [big Vai fan!]; and above all: it will be FUN!!! It will owe me nothing once completed. It's just too good an opportunity to turn down - I would never have sought it out, but when it's suddenly presented to you it does make you think about it I guess. Actually, I can't wait to get started on 'er! So.... Anyone have a quick link to a bridge stud replacement tutorial? I have it figured in my head anyway, but some extra input would be welcome! DJ PS - no mention of turd polishing yet?? Hmm.......

Well, more or less, yeah. As I said, my mate pulled the original frets and put those in. I think they looked better initially, before he butchered them. But it's his attempt at levelling I'm amazed at! I mean, he's taken so much off that you'd never get a re-crown out of it, that's for sure! He's not even attempted crowning or dressing. But he's not interested in guitar repairwork as such, so it's not like he's trying to build up a reputation or anything. Fair enough I guess. I think the bridge posts would have moved like that after a few hours of play TBH. There's wear on the trem knife-edge too. It's a casting obviously. The inlaywork would have been like that from "new" I think. It was probably worsened by the fret-pulling though. +1 to all that man! That's the plan anyway, to make it semi-decent! Yeah, I'm deffo viewing it as an experiment/learning process. When he showed me it, I had zero interest in it, but then the lightbulb went on over my head, and I thought "Hmm...wait a minute...I could do this, and I could do that...etc" so why not?? how about "Chibanez"? Yeah, I wondered about that one too! Keep 'em coming! Thanks for all your comments so far. DJ

Hey all! Well, t'other day a mate of mine asked if I'd be interested in this: Once I had stopped laughing, he explained how he'd "had a go at refretting it" but that it "might need some crowning just to finish it off". (Those of you with a nervous disposition should look away now.....) pic 2 These photos don't even do it justice! pic 3 Oh, and he'd also stripped one of the saddle screws when trying to re-fit the strings! However, I noticed something a little more serious: pic 4 Notice the stud angle??? Anyway, needless to say I ended up getting it for a couple of bucks or so, cos I thought "Why not trim it up as a keeper?" I can't sell it afterall - who would buy that?? I am a huge Vai fan!!! NOTE: If you intend to flame me about anything Chibanez-related please start a new thread and don't hijack this one, thanks! For the record: my friend knew what he was buying; as did I; it's already worthless in it's present state(except maybe as parts..and even then I dunno!); it will not be sold as a real Ibanez; I hate people trying to pass off fakes as much as the next guy; I want it for technique practice! [Right, down off soapbox again!] So, here's the plan: Pull trem bushes, drill out holes and glue in new wood, re-drill bush holes (that should fix the studs problem) Pull frets, fill inlay gaps etc, sand fingerboard, re-fret properly! Then to make it more JEM-y: cut back of monkey grip correctly, move jack socket, thin lower horn a bit, maybe neck heel should be smoother transition??? Pickguard doesn't look correctly shaped or finished either. I really want a guitar with a sustainer - this could be the baby! Maybe I should make a Flo copy!!?? Hmm... I'll make a player outta this thing yet!! Will update with more progress piccies at some point. DJ

That's worked really well, Sarradan...nice one! Right, must dig out the plastic bin and the paint pots this weekend! DJ

I like the overall shape, esp. the headstock shape. Just not getting the paintjob however! DJ

Dear Lord man, you mean you don't see enough gunk already????? DJ

Fella I work with bought a brand-new US-made BC Rich Gunslinger back in the early '90s. Awesome guitar BTW! It had a maple fingerboard. We work for a jewelery manufacturer, and we were using black paste-y polish all day to shine the silver and gold........that stuff really gets ingrained into the skin. You can imagine what his 'board looked like after only a few weeks!!! Instant relic'd! I don't believe he ever cleaned it, in fact he sold it probably still in that condition. boke DJ

Surely the amount of abuse a guitar can take is a selling point? Paul Stanley never played Squier Strats then obviously, he'd batter one at the end of every show and more often than not it would snap in half with the first smack. Saying that though, you could tell he was almost miming it a few times! Hmmm......calls to mind the Top Gear Hi-Lux - what does it take to kill it?? DJ

I recently replaced the tuners on my very first electric guitar with a set that became "spare" following an upgrade, and I was astonished at how much more stable the tuning is now! You can pick up a set of decent tuners so cheaply now, there's little excuse not to try it IMHO! DJ