Great thread!! Thanks for sharing with us!
Andy's "57" Chet Atkins 6121 Jet. Watch as it gets repaired.
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Apr 5, 2008 11:45 p.m. jaguarguy:
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Apr 6, 2008 9:46 a.m. nielDa:
I've been following this thread but may have missed something. What motivated the decision to replace all the binding? Was it in bad shape all around? I know there was a patched piece that needed to be replaced, but I expected (on returning in my next visit to the thread) to see just that portion removed.
Also - I'm looking for accomplices to kidnap Joe and hold him captive in a basement workshop where he will be forced to work on all our salvaged Gretsches. Location will be disclosed to only those who participate. PM me.
Dan
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Apr 6, 2008 3:11 p.m. KCeddieB:
I'm just glad to see that we haven't completely lost Joe to the Gibson side (where he is equally knowledgeable!). It took a rare beast like a 6121 to pull him back!
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Apr 6, 2008 5:01 p.m. FrequentFlyer909:
Hey, KCeddieB,
That Streamliner... that's a factory lefty that some chump hacked for right-handed use, is it not?
FF909
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Apr 6, 2008 7:26 p.m. KCeddieB:
FF... yes, you are correct! If you look closely you can still make out the filled holes from the control knobs when it was oriented to a Lefty. Then they attempted their own cutaway... which seems like an awfully big job. Seems to me it would have been a LOT easier just to find a right-handed guitar. The neck is a mystery. The double thumbnail inlays are consistent with some left-handed Gretsch examples, but it looks like a maple headstock?! Bottom line the resulting guitar (assuming it actually played) is a mess. I guess the guy who did the surgery was looking for a unique hotrod... he got it... and can have it!
Sad part is that I've never seen another left-handed Streamliner.
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Apr 7, 2008 9:42 a.m. hypnofonic:
dan, we made the decision to replace the front binding as it had shrunk really bad in some areas (not to mention one area that looked like it was melted with a soldering iron) and while joe probably could have pulled it off, scabbing in that section would have been tough.. i would have hated to get the guitar back with a perfect neck hangle but still have the whole binding issue, would have bugged me knowing we could have taken care of it while the neck was off....
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Apr 7, 2008 1:52 p.m. Rocketman:
I love this thread. Great stories. And no I am not gonna try this at home.
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Apr 7, 2008 4:28 p.m. JackDaniels:
Thanks for all the great comments. At times I am overwhelmed by the job I have taken on, but I wanted to help Andy out. In return, I have learned a lot too. I have done stuff like this a bunch of times but I usually stay clear of someone else's guitars. Many times you can't please everyone and someone is left feeling let down. In this case, I gave Andy no real indication of the outcome, but just that it would be a really playable guitar when he gets it back. Andy puts some trust in me and I think it works great for both of us.
Ah yes the binding. Sigh! The binding has issues at both waistlines, as well as area's were it was damaged during the refin or other repairs. I was going to replace just the one section, but I could not find anything suitable to match 100%. I did not want the repair to look like the original repair. The choice in my head was to either leave it, mask it or replace it. Andy said NO to the leave it part. I said NO to the mask it part. About 2 hours later I was saying YES to the replace it part. Removing the binding is not tough at all. Not reuining the finish is the the tough part.
To remove the binding, I would take a shot a Quervo to steady my shakey hands. Then I took a very sharp exacto knife and scored a line around the top of the guitar right at the binding line. One slip and I would have scared the top. So at times, I took two shots of the GOLD! Then I scored a line around the side of the guitar in the same way. Finally, I peeled the binding off layer by layer to reduce tear out. It took a long time, but there is very little work that needed to be done afterwards.
We will still need to decide in the near future what to do with the back binding. It has issues at the waistline too. Not as bad, but they are there. If we decide to replace it, I will first try a repair. I now have quite a bit of the original binding available to try a repair. If that does not work then I will replace it all. That is, if we decide to tackle the back at all. It is not bad...
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Apr 7, 2008 4:34 p.m. JackDaniels:
I am still working the headstock over. In many ways I could have removed the overlay and made a new one easier than fixing the old one. The old one has binding issues from the last repair. I am slowly fixing his repairs without removing the binding. I hope in the end Andy will be satisfied with the way the headstock turned out. If not, I guess I can re-do it again. This time it will be with the removal of the overlay. YUCK!
JD.
BTW: Here is a job I did last summer. This is one of my other guitars:
Before
After
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Apr 7, 2008 4:36 p.m. ronny:
Nice Work! Great Thread!!!
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Apr 7, 2008 10:07 p.m. FrequentFlyer909:
KCeddieB said:
FF... yes, you are correct! If you look closely you can still make out the filled holes from the control knobs when it was oriented to a Lefty. Then they attempted their own cutaway... which seems like an awfully big job. Seems to me it would have been a LOT easier just to find a right-handed guitar... (snip)
Sad part is that I've never seen another left-handed Streamliner.
Hey, KCeddieB,
I was kinda hoping you'd say the pic was inadvertently reversed.
I did notice the filled control knob holes, and that horrific second cutaway hackage. Indeed, the double thumbnails were common for lefties.
Being a lefty and knowing how rare vintage left-handed guitars are, you can imagine how it scorches my socks when I see things like this -- and thanks to eBay, I see it fairly regularly nowadays.
If you ever do see another left-handed Streamliner (one that hasn't been mutilated beyond hope, that is), shoot anyone who gets within 50 feet of it, and contact me ASAP.
FF909
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Apr 7, 2008 10:49 p.m. 57 Chet :
Hmm?
I know it's kinda wacky ... It's the artist in me but ... I actually liked the before!
Sorry!
Carry on ...
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Apr 8, 2008 10:57 a.m. hypnofonic:
57chet; you are fired.
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Apr 8, 2008 12:29 p.m. JackDaniels:
Really?
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Apr 8, 2008 12:32 p.m. JackDaniels:
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Apr 8, 2008 1:12 p.m. KCeddieB:
Go Cardinals!
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Apr 9, 2008 8:14 p.m. JackDaniels:
FIRST: ANDY IS A FREAK'N Great Surf Guitar player. You guys need to get his 2 albums. They are killer. I have been diggin on them in the shop all evening. (Andy, where can these guys buy your albums?).
Ok, todays installment. We are waiting until early next week for the binding to arrive, so not much can go on, but I did recieve a box today with the extra parts Andy forgot to ship with the guitar. In the box was a mid 50's B3 bigsby, some killer CD's, the period correct tuners and furels, a homemade pickguard and a small gift for me. Andy knew I was looking for a Gold B7 Bigsby for a LP project and sent me most of the parts of a nice older unit. THANKS DUDE! I just need to get the string bar and one bearing. Did I say thanks dude?
So I started with checking the furels for tuners. This was the reason I plugged and redrilled the headstock. I took a furel and drill the headstock the rest of the way. Lesson number 1: All furels are not the same size. After drilling the headstock to just under the needed size, I used a reamer to open the hole the rest of the way. I tried the furel in each hole as I went. I left them just a tad bit tight. When I went to put the rest in, it turns out the one I grabbed is a touch bigger than the rest. So while that one is a bit snug in the holes, the rest push in fairly easy. Not sloppy, but certainly not snug like the first one. In the end they will be just fine. Here is a shot of the headstock that still has a fresh coat of nitro on it. It will be wet sanded level a may get one or two more coats. It will not be this shiny when done, but I wanted to get a good look of what it will look like. So I slipped the furels in. PIC 1:
Andy here is the headstock pic. I cleaned quite a bit of his old work up and shaved some of the binding off that was hanging over the wood. It's not quite done, but it is getting there. I will flair the new nitro to the old.
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Apr 9, 2008 8:18 p.m. JackDaniels:
oh, yea. Notice you can not see much of the plugs? Nice! The color matched well and only a small bit show on one or two tuners.
Andy, I hope this work is ok. If not, we will have to consider much more drastic work on the headstock. For now though, take a look.
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Apr 9, 2008 8:27 p.m. JackDaniels:
Ok, So here is the part I am excited about. Andy and I talk quite a bit and have become somewhat of friends. At least I think so (correct me if I am wrong Andy). So he sent me an old B7 as a gift. Well I really appreciate that Andy. So one guesture deserves another. Andy had inlcuded a B3 for this guitar. It was in rough shape. Andy had some work done on it and it left it heavily pitted. He did a lot of work and got it looking pretty good. He then painted the logo and sent it off to me for the project. Well Andy, I wish I had taken some before and after pics, but here is what I did tonight after work:
This is on the house amigo! I ground the bigsby flat removing 90% of the bad pitting. (I did leave some). I then used a lot of elbow grease with sand paper of various grades to remove the grinding marks. I final sanded it with 1000 grit wet/dry paper. (At one point I tried various buffing compounds, but nothing really looked right. Not all ended up bright, but the finish was not right) The sand paper left just the right texture on it. Sort of that brushed look. Right now it has been wiped down in motor oil and then wiped off. I might try to add more pantina, but for now this almost capture the look we were going for.
Enjoy!
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Apr 9, 2008 8:32 p.m. JackDaniels:
Oops. I forgot to say the arm looked to new compare to the old bigsby, so I also sanded it down with 1000 grit and gave it a tad bit of an aged look. Not a lot, but enough to almost match the rest:
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Apr 9, 2008 8:33 p.m. JackDaniels:
The picture above is the closest to the pantina the bigsby really is in person. I like it. I think Andy wants it a little more gray. Will see.
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Apr 9, 2008 8:44 p.m. JackDaniels:
And here is the gold B7 that I recieved. Now the hunt goes on for the string bar and bearing. Did I say thanks Andy? LOL.
Now everyone go buy Andy's Surf CD's.
JD
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Apr 9, 2008 8:44 p.m. JackDaniels:
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Apr 9, 2008 8:46 p.m. JackDaniels:
Any chance you snaped a shot of the B3 before you sent it to me?
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Apr 9, 2008 8:50 p.m. 57 Chet :
KCeddieB said: Go Cardinals!
Ah, I see ... I'm not a sports enthusiast and didn't get the connection... I saw it as a cartoon character and being different ... I liked it...I didn't say that I preferred it ... just that I liked it ... Plus, I'm a gretsch guy .. all Gibsons look the same to me ...
Whew!
Andy - Please don't fire me! Also, please post some of your tunes and/or let us know where to gain access to them...
Cheers!
