Old Lacquer and Old Liquor

 


Yep, that's a naked neck. Let's talk about how I got there, and how it was more than a week ago, and all the distractions.

Distraction 1: Fast and Loose BMX jam at Valmont Bike Park. Both a thrill to watch and depressing that I am months away from being a half-century old so I don't even attempt the big boy jumps anymore.



Distraction 2: The new Gretsch! I am horrible at regularly practicing the guitar but this one has me motivated. I was happy to put off other projects to change the strings, oil the fretboard, polish the frets and loctite loose threads. 


   Distraction 3: Pride Month! I had to let my allies know I'm a middle-aged straight white guy with a shaved head who is on their side! Seriously, you genital-obsessed right-wing "religious" nutjobs, leave these folks alone! 

Have you ever stopped to think that Christians desire to become angels, and angels don't have genitals? So all Christians hope to transition to non-binary, as I see it.


 
Dismounting the soapbox, hitting the liquor cabinet, and continuing our quest for bass guitar revival.

The first step was to trace a blade along the frets where the old laquer was ramped up against them. I noticed more laquer build-up on the bottom of the frets, which indicates the neck was probably hanging upside-down when the laquer was sprayed on way back when we were using rotary phones.





The removal of the frets did require a little liquid courage, but not enough to unsteady my hand. The problem was, of course, the problem in the first place: the frets were so nubby there was nothing to hold onto or get a grip on to easily pull them out. I tried all the tricks I could research, two different soldering guns, and came away with even more respect for people who take on doing this on someone else's beloved 38 year old axe. Most of the damage to the laquer was incurred getting that initial grip and movement of the fret end. More damage to come of course!


Once all the frets were out, there was some cleaning up to do. The old laquer was still kind of ramped up to where the frets were, so some light and careful sanding was needed to level them out. Then, the old gap guage I have converted to a nut file was used to clean the slots. There is, of course, a special tool for cleaning the slots, but if I spent the money on all the special tools, it would have exceeded the cost of paying a luthier to do the job.



Making wise and unwise tool choices can really affect the outcome ease of a tinkering job, as you will see next post. Until then, don't go rushing off to the afterlife, you may just earn your wings and lose your junk!

Next Up: A Two-For-One?

                         

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