How to repair this guitar

Bosshogg · April 29th, 2009, 08:26 AM

I love some of these Gibson SG copies that are kicking around and this one has something about it that i can't put my finger on,the problem is....it's damaged so could someone take a look at it and tell me if it's easy to repair, cheers.
Sumbro SG electric guitar project big... 18:55:06 BST)

still_fiddlin · April 29th, 2009, 09:03 AM

Drill and glue in hardwood dowels, or screws with dowel plug if you don't trust just a dowel, to cover. Done from the back I wouldn't do much more than make the dowel ends flush and French polish. You could try and squeeze glue in the crack with a syringe, but it could be some kind of wood "product" and may not be stoppable that way in any case.

Personally, I'd pass and look for an Epiphone SG someone is tired of.

Armour · April 29th, 2009, 09:26 AM

The Bigsby is missing a bar. Strings should pass over bridge under a rolling bar and the over the Bigsby. Would also change bridge to roller bridge.

202dy · April 29th, 2009, 12:26 PM

The crack is not that big a deal for a guitar in this price range. It will function well just as it is. If you want to fix it here's what you'll be up against.

The idea is that you will have to pry apart the body along the crack and inject glue into it. It won't be easy. You will have to work a thin palette knife into the crack and wedge it open. Care must be taken not to disturb any wood fibers or the sides of the crack will not mate up when the glues and clamps are applied. At that point, it is too late to correct easily. The glue of choice is white or yellow woodworking glue, diluted ~10% with water. The glue is injected into the crack using a syringe and a relatively long, heavy gauge needle. Once the glue is in place clamps are applied so that some of the glue squeezes out. You will have to make some clamping cauls the fit the contour of the sides of the neck pocket. Flat, padded cauls will work on the face of the body. White and yellow glues clean up with a damp rag.

When all of that is complete, you can reattach the neck, making sure to put it on straight before tightening the screws. The easiest way is to string up the outside strings and compare the margin on the bass and treble sides at the body end of the neck. Adjust so they are even and tighten the screws.

The existing tremolo is original and is as designed. It needs no additional parts.

stratagem · April 29th, 2009, 12:42 PM

I would, personally, steer clear of this one. That is, unless you're interested in the challenge and experience of the repair.

If the Bigsby is correct I would still steer clear. That setup doesn't seem very stable and is unlike the others that I've seen/used. I would expect the 'extra' bar as previously posted.

202dy · April 29th, 2009, 05:17 PM

Original Bigsby vibrato tailpieces came both ways. Some have a roller bar, some do not. Neither is better than the other, given that it is installed properly on the right guitar. The purpose of the roller bar is to provide a sharper angle for the string between the bridge and tailpiece. It's less important on a Tele, which has a short distance between the bridge and vibrato, and more important on a guitar that has a great distance in between. If you look at the pictures on the subject guitar you will notice that the strings are fed through the bar like a Gibson wrap-around tailpiece. In this particular instance, the owner has it wrapped over the bar rather than under as it should be. There is very little angle off the bridge that way.

Sprocket · April 29th, 2009, 05:27 PM

The way that body is splitting, Id stay far away...looks like plywood construction. Tuners are junk.

Stratplayer · April 29th, 2009, 06:16 PM

This guitar is actually strung correctly, besides the fact that it's missing one, and the other 5 are running between the bridge saddles rather than over them, and whatever the heck they did with the strings at the tuners. If you were to go under the bar on the Bigsby, the pitch would raise as you depress the bar. As far as the rest of the guitar goes, I'd pass. Not even worth the effort or cost to repair. Extremely cheaply made and actually not a very good copy of an SG if you ask me.

202dy · April 29th, 2009, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stratplayer

This guitar is actually strung correctly, besides the fact that it's missing one, and the other 5 are running between the bridge saddles rather than over them, and whatever the heck they did with the strings at the tuners. If you were to go under the bar on the Bigsby, the pitch would raise as you depress the bar.

Good catch, SP. Maybe should have had another cup of coffee before I posted that.