The next big job.  I think this one is going to take a while!!!  One of those projects where money is in shorter supply than time so it’s going to have to be fitted in around higher priority jobs…

Starting with a box of bits…

Most of it is there, perhaps a few screws etc.  I think the neck is probably the dirtiest neck I’ve ever seen, that’s going to take some cleaning.

I’ve had a start with a scraper which seems to be working, to a point.  I might pull all the frets and give the fretboard a coat of lacquer?  Not sure, I’ll have to have a think.

I had another scrape at the neck.  There is no finish at all left on the fretboard and it’s proving rather difficult to get at. I think it’s going to be easiest just to pull all the frets so I can really get to grips with it.

With all the frets out I was able to give it a good clean and sand down.  Ready to re-lacquer.

I also took off all the electrics to better clean the pick-guard.

That’s going to need some work too!

   I actually stopped short of the original white finish.  With a lump more work I could probably get it white but I think the aged appearance will suit the guitar better.  I’ve also given the body a bit of a clean.  At least it’s got that fashionable “Road Worn” look.  The budget isn’t going to stretch as far as a re-spray.

I’ve had quite a problem getting the lacquer to adhere to the surface of the fretboard.  However, I’ve got a good base coat on now.  Once it’s good and dry I’ll use some fine “wet and dry” to blend it back to get a nice flat surface and put another half-dozen coats on.

While I’m waiting for some more lacquer I re-wired the pickups where needed.  To keep the costs down I’ve cleaned the pots and switch rather than replacing them.

With that done the body is just about complete.

I was going to put the old frets back but they are rather worn so I thought I may as well put new ones in.

Clean out the fret slots, although they are already a little deep for the tangs on the new wire.

Bend the fret wire into a curve…

and tap it into place….

and snip the ends off.

The ends are a rough and uneven so they need to be filed off square and level.

and then the edges to a 45 degree angle.

Of course that’s only a rough finish so each fret needs to be finished off individually.

Unfortunately putting frets in by hand it’s impossible to get the tops completely even, so they need to be dressed.

Once they are level, they need to be rounded off again.

and then re-polished with micro-mesh.

There we go ready to bolt back on.

Unfortunately I’ve just realized I’m missing another vital part, the neck plate!  I guess I wont finish this today then!

With a new neck plate I was able to re-fit the neck.  At least it looks like a Guitar again.

With the strings fitted I reset the neck set.

with a tweek of the truss-rod.

Reset the action height.

and lastly the intonation.

At long last, all back together.

To see the project from the start click here.