Sunday, 15 January 2012

80's Takamine headstock repair and set up !




Layla had me pick up this early 80's Tak which really had seen it's better days...but still had a lot of good years to offer ! The headstock was cracked vertically and the tuner screw holes were all stripped as well as a bow in the neck causing high action. First order of business was dealing with the cracked headstock. I used a glue syringe to deliver the glue as the gap was very narrow. I also drilled 3 small holes on the top of the voided area inside the headstock to ensure good coverage of the affected area. I also mixed mahogony sanding dust with weldbond glue to fill the tuner screw holes and inserted toothpics to create a solid repair for future pilot holes to be drilled .I clamped the repair for 24 hours and proceeded to start sanding with at first a 100 grit, then 400, and finiallyan 800  grit paper for a super smooth finish...ready for repainting or to recieve stain. In this particular instance, my customer wanted a retro finish to match the rest of the back of the guitar...which shows considerable wear and there's a story or two behind every little nick and scratch...as well as a considerably sized piece of glass embedded in the top. Apparently a thrown glass missed it's target and found the Tak ! Who says it not a dangerous job ???  Everything turned out really great and after restringing and adjusting the neck, this Tak played just beautifully and was ready to earn it's owner another 30-40 yrs. of  live gigs ! Really enjoyed this one ..... something about reviving an old work horse back to the musical fields of song !

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