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Location: Indiana | Great job sandshark. Look forward to your updates. |
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| Thanks Jonmark.
Just came in from the shop where I was working on the O. Had my magnifiers on and noticed the model number is 1615-1 All along i was under the impression it was a 1115-1 (old man eyes) which I was always a little concerned since the 1115-1 was an acoustic Pacemaker. Makes more sense being a 1615-1 since that was the acoustic/electric version. I was wary that someone had modified a 1115. Now I am really happy it is an original a/e. |
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| Good morning. Added a few pics to the album.
While I was waiting for the top halves to set up,
I was taking a close look at the old top. I have been inside my share of Ovations in the past, and
I am confident this is the original top,but this was one of the saddest examples of production quality?
from old Ovation.
Adhesive all over and some poor brace joints. If I did this type of work on my Sandshark guitars
I make, I would be laughed out of the room. Such is the achilles heel of mass production.
Anyway, I use a 3/4"piece of granite counter-top for joining my top halves. Really smooth and flat.
Easy to stow away after I am done. Joining the top pieces isn't rocket science. A nice square
edge on each piece, no gaps. A good joint should only require enough pressure to firmly
hold the pieces together. I am sure others have addressed this all before, so I will hold off on
excessive pontification. 
Have a fun day.
Rick
Edited by sandshark 2016-09-18 11:16 AM
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Location: Denmark | sandshark - 2016-09-17 6:14 PM
Adhesive all over and some poor brace joints ... Such is the achilles heel of mass production.
This has been seen ... From the pictures/videos from the production lines that I have seen - including some relatively recent - I don't get the impression that they use(d) the best dosing tools when applying the Epoxy glue. In that situation I would also prefer rather a little more than a little less. |
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Location: Pueblo West, CO | sandshark - 2016-09-18 9:14 AM
I was taking a close look at the old top. I have been inside my share of Ovations in the past, and
I am confident this is the original top,but this was one of the saddest examples of production quality?
from old Ovation.
Adhesive all over and some poor brace joints. If I did this type of work on my Sandshark guitars
I make, I would be laughed out of the room. Such is the achilles heel of mass production.
Hi Rick,
You've got to remember that at that time Ovation was making in excess of 500 guitars per week. As you note, there's a big difference between custom guitars built one-at-a-time vs. building 100 guitars per day.
Dan |
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| Added a few pics of the rosette I have made for the Pacemaker .Mahogany wedges will be darker after the lacquer is on. |
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Location: Indiana | Like the rosette. Course I love mahogany......
Edited by Jonmark Stone 2016-09-21 8:03 PM
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Location: Cork, Ireland | So thats what mine looks like inside. (1979 1615) |
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| Hi all.
Posted some new pics in my album. jonmark thanks for the compliment on the rosette.
Routed for the binding completed and will be doing the purfling routing shortly. |
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Location: Yokohama, Japan | sandshark - 2016-09-29 1:06 AM
Hi all.
Posted some new pics in my album. jonmark thanks for the compliment on the rosette.
Routed for the binding completed and will be doing the purfling routing shortly.
Great Job Sandshark! Going ahead and posting your pics in the thread, hope you don't mind...wanted to ask a few questions...The rosette is looking awesome. Are you planning on routing a slot for the rosette for a flush fit? 
To glue the top to the bowl...bicycle tubing? How do those work? 
Finally, what kind of material did you use for bracing? Looks a bit unusual? 
Very clean work, by the way. It's a great privilege to learn from real luthiers and experienced tradesmen like you here on the OFC. Thanks for sharing your journey! |
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| Hi arumako,
I appreciate you moving my pics to the thread.
Also thanks for your kind words on my work. I will be gluing the rosette to the top rather than routing
it in. Keeping with the fairly standard way of the Ovation rosette attachment. That added a little strength to the tops around the sound hole. The rubber for holding the body down while the top set is an auto tire inner tube. I have used it for years, even though it is a little old school clamping style. I do use other ways on acoustic builds also, but this worked great for the round Ovation body. A lot cheaper than a set of clamps too!!
I tweaked the braces just a bit from the original. They are cut from a nice piece of red spruce, which is a bit stiffer than sitka. I increased the fan braces thickness by .020 from the originals and also the main cross brace. Red spruce was a widely used top wood decades ago because of it's clarity and stiffness, but got in pretty short supply because of over logging.
I used a maple bridge plate, the original was spruce. The sound hole plate braces are cut so the grain runs at an angle to the top grain, adding a little extra strength against warping. Even though I made some personal changes to the braces, I stayed with the original lay-out.
Edited by sandshark 2016-09-30 12:08 PM
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| On the making of the tire tube clamp set-up. I cut the tire in one continuous cut around the circumference about 2" wide. Then start the wrap in the center of the back, pressing down firmly on the back. Wrap a few times in the narrow part of the waist, then wrap in a criss-cross pattern. Viola! Not my invention. This has been around for as long as I can remember. |
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Location: Pueblo West, CO | Nice job, Rick.
I'm looking forward to seeing more progress pics and the final result. |
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| Thanks Dan. I have been following your two fer' thread. Looks fun.
Posted a few more pics of the purfling/binding progress.
Went with something simple and in my stock.
This project was an attempt to use existing stock without buying any new material
other than a new saddle top. So far so good.
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Location: Des Moines, Iowa | I'm afraid all I can offer is a... WOW! AWESOME work and I love the custom rosette. I'd love to hang out and just watch over your shoulder for a few... years. Even if you don't make a big profit from selling it there's got to be a real sense of satisfaction in bringing something like this back from the dead and giving it a whole new life AND look.
THANKS for posting the project photos. I can see that the gallery offers others projects, too. Complete with 27 - 8x10 color glossy photos with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each... wait, that was something else. Thanks to all who have and do share their fine work with the group. |
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| Thanks for the compliment SLBoy. Binding is done, getting ready to start the finish application.
I needed a new saddle for it, so I called Ovation and left a message for John Budny (customer service). He called me back
in a little while. Wow, great guy. Sent me a goodie bag with saddles and shims, no charge, even though I offered to pay for it.
If he represents the way dwdrums is going to handle their Ovation customers, I will all be in total love with the mothership.
I am impressed.!!! |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | No changes there. The have ALWAYS had the best customer service. We are truly blessed. |
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Location: Muenster/Germany | Any news about the 12string? Too little 12string topics here... |
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| Added 2 new photos to my album. Have had to work on a few household projects. Finally getting back to
the Pacemaker. Applied the vinyl sealer coat and ready for a scuff sanding.
Will re-tape the bridge and rosette areas and start on the nitro lacquer coats. I will get the surface totally grain depression free with the lacquer undercoats and the apply the color coats. Haven't decided
on a color scheme yet. I am going to go with a solid color for sure. Might do a sunburst to at least honor the
original model dash number.
Rick
" If you have to ask me why I have so many guitars, you wouldn't understand the answer"
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| Hi everyone,
Happy Thanksgiving. Posted 2 pics in my album. All done with the top finish. Bridge and rosette are on.
All that is left is to clean up the bowl body edge where it mates to the binding. A little filler and black paint and done.
I got this Ovation at a music store in Newport, Oregon in August called " Red Lotus Music". So, I made it red as a nod to the store. Found it in the parts guitar area. Now it has a new life.
Probably string it up and try her out next week.
Yee Haa.
Rick |
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Location: Pueblo West, CO | Nice job, Rick. I'm looking forward to hearing reports of how it sounds. |
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| Thanks Dan. Kudos to you and your recent work on the two top jobs. Do you sell most of your Ovation
projects? I have a hard time selling my Ovation projects because of an overly emotional affection for them.
Anyway, I will be getting a new arrival of a real sad Ovation from ebay soon. Wanted the vintage tan case it comes with, (for this 12 string) and the guitar it comes with is really a mess. Looks like the fretboard was cut. And has white filler body work on the bowl. Top is off, looks unusable. Will wait to make a decision on what to do with it when I get it.
Anybody feel free to transfer my latest album pics to this thread if you want, I would appreciate it. Still failing at doing it on my own.
Rick |
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Location: Pueblo West, CO | sandshark - 2016-11-25 8:43 AM
Thanks Dan. Kudos to you and your recent work on the two top jobs. Do you sell most of your Ovation
projects? I have a hard time selling my Ovation projects because of an overly emotional affection for them.
Anyway, I will be getting a new arrival of a real sad Ovation from ebay soon. Wanted the vintage tan case it comes with, (for this 12 string) and the guitar it comes with is really a mess. Looks like the fretboard was cut. And has white filler body work on the bowl. Top is off, looks unusable. Will wait to make a decision on what to do with it when I get it.
Anybody feel free to transfer my latest album pics to this thread if you want, I would appreciate it. Still failing at doing it on my own.
Rick The 1111 and 1717 are only the 5th and 6th Ovations I've re-topped. The first one got sold recently. The second one, Jay's 1967 Balladeer was the first one I did using torrefied spruce. I'm keeping the 1978 1617-4, also torrefied top. After that was Paul's 1113, torrefied Adi top. Which brings us to these two. I did acquire these with the intention of selling them, basically building them on spec. Be sure to post pics of your next project. I enjoy reading about and seeing others' work as much as they do mine. Rather than simply post the pics for you, here's a quick 1-2-3 of how to post them. 1. Get the web location of the file. (URL)
In your case, you would go to the album, then right click on the image. This will bring up a dialog box. Click on the Copy Image Location selection. 
2. Select Rich Text Editor.
Go to the thread that you want to insert an image. Either click on the Reply or Quote button. Then, click on the Rich Text Editor button. 
3. Insert the image.
Move your cursor to the area in the text where you want to insert the image. Click on the Insert/Edit Image icon at the top of the editor window. This will bring up a dialog box. 
Click on the Image URL text box and paste the image location you copied above. Then, click on the Insert button. 
These were the exact steps I used to insert your image below. Give it a try. 
Edited by DanSavage 2016-11-25 1:47 PM
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OK, got it this far. How did you make it bigger?
Thanks for your help.
Rick
Edited by sandshark 2016-11-25 6:25 PM
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Retopping a 1975 Pacemaker
