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1974 Balladeer 1121-4 repair questions
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Stevie B |
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Joined: July 2016 Posts: 7 Location: Venice Beach California | Hello! I have moved this thred over from the welcome center. I hope you don't mind. But somehow he stablized the neck and it stays in tune. Is it really "nearly impossible" to polish polyester to a high gloss? Any help would be appricated.
http://s328.photobucket.com/user/pbebay1/library/Ovation%20Guitar?sort=3&page=1
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arumako |
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Joined: October 2012 Posts: 1034 Location: Yokohama, Japan | Hi Stevie B. Thanks for posting the pics and sharing your 1121-4 project. Like you, I'm not a Luthier, but I do love tinkering with my Os. Your 1121-4 is gonna be quite a challenging repair, but some of the nicest, humorous, and most knowledgeable folks are here at the BFLG. They'll definitely get you headed in the right direction. With your wood working expertise, this project should come together quite well. Taking a look around at previous projects and archives was really helpful for me. Using the search function and looking up, say... "adhesives" will bring up a wealth of information. Pretty much everything is covered somewhere in the archives; construction, destruction, fret maintenance, finishing, bracing, binding & purfling. Your probably already doing this, but the archives is a good and fun place to start while you' re waiting for some of the heavy-hitters to respond. Good luck and keep us posted! | ||
seesquare |
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Joined: November 2002 Posts: 3611 Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | I'm guessing the repairs were done with massive amounts of SuperGlue, and you can probably sand out all that surface blemish, but I doubt you will get the neck joint apart, unless you saw it apart, then sandwich in some filler material, which is probably mahogany. Stabilize the cracks with some cleats underneath the soundboard (yes, it may affect the tone, somewhat), but you can shoot just about anything you want to, over the polyester that's already there. Let the finish set up a couple of weeks, before you polish it out. It won't be perfect, but you can made it prettier, for sure! | ||
DanSavage |
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Joined: June 2012 Posts: 2315 Location: Pueblo West, CO | Stevie B - 2016-07-29 6:17 PM My questions are these: Is it really "nearly impossible" to polish polyester to a high gloss? Any help would be appricated. 1) No. Generally speaking, polyester finish is very polishable. But, it's a two-part finish system which requires a decent spray system. An alternative would be the Eastwood 2-part urethane finish in a rattle can. I've used this and it works well. Whomever did the neck repair screwed it up forever. As was said, it looks like they used CA glue with an accelerator. (kicker) The white stuff is all over the headstock is over-accelerated CA that was on the surface when it was kicked. Short of tearing out the wood, you won't be able to get the glue joint apart. On the bright side, if the case is in decent condition, then you're still ahead of the game. Cheers! Dan Edited by DanSavage 2016-07-30 11:06 AM | ||
seesquare |
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Joined: November 2002 Posts: 3611 Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Tell you what, take some full-length pictures, & we can conduct a vote. Might not sway your choice, but the gestalt would be helpful! | ||
tpa |
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Joined: December 2004 Posts: 565 Location: Denmark | Assuming the head/neck glue joint is good I would probably cut the gap a little wider and fill it with thin epoxy using a syringe. Then I would sand it to a smooth feel and maybe hide it with some paint. These 3-5mm close to the surface are the most important part of the glue joint. The glue at the center doesn't really do much good. It has seemingly seen some hard times. Ovation guitars a said to be sturdy. Could be one of these guitars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVMmmMqmQdY | ||
BCam |
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Joined: October 2014 Posts: 270 | Have you loosened the strings to see if the neck joint is solid? I bought a Yamaha with a cracked neck that played OK and seemed solid until I slacked the strings. I think the truss rod was holding it together. Once I had the strings off, I could open things up enough to re-glue and position everything. That was two years ago and it's holding fine. | ||
Stevie B |
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Joined: July 2016 Posts: 7 Location: Venice Beach California |
Hey! Thanks for the replays....
Full body picks? OK.
I have defiantly been searching the OFC posts to get as much info as possible.
I was thinking super glue as well, but it also looks like epoxy. I was considering getting the smallest saw blade I could find and carefully cutting out the glue and then gluing mahogany and maple into the slot sand and finish. I am not sure the cracks go all the way through the sound board but when I take the strings off I will use mirrors and cameras to look into the underside. If need be, I will cleat as you suggested.
Dan, your work is impressive! The info is just what I need. I guess after the crack repair I will decide which way to go. The case is in OK condition. The inside is clean. One of the latches is broken but the others work. No holes but some of the plastic has risen off the padding underneath the brown outer plastic cover. It is fully useable as a case. Maybe a light application with my heat gun will soften the raised plastic so I can push it down.
@tpa
I didn't realize that the edges of the joint were that important. As for the flying guitars.......isn't their a song about that... ? "tear drops falling...falling"?
Yes, When I bought it I loosened the strings to take pressure off the neck and see what happen. I didn't move, so I retightened the strings and it plays fine.
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seesquare |
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Joined: November 2002 Posts: 3611 Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | My vote is, fill the crack, however you choose, refinish the repairs, then play it 'til your fingers fall off. It's really pretty nice, the way it sits. | ||
leonardmccoy |
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Joined: December 2015 Posts: 287 Location: Katmandu | It breaks my heart whenever I see a beautiful Ovation such as yours having been treated rather unkindly or unprofessionally by one of its previous owners. All the more I'm delighted when a ruined Ovation gets restored to all its former glory. If your 40-odd years as a carpenters aren't the most solid basis for an advent in luthiery work than I don't know what is. I just can't watch a vintage Ovation with a broken neck. I hope not all is lost in resucing this beauty! | ||
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