Haven't seen one like this before.

[Clancy]

Hi all,

I've been doing a number of repairs lately, seems my name & number are being passed on by word of mouth.
Must be doing something right.
Even did my first dovetail join neck reset & it worked out fantastic.....although, does anyone know how to repair chips in black gloss chinese finish??

Anyway, had another mystery phone call last week & later in the day this walked into the workshop.
Apparantly someone in Melbourne puts these together using chinese made bodies.

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It had a horrible buzz and the owner had given up on using it.
(Been hidden in a cupboard for a while now)
I immediately expected that it was simply the cone not seating right, but was still a bit surprised when I 'popped the top'.

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The lattice bracing and the lip under the cone is topped with carbon fibre TOW.
And yep, that's a humbucker acting of a couple of pieces off hacksaw blade epoxied to the cone.

And the buzz??
As I thought...

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I considered levelling the base of the cone, but decided it would only warp again when the humidity changed.
On the Barron Clarke website (http://members.iimetro.com.au/~barronc/ ... 0parts.htm) he sells gaskets for resonators, so I went to Supercheap & bought some gasket material.
Cut it to fit the lip & tacked in down .

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Re-assembled the guitar & now it plays great!
The client walked out of the house strumming & singing so I took it that he's happy.
Actually, I heard him play that instrument on the radio a week later in a promo interview for the local Top Half Folk Festival that's on this weekend.
Now that made me smile.

[charangohabsburg]

Re-assembled the guitar & now it plays great!

Great!

The client walked out of the house strumming & singing so I took it that he's happy.

Greater!!

Actually, I heard him play that instrument on the radio a week later in a promo interview for the local Top Half Folk Festival that's on this weekend.

Greatest!!!


But I can't figure out how this hamburger ...errr humbucker works.

[DarwinStrings]

Round of applause Craig

Markus the secret would be in the special sauce and the pickles, either that or those two bits of hacksaw blade attached to the top that I assume are close enough to vibrate within the magnetic field of the pickup. I scratched my head when I saw the pup until I saw the bits of blade.


Jim

Someone please turn up the Tele!!!!!

[Puff]

Would imagine it could be the mother and father of Feedbackers

[Lillian]

Well done Craig.

[charangohabsburg]

[...] I scratched my head when I saw the pup until I saw the bits of blade.

Thanks Jim! I can top scratching my head now too. Must have been blind.

[charangohabsburg]

[...] I scratched my head when I saw the pup until I saw the bits of blade.

Thanks Jim! I can stop scratching my head now too. Must have been blind.

[Kamusur]

The neck was set by the Martin lady whose record was 10 neck sets in an hour!
(See the Times article)

Big oops this belongs elsewhere just need to edit/delete Sorry gang

Steve

[DarwinStrings]

although, does anyone know how to repair chips in black gloss chinese finish??

Sorry I missed this bit Craig. If the finish is a thick epoxy you could build up in the chips with black epoxy or go out and buy some black nail polish (which is pretty much like automotive acrylic) then build it up in layers in the chips, flush and polish it back. If you wear eye liner and carry a handbag the cashier won't look twice when you purchase the nail polish Craig.

Jim

[Tonxi]

although, does anyone know how to repair chips in black gloss chinese finish??

Sorry I missed this bit Craig. If the finish is a thick epoxy you could build up in the chips with black epoxy or go out and buy some black nail polish (which is pretty much like automotive acrylic) then build it up in layers in the chips, flush and polish it back. If you wear eye liner and carry a handbag the cashier won't look twice when you purchase the nail polish Craig.

Jim

Or you could ditch the handbag, dye your hair black, dress in all black including huge black boots, and totally rock the goth look.

[Clancy]

buy some black nail polish

Damn, why didn't I think of that.
I've been thinking I'd have to order some black superglue from stewmac.

the cashier won't look twice when you purchase the nail polish Craig

Why would they look twice? Oh yeah, cause I'm so damn cute!

[Matt Bach]

I've used toner (ie lamp black) mixed with superglue and it works for chip repairs (good for invisible emergency fills on graphite nuts too).

[ProfChris]

On the Barron Clarke website (http://members.iimetro.com.au/~barronc/ ... 0parts.htm) he sells gaskets for resonators, so I went to Supercheap & bought some gasket material.
Cut it to fit the lip & tacked in down .

What did you tack it down with? I'm making a resonator (of sorts) and was wondering how to deal with the rattles I expect.

[Clancy]

Hi Chris,
I intended to use spray adhesive but both hardwares here were sold out at the time.
The owner wanted as quick a turn-around as I could manage, so that he could test it out before leaving for the festival.
So I cut slivers of double sided tape and placed them all the way around the lip making sure there were no gaps or overlaps ( & trimming off any overhang with a razor before peeling off the backing)
Suggestion: Go with the spray adhesive

[ProfChris]

Thanks Craig.

Today I found some offcuts of vinyl leatherette about 1mm thick which were left over from making a case. Do you think that might do the job?

This isn't a proper reso - I got the urge to make a tin can resonator uke, and realised that if I used three cans it would be a Tri-Can. Seduced by the name I pressed on, and will probably be stringing it up in the next few days. As the cans have a sharp rim, rather than a flat surface at the base, it seems possible to me that something a little thicker and softer (like vinyl leatherette, to pick a substance at random) might be an improvement.

If it would do, I have the option of lining the soundwell with it or gluing a strip round the rim of each can (like the rubber sealing strips on car doors/boots/trunks). Any obviously better choice here?

[Clancy]

The informastion I found regarding gasket material suggested 0.6mm thickness.
My local store had 0.4mm & 0.8mm.
I reasoned that 0.4mm was probably too thin for the degree of 'warp' in the wooden cone, and that 0.8mm was only 0.2mm thicker than 0.6mm & would the raise action at the 12th by only 0.1mm over using the 0.6mm.
Um, does anyone understand all that???
Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that adding the 1mm vinyl should raise action by 0.5mm which should be fine.
You'll get more 'squish' out of the vinyl anyway, which may be why gasket material was suggested.

[Nick]

You'll get more 'squish' out of the vinyl anyway, which may be why gasket material was suggested.

Can never have too much 'squish' Craig
Chris, I'm looking forward to seeing your Tri-Can, sounds like a great idea.

[Puff]

I would have thought 'squish' would be detrimental - sort of soggy bottom dampening

[ProfChris]

I would have thought 'squish' would be detrimental - sort of soggy bottom dampening

Tried it out today - it's quiet anyway, as you'd expect with cans (these contained kidney beans) but adding a small rim of soft material doesn't seem to cut down the volume much. And it removed one of the sources of rattles! The other source is the bridge rattling on the tops; I thought string pressure would hold it in place (there are locating pins to stop it sliding around) but not so, at least with only one string on. I think I need to string it up with all four and then, if it still rattles, dig around for some teeny tiny screws.

Will start a new thread once it's done, to deter anyone else from making such a daft instrument!

[ProfChris]

Couldn't resist a quick preview now - the bridge is wrong, as I knew it would be (I changed the design but bodged up the bridge to try it out immediately). I hope I can get it to about as loud as an inexpensive laminate uke, realising that this is not exactly the point of resonators (but a Tri-Can! how could I not?)

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[Nick]

Excellent Chris! Appeals to my quirky side, you should chat to Luke, a member here, he's done some pretty amazing stuff with bits of old tin Do the cans open to the rear?