A repair project

[sparquelito]

So there's Mikey. 

He works the night shift, and mentions to me the other day that he found a guitar in a dumpster, in a soft case. 
"It might not work. Can you check it out and see if it can be made playable?"

Intrigued, I told Mikey, "Yes please. Bring to me and I'll see what  going on, and if it's worth fixing up."

So there she is. 
An Epiphone Les Paul Studio (Model ENL1).

Made in September 1998 at the UnSung Factory in Korea. 
 

The tail piece and bridge are missing, and the fingerboard is coming away from the neck. Two of the truss rod screws are missing. It's been painted, and the pickups are not original. 

 

Still works though, (I plugged it in and checked out the pickup and volume/tone knob functions) so it might sound good, once restored. 

 

It sold for $599 brand new back in 1998.  Now worth less than $50 in that condition depicted below. Once restored, cleaned up, and buffed, it could sell for $150.

The neck should repair with proper wood glue and clamping, and leaving it set for a few days.   The missing hardware should cost $60 to $100, depending upon finding the proper fit, online. Parts are easy to order. 

So, a question for you wood-working luthier types;
What sort of glue should I apply between the rosewood fingerboard and the neck, and for how long should I clamp it?

Another question for Pickup experts;
Can you tell what brand of pickups those might be?
They feature some unusual pole piece tips. 

Mikey wants to learn to play, otherwise I would not endeavor this 'restoration'. 

Thanks in advance!

😘

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Matt4356]

Titebone 3 for the glue. Im sure there are others available but thats what I use, needs to be clamped for at least 24hrs depending on temperature etc. Just make sure you wick as much glue in the gap as possible, I would carefully open the gap a tiny amount if possible to get more in. Obviously you will know if this is possible without causing more damage better than me as you have it in hand, just be careful.

[sparquelito]

5 hours ago, Matt4356 said:

Titebone 3 for the glue. Im sure there are others available but thats what I use, needs to be clamped for at least 24hrs depending on temperature etc. Just make sure you wick as much glue in the gap as possible, I would carefully open the gap a tiny amount if possible to get more in. Obviously you will know if this is possible without causing more damage better than me as you have it in hand, just be careful.

Titebond 3, got it. 
And they have it at my nearby Ace Hardware. 

Thank you so much!!

🙂

Edited January 21, 2021 by sparquelito

[sparquelito]

And Amazon had the hardware I need, with exact dimensions measurements for the stud pole pieces (for the bridge and the tailpiece). 
And the screws for the truss rod cover too. 

Those parts will be here Saturday. 

[sparquelito]

Well, she turned out pretty well, all things considered.

The Titebond 3 and clamping worked like a champ, and all the hardware bits came in rather quickly from Amazon. 

She took a lot of setting up, adjusting of the bridge height versus numerous truss rod adjustments, but I have her playing and sounding really great. 

The pickups sound predictably inexpensive, and slightly muddy, but I tweaked the pickup heights to get the crispest sound out of them. 

Mikey will take possession of her tomorrow, if all goes well. 
And I'm only charging him $28.00 for the whole job. 
(The cost of the bridge, tailpiece, and screws.)
The rest (strings, labor, glue) I'll chalk up to experience. 

Good times!!

🙂