The teflon tape keeps the tone from leaking out. If you don't put teflon tape on your strap button screws then don't be surprised when your guitar sounds bad.
especially if you're routing the inlays anyway. and that 7th inlay replacement was ridiculously sloppy. and, if industry standard during an era is markers at the 10th fret ON A RENOVATION, why would you diverge? totally unnecessary. dude is way too skilled to be trashing original materials and build design on a restoration, e.g. that neck splint was entirely unnecessary, if ya hadn't screwed the pooch on the heel and joint. having watched too many of these videos, however, there are just some guitars he just does not think are worth his time for saving (for some reason, Washburn and/or parlor guitars in particular come to mind). he just doesn't care.
my first electric guitar was pretty bad, the high E would get stuck under the edge of the 2nd fret. I wish I knew at the time how much on a guitar could be fixed with Superglue!
I do inlay almost every day. The tape around the cutting bit trick kinda just changed my life! So simple yet so effective. Thanks for that and for all your great videos.
Respectfully, I inlay old, Ivory, Piano Keys. I teach music physics at our local school. Elephant Ivory is more beautiful than Silver or Gold, but Elephants are far Far, Far,(!) more precious as Intelligent Sentient Beings! I am Neuroscientist/ Luthier. I stand in AWE of the intelligence and sense of community of pachyderms, but old Pianos offer a WEALTH of aged tone wood, Ebony and Ivory ...together make perfect Harmony... and most Folks GIVE OLD PIANOS AWAY to be rid of them(?) they are very. Very Heavy... but the materials that old pianos are made of give Perfect Harmony, and should be preserved and repurposed Thank You Ted(Huge Smile)
Hi Mr. Ted, love those hand cut and fitted, mother of pearl inlays, they will look great in my wife's husband guitar. Today's funny lines, " Teflon tape, It did the job, no leaks occurred", lmao "The guitar doesn't know whether you're addressing it in metric or imperial or some odd combination", lol, cheers.
Very well done. Your videos make my day, better. I hope that's all you can hope for. Keep doing what YOU do, and thanks for the heads up to all who appreciate what you do! Peace!
Every time I see you have uploaded new content, I am elated and grateful. When there is an off week, I put on a smile and check back later remembering Jasmine from an earlier video. Glad to see the “Mike Wazowski” towel too. Been missing that. Thank you for all the effort you put into every video.
Nice to think there is a part three coming ! I was getting strung out thinking we weren't getting and episode this weekend. So relaxed now I have something to watch before sleep, maybe I can dream of having skills like Mr twoodfrd
13:25 if the Electromatic ones are like normal Gretsch strap buttons, that screw is threaded with much finer metal to metal threads inside the button as well, and has a small Philips head in the top of it. The screw goes in first, with a screwdriver, and then the button gets screwed onto it, finger tight.
I never did care for the hollow sound of a Gretsch which is why I traded my '66 Country Gentleman. They make gorgeous guitars, though. Thanks for showing us how to redo the strap button. I've seen that happen too many times.
Melt a little beeswax near your bench pin so you can run your sawblade through it while cutting to lubricate the blade and reduce friction. Works great with metals, might be a blade saver with pearl too
I find that it works much better with inlays to use a drop of medium ca to glue the inlays in place and then trace them out with a scalpel rather than a pencil line. Quick heat up with a heat gun and they pop straight out with absolutely no damage. A little bit of chalk on top and you can clearly see the lines, also helps when routing as you have already scored the border with the scalpel.
Quick tip l use on dowels. I use the jaws on a pair of regular ol pliers to crimp little grooves in my dowels. One good squeeze, half turn, then one more will leave nice grooves all around.
You are fun to watch. Try not to burn out. Don't let the Al Gore's Rhythm get you down. Or, do. Its your channel. You can burn out if you want to. That's cool, too.
would be cool to see a vid sometime on solving Bigsby tuning issues, or retrofitting Bigsby tailpieces to guitars not originally fitted with one. I have an ES-335 with a retrofitted Bigsby that won't pull back up to pitch after use.
When sanding to get the proper neck angle, is there ever a chance (perhaps with this guitar) that you have to take so much off the heel that it changes the scale length, fret placement, intonation etc.? I've loved seeing the work on this guitar. Great video as always.
Thank you for the video. I wondered if it would be better for those of us with less experience to inlay before putting a radius on the board, as after the radius is applied- the mortise bottom is also curved.
If you make a small slice into the thread you're cutting with, you'll be able to put crisp threads that are actually cut, rather than bent into the wood (when doweling a hole). The cut should have a small relief and it only needs to be at a slight angle (away from the tip of the screw) and only for the first few threads into said screw. One can copy plastic self cutting screws for this. IMHO, i would also let the dowel "drink" super thin superglue (model making - thinnest glue one can get their mitts on) for at least half an hour to an hour (depending on the wood - experimentation is required, unfortunately) which will allow some glue to seep in, but not enough to make drilling a risky affair. When the new hole is cut, that glue seeped wood will become very good for thread cutting. I usually use a light wood like paulownia because it soaks up the super glue perfectly and it doesn't really have a grain (not in the sense of a wood like oak). It essentially becomes a thread insert for you, once you've made it work. jm2c.
ever thought of making a surgical tubing loop that could go around the head of the guitar and then let the brush dangle out of your way while you sandpaper pull? It would allow you to grab the brush and swipe without putting you paper down and then retract out of your way for the pulls. It could even just be a string and the brush could hang on the fingerboard side.
I remember having my Gibson Les Paul drop slightly from the strap button next to the neck. I came home and channeled my inner Ted and patched it, drilled a new hole and works like new. I am still debating whether maybe I should do the same to the other strap button, but I’ll see if it holds. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Hey boss, I’m down here in Texas, I love your channel. I don’t think there’s anyone I respect more for their craftsmanship and skill than you. I have one quick question would it be worth replacing the Indian laurel fretboard on my Epiphone Gibson ‘58 explorer with a Rosewood fretboard? What is a rough estimate of replacing a fretboard on such a guitar?
You do know, though, those Gretsch strap-holders are studs with a machine thread on top for the button, though, Right? (I have little doubt you do, but for your comment about screwing them in place with "just the right kind of tension", there's something to be said for the studs to be glued in place when you remove the machine-threaded button..)
I glue my toothpicks in(or bamboo skewers). I've had to do that on two new bass guitars that have mahogany bodies when mounting strap locks. I individually apply glue to three toothpicks, inserting the first one big end first and using the handle on my screwdriver to bottom out the toothpick I glue and insert the other two toothpicks pointy end first along side the first one, tapping them in place til they bottom out. Trim off the excess and attach the strap lock. It takes a considerable amount of force but with a good screwdriver and proper amount of down force I finish the job and those straplocks won't ever again come loose
I was wondering why you didn't route the recesses for the inlays before radiusing the fretboard. Seems like if you routed before, you'd get a flat bottom and the inlay wouldn't rock.
Love seeing how you do inlays by hand looks great. Also great to see a Gretsch guitar being worked on. I have a Gretsch electromatic as well and love the guitar, in fact it is probably my favorite guitar of all the guitars I have. I have eleven thus far.
Gretsch strap buttons: you have to unscrew the button to get your strap installed, and I have seen people tighten the button down very hard, in one case with pliers! You will eventually strip the threads in the wood, and wind up having to repair it.
Hmm, think that Gretsch has a bigger problem, which is the string alignment on the neck. Unless it is just the camera angle, I'd rather like the low E to be closer to the fretboard edge, than the high E.
It might help other Gretsch owners avert future disaster by demonstrating that the "button" piece actually comes off, and the screw piece is actually a stud that the button is meant to screw onto. I think confusion over how these work leads to some of the damage seen on these. People crank down on the button because it spins and they incorrectly assume the whole thing is loose, when actually it is meant to come off easily, leaving the stud in the guitar.
I don't think it would be feasible. You're talking about basically forcing the top into a shape it does not want to have, probably through rebracing. The forces would be intense, even if you could get the top to curve that much, which I doubt you could. 1/16" is a whole hell of a lot. It would probably cause serious damage to the top.
Was watching a concert and the acoustic guitar player had what looked like a clear plastic covering the sound hole. The pickup was plugged into their amp through the jack. Why was the plastic wrap on the sound hole?
The teflon tape keeps the tone from leaking out. If you don't put teflon tape on your strap button screws then don't be surprised when your guitar sounds bad.
Only use teflon tape on surf guitar's
It's late in the day but that comment is my first good laugh.
But you have to make sure its
tone teflon....
I find that the copper conductive tape makes for a better transfer of tone through the strap.
Since we're talking about guitar straps, how does leather fringes affect your overall tone?
Man, that inlay looked fine.
especially if you're routing the inlays anyway. and that 7th inlay replacement was ridiculously sloppy. and, if industry standard during an era is markers at the 10th fret ON A RENOVATION, why would you diverge? totally unnecessary.
dude is way too skilled to be trashing original materials and build design on a restoration, e.g. that neck splint was entirely unnecessary, if ya hadn't screwed the pooch on the heel and joint.
having watched too many of these videos, however, there are just some guitars he just does not think are worth his time for saving (for some reason, Washburn and/or parlor guitars in particular come to mind). he just doesn't care.
@@larrysquires5321 I'm not sure why you are replying to me, but I was expressing my appreciation for Ted's workmanship.
That super glue trick was worth the price of admission!!
my first electric guitar was pretty bad, the high E would get stuck under the edge of the 2nd fret. I wish I knew at the time how much on a guitar could be fixed with Superglue!
I do inlay almost every day. The tape around the cutting bit trick kinda just changed my life! So simple yet so effective. Thanks for that and for all your great videos.
Your tongue in cheek humor LITERALLY makes me feel like my IQ is higher than it actually is. Thanks for that,Ted.
Ahhhhh that sweet sweet luthiery goodness!
"It did the job, no leaks occurred." Nice one!
We appreciate it all, Ted. Thanks!
“Sweet sweet Luthiery goodness” …started watching your channel for the instrument repair. Now watch for little nuggets like that.
Another awesome Monday with Ted...
Always stoked when I see this notification
Hey there gang! Best gang ever. Cheers to Ted!
“It did the job. No leaks occurred.” 😂😂😂
I’ve miss you Ted!
Respectfully, I inlay old, Ivory, Piano Keys. I teach music physics at our local school. Elephant Ivory is more beautiful than Silver or Gold, but Elephants are far Far, Far,(!) more precious as Intelligent Sentient Beings! I am Neuroscientist/ Luthier. I stand in AWE of the intelligence and sense of community of pachyderms, but old Pianos offer a WEALTH of aged tone wood, Ebony and Ivory ...together make perfect Harmony... and most Folks GIVE OLD PIANOS AWAY to be rid of them(?) they are very. Very Heavy... but the materials that old pianos are made of give Perfect Harmony, and should be preserved and repurposed Thank You Ted(Huge Smile)
Haha, love the Lemmy reference. I met him once, good fella.
Awesome job sir! I can’t wait to see that old Washburn completed. You’ve put a lot of time into it!
Teflon tape no leaks occurred had me rolling.
Tape as the propeller Brilliant!
Really enjoying the Washburn refurb.
I'm sure we were all collectively worried about you when you didn't post yesterday. Glad you're okay.
Hi Mr. Ted, love those hand cut and fitted, mother of pearl inlays, they will look great in my wife's husband guitar. Today's funny lines, " Teflon tape, It did the job, no leaks occurred", lmao "The guitar doesn't know whether you're addressing it in metric or imperial or some odd combination", lol, cheers.
Really liked the inlay work you did here Ted!
That board looks great !! Beautiful work.
Very well done. Your videos make my day, better. I hope that's all you can hope for. Keep doing what YOU do, and thanks for the heads up to all who appreciate what you do! Peace!
Who does, or what is, that opening guitar bit? I love that little ditty. Had to learn it. Cheers.
Every time I see you have uploaded new content, I am elated and grateful. When there is an off week, I put on a smile and check back later remembering Jasmine from an earlier video. Glad to see the “Mike Wazowski” towel too. Been missing that. Thank you for all the effort you put into every video.
You made my Monday! ¡Muchas Gracias! 😎✌🏼
You always make it look easy,,,,,ahh...we all know better ❤
FANTASTIC, AS ALWAYS!
Always a beautiful day for some beautiful lutherie! Thank you so much for sharing!
I love the dowel groove/score tip! I regularly dowel stripped out screws and move screw locations etc. so Ill certainly give that a go next time.
I love the pearl set out on a sheet of tortoise. Classy.
Where's part 3?
I thought that..
Nice to think there is a part three coming ! I was getting strung out thinking we weren't getting and episode this weekend. So relaxed now I have something to watch before sleep, maybe I can dream of having skills like Mr twoodfrd
I thought the same thing about part one, to be honest…
Part 1 and part 3 Hmmmm is he messing with us? 🤣
Lutherie goodness!
It did its job didn’t leak ! Beauty.More please !
Excellent tip to reinforce the wood structure with super glue.
Just a dab'll do.
Dab'll, Dab'll do!
Truly appreciate the work you do to present your work!! 🤠
13:25 if the Electromatic ones are like normal Gretsch strap buttons, that screw is threaded with much finer metal to metal threads inside the button as well, and has a small Philips head in the top of it. The screw goes in first, with a screwdriver, and then the button gets screwed onto it, finger tight.
I've been thinking about buying one of those Electromatics, for a while. That one sounded pretty good over a computer.
Superb, thanks Ted.
Thanks Ted, nudder gooder! :)
❤ from James Bay :)
I never did care for the hollow sound of a Gretsch which is why I traded my '66 Country Gentleman. They make gorgeous guitars, though. Thanks for showing us how to redo the strap button. I've seen that happen too many times.
Melt a little beeswax near your bench pin so you can run your sawblade through it while cutting to lubricate the blade and reduce friction. Works great with metals, might be a blade saver with pearl too
Thanks for the tips on the tape! I went home and tried it on my inlay work. It easier than hooking up the little air pump.
I find that it works much better with inlays to use a drop of medium ca to glue the inlays in place and then trace them out with a scalpel rather than a pencil line. Quick heat up with a heat gun and they pop straight out with absolutely no damage. A little bit of chalk on top and you can clearly see the lines, also helps when routing as you have already scored the border with the scalpel.
Thanks Ted very informative
Always a learning experience. Thank you.
Amazing work.
That PTFE (?) tape is great for keeping Strat trem arms from waggling in a bad way 🙂
PTFE=teflon, yep!
@@magic-gps186 I find it wears quite quickly, though.
Quick tip l use on dowels. I use the jaws on a pair of regular ol pliers to crimp little grooves in my dowels. One good squeeze, half turn, then one more will leave nice grooves all around.
The left handed guitar players are the best!!
"no leaks occurred" Haha! We like em dry Ted.
Great video !! And thanks for the info on doing so !!
Awesome job. What a beauty.
13:00 should have gone "That's the point where when the headstock of your Explorer hits the floor, it turns it into an Exploder..."
You are fun to watch.
Try not to burn out.
Don't let the Al Gore's Rhythm get you down.
Or, do.
Its your channel.
You can burn out if you want to.
That's cool, too.
would be cool to see a vid sometime on solving Bigsby tuning issues, or retrofitting Bigsby tailpieces to guitars not originally fitted with one. I have an ES-335 with a retrofitted Bigsby that won't pull back up to pitch after use.
When sanding to get the proper neck angle, is there ever a chance (perhaps with this guitar) that you have to take so much off the heel that it changes the scale length, fret placement, intonation etc.? I've loved seeing the work on this guitar. Great video as always.
Emmy gets a shout out! Awesome. 😂
Thank you for the video. I wondered if it would be better for those of us with less experience to inlay before putting a radius on the board, as after the radius is applied- the mortise bottom is also curved.
I personally do my (wood) inlays prior to radiusing....
if you soak the Paua shell in apple cider it will soften, you can then cut and flatten.
I love my electromatic I had Seymore Duncan psychotron hots put in it and the sound is killer
⚓️ Thanks Ted 🇨🇦
The pinctada maxima oyster that mother of pearl comes from is generally larger and flatter than abalone shells.
If you make a small slice into the thread you're cutting with, you'll be able to put crisp threads that are actually cut, rather than bent into the wood (when doweling a hole). The cut should have a small relief and it only needs to be at a slight angle (away from the tip of the screw) and only for the first few threads into said screw. One can copy plastic self cutting screws for this. IMHO, i would also let the dowel "drink" super thin superglue (model making - thinnest glue one can get their mitts on) for at least half an hour to an hour (depending on the wood - experimentation is required, unfortunately) which will allow some glue to seep in, but not enough to make drilling a risky affair. When the new hole is cut, that glue seeped wood will become very good for thread cutting. I usually use a light wood like paulownia because it soaks up the super glue perfectly and it doesn't really have a grain (not in the sense of a wood like oak). It essentially becomes a thread insert for you, once you've made it work. jm2c.
Keep up the good work
Sweet sweet lutherey goodness😊
You had me at "contemplative".
ever thought of making a surgical tubing loop that could go around the head of the guitar and then let the brush dangle out of your way while you sandpaper pull? It would allow you to grab the brush and swipe without putting you paper down and then retract out of your way for the pulls. It could even just be a string and the brush could hang on the fingerboard side.
I remember having my Gibson Les Paul drop slightly from the strap button next to the neck. I came home and channeled my inner Ted and patched it, drilled a new hole and works like new. I am still debating whether maybe I should do the same to the other strap button, but I’ll see if it holds. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Lol, the Lemmy quip slew me.
I have never tried to do inlays and dont know it I would want to but you did a nice job ,Patience is the key im sure
Ted's CD would be called "Polishing, Polishing..." 🙂
Is it available yet?
Hey boss, I’m down here in Texas, I love your channel. I don’t think there’s anyone I respect more for their craftsmanship and skill than you. I have one quick question would it be worth replacing the Indian laurel fretboard on my Epiphone Gibson ‘58 explorer with a Rosewood fretboard? What is a rough estimate of replacing a fretboard on such a guitar?
You do know, though, those Gretsch strap-holders are studs with a machine thread on top for the button, though, Right? (I have little doubt you do, but for your comment about screwing them in place with "just the right kind of tension", there's something to be said for the studs to be glued in place when you remove the machine-threaded button..)
I glue my toothpicks in(or bamboo skewers). I've had to do that on two new bass guitars that have mahogany bodies when mounting strap locks. I individually apply glue to three toothpicks, inserting the first one big end first and using the handle on my screwdriver to bottom out the toothpick I glue and insert the other two toothpicks pointy end first along side the first one, tapping them in place til they bottom out. Trim off the excess and attach the strap lock. It takes a considerable amount of force but with a good screwdriver and proper amount of down force I finish the job and those straplocks won't ever again come loose
I always grab a couple extra pairs of chopsticks when l get Chinese takeout. They work great for quick plugs. But also paint and epoxy stirrers too.
I got married and haven’t watched your videos in awhile. Got a lot of catching up to do.
I was wondering why you didn't route the recesses for the inlays before radiusing the fretboard. Seems like if you routed before, you'd get a flat bottom and the inlay wouldn't rock.
Love seeing how you do inlays by hand looks great. Also great to see a Gretsch guitar being worked on. I have a Gretsch electromatic as well and love the guitar, in fact it is probably my favorite guitar of all the guitars I have. I have eleven thus far.
Gretsch strap buttons: you have to unscrew the button to get your strap installed, and I have seen people tighten the button down very hard, in one case with pliers! You will eventually strip the threads in the wood, and wind up having to repair it.
Wonderful.
Hmm, think that Gretsch has a bigger problem, which is the string alignment on the neck. Unless it is just the camera angle, I'd rather like the low E to be closer to the fretboard edge, than the high E.
Happy Monday!
18:03 That strap button sounds great! ;)
1:44 honestly, that is an impressive fit
I am a big fan of the Gretsch Electrometric ... I own a Rat Rod 😎
I use wax on a jewelers saw. But not sure with shell
Quality Golf Tee.
I also have a abalone shell just like that. Real, Glad you showed that. People ask why I have one without knowing it's on their own guitars lol
depends on the toothpick!
Radius sanding and fret polishing. Both opportunities for meditation.
It might help other Gretsch owners avert future disaster by demonstrating that the "button" piece actually comes off, and the screw piece is actually a stud that the button is meant to screw onto. I think confusion over how these work leads to some of the damage seen on these. People crank down on the button because it spins and they incorrectly assume the whole thing is loose, when actually it is meant to come off easily, leaving the stud in the guitar.
Is accepted practice to make the wedge from a contrasting wood rather than, say, holly?
Thank you!
“In this, speed is my friend” well not gonna pretend I never saw lhutier that took that literary 😂😂
Nice job
Would it have been feasible to cantilever the fingerboard, a la McPherson?
Why not try to re-establish the top radius to make up for the wedge-shaped gap? Is this impossible?
I don't think it would be feasible. You're talking about basically forcing the top into a shape it does not want to have, probably through rebracing. The forces would be intense, even if you could get the top to curve that much, which I doubt you could. 1/16" is a whole hell of a lot. It would probably cause serious damage to the top.
Was watching a concert and the acoustic guitar player had what looked like a clear plastic covering the sound hole. The pickup was plugged into their amp through the jack. Why was the plastic wrap on the sound hole?