Patching a Big Hole in a ’53 Telecaster
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ต.ค. 2024
- www.stewmac.com/
This is an original 1953 Telecaster that someone routed holes in. It looks like it was modified to hold a Bigsby vibrato. Dan Erlewine replaces the missing wood with a darned good match so this guitar can go back on the vintage market.
About the guitar in this guitar repair video: This Tele body is from 1953. In order to sell the guitar, the owner wants to restore it to nearly-original condition.
Swamp Ash Body Blank
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Clear Pickguard Material
www.stewmac.com...
Behlen Ground Hide Glue
www.stewmac.com...
ColorTone Shellac
www.stewmac.com...
Behlen Behkol Solvent
www.stewmac.com...
ColorTone Blonde Lacquer
www.stewmac.com...
For the relic, you should have drilled into the top and made a big black cavity in the shape of a bigsby.
Hahahahaha
best comment i've ever read
😆😆 That’s brilliant 😆😆
Hahahaaaaaaa, my sides, I wish I could give this five thumbs up!
I'm glad I watched this video for a second time just to read this comment lmao
8:25 "I've got a bit of a hangover here..."
totally misunderstood what he meant at first lol
He meant to say hoverang lol
Especially considering Dan *sounded* like he had a few drinks before the camera starting rolling huh 😂
Same here, especially because it comes back right after he says he's going to leave it overnight haha
and his eyes look red. What an odd thing to say.
@@Expedient_Mensch Maybe he went out and got "Relicked" the night before! 😂
Ditto, I've never understood the "Relic" thing. I think you should have left the guitar alone and beat up the owner...lol
..yeah, I don't care for that much, either...then again, I don't care for the "patina" thing on old vehicles, leaving them rusty and clearcoating rust and old paint...faking patina on old furniture, "antiquing", etc. ,either.....
LOLz
Put a rock here and smash! WTF?
LUL
hahahahaha is it.
"...until it looks like a 53 telecaster that got in a few bar fights."
The Electric guitar - Your weapon of choice since 1932.
you know a guitar is a keeper when you use it like a mace and it stays in tune.
th-cam.com/video/dv1bM0pp_o4/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/zSarc4rU2Ns/w-d-xo.html
That's why electric guitar's nickname is "the ax"...
Save the guitar...give them the drummer.
I don't know why, but I've watched this video several times. I think I just love the fact that it was repaired so well.
Dan is a master.
@@brandonthompson8413 he really is, i often come back to watch his mastery and learn something new every time.
And then deliberately ruined :(
@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 No. It's fine. If he set it on fire and let it burn to ashes, _then_ it's ruined. Dan did it to match the neck, so it still looks as worn as the neck. Otherwise, the owner's open to people who think he has a 1 year old body with a 60+ year old neck.
Doesn’t everyone take there 53 telecaster outside and scrape it on rocks 😂
Only in months with 31 days, personally.
I actually screamed when I saw him do that.
No I only do that to 12 string Rickenbackers.
Jeez, why not just have Pete Townshend work on it?
The owner likes his guitars like he does his whiskey: on the rocks!
The repair was brilliant, the beating and scraping I can do without.
He did it so the body would match the rest of the parts, which are old and beaten up.
The Echelon I understand that but it just doesn’t seem right 👀
To do such nice work and then destruction weird.
This is a great scenario where a relic makes sense. It's an old guitar that he did a lot of work to, why would you want it to look like a modern Fender? He did a tasteful job in making it look its age.
I mean the value on this body was already shot. I wouldn't have personally but a little dent after a repair like this doesn't hurt my soul as much as knowing that some idiot routed for a tremelo previously.
I watch a lot of woodworkers on TH-cam, and this is my first time seeing this guy. Anyone can teach you how to use a router but this guy had countless tricks he suggested throughout the video, that could only come with true wisdom and experience. Those are some real trade techniques, no fluff.
Been a luthier for 42 years and I always learn something new when I watch you work. Your work is top notch!!👍🏻
✌🏻
What kind of rock, do you use to relic?
@@JENDALL714
I don’t know if your kidding or what but my answer is this: I wouldn’t use a rock or rocks to do any relic work on my jobs. Dan has his own way of doing things as do I. Everyone does.
I enjoy his videos. I don’t always agree with his methods but you can’t deny how well his work turns out. He is an awesome Luthier.
It’s the best job in the world if you enjoy it.
And I do !!✌🏻🇺🇸
@@Waveluth see i want to be in that kind of work i did a carpentry course and i didn't pass but i still want to do it how did you start out any advice for this 18 year old haha
Relicing used to be so outlandish to me, but the job you did helped me see the beauty of it
"you know what? My paint guy is world class, but since you did a great job restoring the body I'll let you do the painting"
"I'm gonna use spray cans and then beat the guitar with rocks and knives"
"what have I done"
Haha best comment
IF I WAS YOU , I WOULD BE AUTHENIC , USE THE SISTER SLEDGE HAMMER AN SAVE MONEY AN SPIT ON THE BITCH AN RUB IT IN WITH YOUR DIRTY HANDS
literally lol'ed.
Aaahhahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!! Spot on!!!!
It came back to him looking like a 2012 Bill Nash, with a big semi circle of fake wear.
The cure for hangovers is don't drink the hide glue in the first place, stick to lacquer. Great video, thanks!
I've been a full time Luthier since 1980 (and I stopped being a regular studio musician) building, and repairing / restoring vintage instruments. I have to say this Stewart McDonald Luthier is the Albert Einstein of the Vintage Guitar world. A glass raised to 3 cheers to your craft!!
Dan Erlewine, right? Austin guru back in the 80s, brings back memories...haven't watched video, already afraid to watch the relic-ing part. Probly do like you guys and shut it off early
That is some really excellent work. Dan's a master. The quick glimpse of the bare wood was beautiful, too bad the customer didn't want a clear finish, especially with that patch done so well - SO impressive. And I so do not like relicing, I think it's cheesy. But what the customer wants, the customer must get. Great one, Dan!
agreed....i simply don't understand why a person wouldn't want a beautiful finish on a great old guitar...just makes no sense.
The owner already knows Dan made that magnificent patch so why not honour it with a great paint scheme?
@@krimpoo I agree, I guess that's the difference between people who like old stuff just for being vintage, and people who enjoy keeping care of it and see how long you can make something last. If you're the first, there's no point in having an old guitar that looks brand spanking new. If you're the latter, you'd see the refinish as a good service and let it age on its own from there on. I guess for me, relicing a guitar will always feel the same as scratching the paint on a restored Mustang or 300SL.
That patch would have been super obvious with a clear finish...
I think this is the first relic job I've seen where I didn't think "that's so disappointing, to ruin a beautiful guitar like that".
You have to admit it: Dan Erlewine is a genius!
I’ve learned a lot from him over the years.
That was nice, then it turned into a horror movie.
I CRINGED. Just don't get the relic shit. Dan is a master though.
ClassicalQuack I miss my bandsaw!
I don't understand why people like their guitars beat up. I have one which I've dropped countless times and it makes me sad because it's so beat up. Still plays like the day I got it, but it just looks unloved. Which is kind of what I see when I see a guitar that's had the relic treatment done to it,
I thought the same thing. Lol
I understand where you're coming from but it's just lacquer after all. If the owner ever wanted it to look mint he could just sand it and paint it again. You could do it ten times if you wanted.
watching dan relicing that beatiful guitar made me cry
me too...I don't get it
I literally said "Oh!" in displeasure when
he scratched it up against that rock haha
Snouter Agreed. We haven't seen the neck, but hopefully it was in better shape than the body. I'd guess the relicing makes the overall look consistent.
I'm OK with a bit of light sanding back the finish on the edges, but that stone thing was just plain wrong. For me artificial ageing should look like artificial ageing, so the guitar looks good, but honest.
I'm pretty sure it lost its value the minute someone routed it for a Bigsby. It's a player's guitar so I wouldn't worry about it. As long as the customer is happy, it's all good.
Was the stone he grated the guitar on outside a 'Stewmac' stone?
Yup. It cost $900
@@starluxstudio619 always good stuff! they make you pay through the nose sometimes though :( half the time i just make my own tool.
And the poncho camera too..
AS A MATTER OF FACT , IT WAS "ROCK" COCAINE
You can get that $900 Stewmac stone on amazon for 3 dollars... Oh, wait! No way!!! I just found one outside FOR FREE!!!!
Seriously though, I think it would be SUPER interesting to do a scientific study to determine the maximum IQ of a person who wants their new guitar relic'ed.
I liked the patched and after the perfect paintjob I had to look away.
"I've got a bit of a hangover here" just found my long lost older brother.
I actually laughed way more than I needed to when he said that haha. I was like, that a boy Stew!
He was talking about the guitar...
@@JL-jj1oj you understand double entendres, now. Great.
That was funny.....he looked a little rough when he said that, I thought he was serious for a moment 🙈
I couldn't imagine why he would say that, until the camera aimed at the repair.😊
Dan is an absolute artist! I cannot see the patch at all.
The man is an artist and a surgeon but that "relic" abuse on that masterful and beautiful craftsmanship just makes my stomach turn. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
That perfectly refinished body would've looked weird and totally out of place with the original worn neck and hardware. A good repair is an undetectable repair. A perfect looking body with a worn neck is not an undetectable repair.
Didn't even realize a repair like this was possible. I am thoroughly impressed pops, I love this channel so much.
i worked with a couple of guys when i was a young man that were wood carvers and were really skilled at their craft. Watching this makes me smile. This is a true art and skill to do this kind of work.
Great work. Would have been fun to see a final photo with it all put back together.
the relic on the outdoor stone made laugh! Nice work as always
That wasn't a stone. it was 1 grit sand paper.
carl meany No, there wasn't any paper involved. It was a hammer mill.
djorll torkadreuz
H
@@carlmeany8072 lmfao
I got a bit of a hangover here... hahahha
Great work on the guitar
That stuck out to me haha.
Had a laugh lol
Glad I'm not the only one. "Oh, nice of him to be honest about it, but...oh wait no, he means the wood, oops." :D
Aaron Dyson - the important thing is he got his wood back.
So do I . . . then he runs that router!
8:26 “I’ve got a bit of a hangover here,” says most people AFTER they’ve scratched their guitar with a rock, not before.
I bought your book a few years ago and I learned so much about luthier work...it really made a difference! Glad to see your TH-cam channel...a real treat!
HiJim how are you doing today 😊
Amazing work! The plug is nearly invisible even with a semi-transparent finish. This is a super power!
Hi how are you doing today 😊
@@pattistilwell7424 doing fairly well, all things considered.
You, on the other hand, seem to have the edge considering the unusual number of subscribers in spite of a total lack of content.....fare well.
I actually enjoyed that relic tutorial. I laughed out loud when he started to grind it against a giant boulder outside. Makes for great unintentional comedy.
OtaconNachos I'm glad I wasnt the only one to enjoy that.
I laugh at this fucker only because he is a fucking clown.
Like a Mad TV skit!
I turned it off at that point
@@rickallen6378 lets see your luthier skills
The relicing work makes me want to cry.
Your misery has my company.
Yeah... that part was really sad...
If it were mine, I'd want it to look brand new, after the repair. I wouldn't want him to relic it. Such a beautiful repair. Why beat it up?
I'm not a fan of "relicing" either, but as a guitar repairman (or a master luthier in Dan's case), it's about what the customer wants. Sometimes these guys find themselves doing modifications or repairs in ways that they wouldn't do if it was their own personal instrument.
Glad im not the only one.
I wish it was that easy to cure my hang overs.
Just trim it of with a flush cut router bit, that has the ball bearing on the bottom!
Did that shoot over Magnus' head?
I guess so :-)
Now I'm confused - What ?
Magnus Kloppenborg I think what Jim Stewart Cohen is referring to is the term "hangover". It also means how you feel the next morning after drinking too much.
Pure artistry! ;) The way you matched up the grain on that plug was masterful.
BTW, I received my StewMac ebony replacement bridge pins today for my new (used) Waterloo WL-S, and they fit perfectly! Glad you guys are around to supply these oddball items, as I could not find the correct ones locally, and you even had the correct catalog-numbered ones that Waterloo recommended to me when I called them up. (I recently bought the guitar used online and it came with a weird set of metal! bridge pins that were totally wrong for a 1920s slot-head Stella parlor recreation.
Great job Dan. There's a reason that you're legendary in this field. Love to have seen it back together. Thanks for posting.
Hi how are you doing today 😊
10:53 without context this makes me laugh so much.
Even with context. Idiocy.
@@brettduffin8412 Not idiocy, it's art. You may not like it but a lot of people do. It's not stupid, it doesn't danger people or break anything. It's just a visual style. It's a 1953 guitar and he wants it to look like one.
@@juliansedor7101 fakery
I laughed at how he said ash wood. Clearly I misheard him lol
Your craftmanship with guitars is one of a kind art. I love your videos and your knowledge of almost everything of guitars. I really wish I could be a guitar woodworker but Im really allergic to dust. I hope you have teached someone everything you know for us later generations. Best of everything to you.
One of a kind?!!! You must be joking.
I stopped at the middle of the video just to say this before watching the rest , THIS IS NOT ABOUT MUSIC OR WOOD OR ANYTHING ELSE, THIS ABOUT LOVE AND ART, AND THIS MAN IS ARTIST.
@Patrick Ancona Ok boomer
"Swamp Ash." I know I'm not the only one that heard something else lol
Dat swamp ass body lol
Me too 😂
You are such a great guy and master builder... I could watch your videos for hours.
I feel bad for that 53, scraped against a rock.
Elephantricity me too
Just the finish, the wood isn't being abused I think.
Alexander - it's people throwing them around roughly and being in a hurry that does a shitty relic job, and the very good ones are hard to tell from real wear. I think that this finishing detail deserves more respect than something like my Nash T52 light relic I got for 1300, Bill Nash is making a great sounding comfortable guitar to just play, not a historical treatment like this 53.
Technically, he just bashed a hole into the non-53 bit, but I'd still rather he hadn't.
I love vintage guitars, but I could never in my life understand "relicing."
Quite right: it's fake, as are most of its fans.
That's only because it makes no god damn sense.
@@MonkyMonk729 It makes perfect sense when you have a *Vintage* guitar that you *want* to match with *its own parts.* You want someone to be confused and ask why you matched up a 53 Tele neck with a Squier body, even though it's not a Squier?
Because most mint-looking guitars are pretty boring looking. The ageing gives it some character. It's a much more interesting look. And, most players aren't dragging their guitars all over the world for decades playing bars, theaters and arenas where that happens naturally. I have a few guitars I've had for 20 years that look like new. But, as I've built or bought newer ones, I always go for the relic. It's no more "fake" than buying a re-issue guitar because no way in Hell can you afford an original.
@G. V. Q Going out of your way to destroy your guitar is odd. But to each their own xD I play my guitar enough to where i accidentally "relic" them. Sounds like some OCD thing, i dont think having old and new parts would bother me.
I think the ultimate relic look would have been to leave the patched body all natural. Seal it up and twang away! Show the scars with pride.
Exactly! Let's not fix it all up and then put fake wear on it. It had REAL wear and scars, duh.
yeah. route it out and just hit it with one coat of shellac, and call it done.
Right I made that point as well then saw yours.
It's like people who spend $200 on a pair of jeans that look all ragged and stained
Mr. Dan....you are the man....I could watch you do this art all day long.
WOW nice job. My Dad bought a guitar when you was a teenager. It was a Gibson Hollow Body Electric/Acoustic and he played that for ever. Then he switched to a Martin guitar. I had an old Kaye Acoustic guitar that my Dad bought me at an auction. I only had 3 strings on it and it was beet up but man I loved that guitar.
In my opinion relicing is only interesting if it's done by time.
By hand it's pointless and ugly.
Harpotos So I guess you would have put the new looking body with the old neck? lol The would look so bad. Its a real vintage guitar. The body need to mach the neck.
So restore the damn neck too. This customer isn't some college kid with just enough cash to buy three strings at a time.
Joe Bramblett - refinishing and restoring the neck and hardware like new would be silly, and destroy several thousand dollars value in the partial originality.
This careful relic treatment serves the aim of keeping the guitar as much like a 53 as possible. It's a hell of a job even matching the face grain of the wood plug, that restoration will serve the guitar well and
Harpotos I think your assessment underestimates who this man is. He's spending a full DAY making the wear look quite real and his time is quite valuable. I'd hang out just to learn from what he's doing.
"Partial originality?" It had that with the wrong bridge and pickup.
If I go get some 1965 Stingray lug nuts for a 1995 Saturn, then beat up the paint a bit does it become a "partially original" Corvette?
This man is a true master of his craft
1) Wow! This guy is a genius
2) what a nice job
3) why?
4) why?
5) why?
6) noooooooooooooooo
so true
I like that after expanding your comment it gives me the option to Show Less... wish that was an option when watching the video
One of my favorite repair videos. Dan is a master and artist to say the least. Really clever with the sticky back mylar!
I have watched this about 15 times and may watch it 15 more!
Always enjoy watching his work.
Just replace it with a Squire body. No one will ever know.
Ed Mathews dude that's evil lol.
Brilliant. The only tool you need then is a pencil to write "1953" in the neck pocket. Oh, and a rock.
Maybe that"s exactly what Steward did at the end: you can't tell from the video ;-)
I have a squier body with a Fender neck and Good Pickups and I bet no one could ever tell its from a squier hahaha
A Squire body is basswood which is a very soft (cheap) wood! This 53' Tele body is ash! Very BIG difference and anyone who knows guitars and woods would be able to SEE the difference!
I remain hopeful that relicing is a passing fad and will eventually become a thing of the past.
The way i see it, just buy one used if you want one that looks beat up!
TsiratiugZ This "fad" has been around since the late-'70s-early-'80s. So, good luck with that.
Becoming a thing of the past is the whole point of it being a relic.
I could not agree with you more. You relic by playing it. Otherwise your a poser. If it's a famous restoration from water damage ok I guess. Just play it and beat it up.
Its kinda poser-ish I guess . If the guitar could talk as your beating it up on purpose it would say "wtf is your problem? " .
The Bob Ross of guitar repair. Love him.
I'm willing to pay the premium for StewMac products just because they give us this absolutely priceless knowledge and education from Dan & company.
Having to be honest, I have no clue how to make a single chord on a guitar. That said, I have watched so many of these videos, simply because of the craftsmanship and attention to detail you guys have. You keep making these and I will keep watching these.
Very interest. I do have a gripe though. As an analogy if someone was restoring an old classic car, lets say a 1954 Ford Mustang would they, after it was completely restored and painted, think that....Hay, this looks too new and then take a hammer to it and bang in some "vintage dents, add a few key sratches, parking dings, some greasy leaky oil spots and then scrape some paint off to get it to rust a bit. I really think not. So, why in the world do it to a beautifully restored guitar. The whole idea of restoration is to bring the item back to its original preteen condition. As for me, I prefere to put my own battle scars on my instrument. A few years of gigs and it will be honestly reliced.
I agree, I'm not a fan of artificially "relicked" instruments either.
But, in this case, that's what the customer wanted, and Dan did a good job of it.
I kind of wince when I see it done as well, but here's the thing. Even when in better than new condition, a classic car is still obviously a classic car. When a Tele looks brand new it could be of any age whatsoever.
So, I think some people want their vintage Teles to look old, if only so other people notice them. Then a lot of people will ask, and they can proudly say how old their guitars are. After all, what is the fun of having a vintage Tele if no one else knows what it is?
Also, we haven't seen the neck. In my opinion at least, a shiny, perfect body would look out of place with a neck and fretboard that show years of wear.
That's the difference between vintage cars and vintage guitars though. Scratches and dents on a vintage car are seen as flaws. They aren't flaws on a vintage guitar. So part of repair and restoration work is, paradoxically, damaging it. Otherwise it won't match the old hardware and neck.
gives both the player and guitar instant (artificial) credibility. I dont agree with it either. if it took 60 years to build up its battle scars why restore them overnight.
Don't get it either. It's like a fake history. "Look how cool I am with this (fake) worn down guitar, hope the audience don't call the bluff"
Great video Dan, this is one of the best ones yet. I used to relic unfinished violins imported from Germany. Take 'em outside, lean them up against the side of the building and toss a few handfuls of gravel at 'em, use a palette knife to add a few nicks and stain the indentations with either black or brown stain then varnish. First time doing it was difficult... kind of goes against the repairman/luthier's code of adding no further damage to an instrument.
Loved the video, I especially enjoyed your relic process, it really shows how a bit of creative tool improvisation can go a long way and have stunning results!
I’m not a fan of relic-ed NEW guitars, but people need to remember that this is a 53’ tele and in my opinion, as a result, the relic process is NECESSARY for it to look right. If I had one or was going to buy one, I would NOT want my 53’ tele to look like a new reissue, it’s simply not natural to me.
I really appreciate how detailed your explanations are and the process of how you were doing this. Very cool
Always learn something new every time I watch Dan's videos.
I'm such an idiot. I've always stopped at the painting stage. I never knew I had to scrape it off of a rock afterwards!
You are incredible sir!! You make an awsome job! Thanks for these videos
Did anyone else think he said "swamp ass"?
Lol I thought he was roasting it "you swamp ass body"
i hate getting swamp ass
Every time he said it.
i love swamp ass , cutest girls are from the south
awingmaster what
The fact that i see your videos in place of usual ads is awsome! Much appreciation for sharing your skill and knowledge
Good to see you Don have had serious health issues these last 8 years haven’t been doing my guitar work I miss it and hope to get strong enough to start again. Guitar work has never been a “JOB “ to me. It’s how I relax love watching your magic. Take care Mark Schuster
WOW , ONE GUY CALLED HIM DAN AND NOW YOU CALL HIM DON , WELL AT LEAST NO ONE CALLED HIM DINGLE BERRY
10:25 : wowowo wait wait wait wait wtfff nooo
10:50 : god nooo please
11:00 : stop it please
11:12 : ......
Hahaha LOVE IT!
Haha My thoughts exactly. I was cringing so much saying the same thing!
I'll tell you anything you wanna know please just stop it!! XD
lol, he's a funny guy. I enjoyed this video and his sense of humor. UPDATE: Just came to revisit this classic video. Well, at least I think it's one of those videos that we can watch forever and ever.
Fantastic job on that tele! 👍 It would be seriously nice to have a guitar like that one... 😍
I’ve picked up a wonderful machine for guitar work. A 100 watt C02 Laser engraver. With the ccd camera inside I could actually mark the damage your fixing. The later in raster mode would perfectly clean out work area. The hen in outline mode it would cut out the exact size patch. At 1/10 the thickness of a human hair the only way you would see it’s a patch is the grain and color possibly and painted invisible. The co2 laser will also do inlay perfectly in body and neck. When I get some done I’ll sent it to you. I’m sure you’ll want to add one in your shop. I chose to purchase a Chinese laser. Same power laser in the us almost 20k I paid about 2500. The software and support is garbage there is a guy in the US who designed a software called light burn. Holy cow now my laser equals most American models. It’s the software that gave me camera potential ! You deserve this machine !
I don't even like teles really...but this video hurt my soul. What madman does that to a vintage guitar? This guy is clearly a master to have fixed that
I really dislike the idea of 'relicing' guitars, mostly because it is so blatantly dishonest and ego driven. However, if there is one reason that relicising a guitar is acceptable, it is restoring an obviously vintage/veteran instrument.
Great restore. Masterclass.
Worn in instruments feel better and collector boomers have already bought out all the vintage stuff. There, those are your reasons
Most likely this Tele was beaten up before he started with removing paint and sanding. So this beating up again was meant to put the old guitar as it was before. For me it is ok since it is original '53 and not a 201X guitar. So please stop that hatred, he did a great job!
S tým nesúhlasím. Napríklad, neobnovil by si auto a potom hodiť na to skalu! Vieš?
The man's an artist 🤘🤘🤘
Fantastic work. I love watching your magic hands work. Such a great repair.
Thank you for this informative video.
Today I bought a Washburn a20 bbr from ebay and the guitar has a big hole in the back because the previous owner installed a Roland guitar synth pickup controller. I will try the synth for a while but then I will patch the guitar and bring it to its original state.
Beautiful tele.... Awesome woodwork and finish. Then ruined it by ruining it!!! I about flipped out when he said something about relicing it haha
I wish we had luthiers like him in India. So professional. You can see he really cares for the guitar. I can't find a luthier like him in India.
I know that it's a restoration job and you have to reroute a clean opening to fill in a wood slab to restore the original body platform but man does it still look painful to see that drill just sawing away all that original material off that tele body like that!
Doug Funny it's just wood. just imagine the patch piece of wood is the same age
I couldn't help feeling the same way.
I mourn the new body blank too. It's a tree who died for patching a dead guitar instead of being a living guitar itself
Just saw this of course...
This guy ought to write a damn book or something! What a pleasure to watch a master craftsman at work. Two thumbs up: 👍👍
Very interesting. I would never have known how to go about doing a repair like that. Thanks for sharing your talents with us and showing us how to do a proper repair! Cheers from the Midwest (USA)
Kind of like the guy who owns his great, great, great grandfather's muzzle loader. "Well, we replaced the barrel, stock, side plates and lockwork, but the trigger is original."
Took me a while to realise he was saying "Swamp ash". I heard "Swamp ass"!
Love the work this man does, but was disappointed when he began to “relic” this beautiful Tele. Customer preference I suppose.
Very good presentation. Can you please comment: after you "relic' it do you just leave it or put some kind of clearcoat on it to preserve that state? Thank you. BTW I just bought one of your 24 inch straight edges. I don't do guitar work but looks like the bevel edge will be very helpful for autobody resoration.
Putting the bearing below the cutter...I never would've thought of that. Brilliant! That guy is quite the craftsman!
Wish they would have showed us the finished product!
IT IS A SAGA , DON'T GET SO PUSHY , WATCH FOR THE NEXT SHOW
According to the comments, the guitar would have looked fine with a shiny new finished body, and a heavily worn naturally aged neck. Yeah that would look Normal.....NOT!
This is what the customer wanted. Stop shit talking Dan for doing his job. He's a national treasure.
The “relicing” part made me cry a little
There are so many amazing things in this video! Dan is one of the best luthiers ever.
When you said, “I’ve got a bit of a hangover ... “ at first I thought you meant you had been drinking! 😂
I’ve only been playing guitar fifteen months and change. Originally I’m a sax player. I’ve never been good with wood; great with machines, but not woodworking. A guitar is both a machine and woodwork. You really gave me the bug; I have a Squier Bullet, ‘Crafted in China,’ I bought in a thrift shop last May and, long story short, I just tried out a brand new Fender Player the other day and it was crap compared to my fixed up and modified Squier Bullet Stratocaster, though I loved how they had it set up. So the next day I set mine up the same way which required some woodworking amongst other things.
Thanks for enabling me to make the only guitar I have the only one I need.
I don"t understand the "relic" thing. I have 35 year-old guitars that still look relatively new. I have played them hard in bars, frat parties, etc., but besides a few dings here and there, they don't have any of the excessive "beat up" look that seems to be the rage these days. Not for me.
Randy McRae I take care of my stuff too - it's not that difficult. I've always wondered how some old guitars wind up looking so bad - you really have to be pretty negligent to get it all scraped up like that.
It depends on the owner of the instrument, some vintage guitars are beaten pretty badly and some are in near pristine condition. If the owner wanted it to look like it was used and kept relatively alright it would have some dings in it and scratches. My guitar was made in 2016 and has a few dings in it and a scratch on the headstock, I take care of it but if it gets a dent I probably won’t care.
"I got a bit of a hangover here..." Yeah, been there before. Only difference is my end result didn't turn out as good.
I would have kept it looking like a new 53 tele. It will look old soon enough!
There's nothing like watching a true Craftsman work! I think in almost all professions that's coming to an end because everybody goes to digital instructions. This man is a body work. And as older Generations retire and leave us I'm concerned that real art will leave us as well. Well done!
I get painting the front to mask the patch, but, ... I would have been remorse to paint over the nice wood grain on the backside. You Sir, are pure talent in your craft!
So interesting to watch the process but relic-ing anything drives me crazy.. I just don't get it, I guess.
I know. It's absolutely retarded. "Hey everybody! Look at my vintage guitar. It's vintage. It's vintage and its mine. And it's brand new! I'm so cool! See all this damage? Vintage. That's how you know its vintage. It's a 2019 vintage Telecaster. Hey, don't touch it!"
I will admit I relic-ed my guitar case. I just took a file and went around the sides a bit....Yeah I'm a poser...so what? I also put a bunch of stickers on it.
Great job on the repair!
But I cannot understand why someone wants their guitar to look beat up? Fair enough if it is real wear like Willie Nelsons Trigger, but not fake wear. Should of used a fake reproduction body for that. But that’s just my opinion.
Rather than a body thats actually old and had a fucking whole routed in it? Id bet my life you cant play or repair a fucking thing
CAUSE THEY WANT A WANNA BE FUCK UP
Did you think that the existing guitar body had a " NON RELIC LOOK " ?
i cringed at the relicing part
Same here. I just don't get why people want that, especially on a true piece of history.
@Kaptain Kid ...and yet somehow that 53 tele' survived 60-plus years without being gouged up by rocks. Adding scars that never existed is betraying the history of the piece, and that's a travesty.
You have to respect the skills required to take a valuable, highly collectable vintage guitar and make it worth MORE after your modifications. You are an amazing luthier!
I really hope you have an apprentice because the world needs more guys like you🇮🇪