More than I can chew? Paid too much? We'll see . . .

I bit the bullet the other day and got the high bid on eBay on a busted up T-100. I had posted earlier requesting pics of a Franz pickup so I could compare them to the pickup on the project guitar. I'm pretty sure the pickup on the project is a Franz - otherwise, I out-smarted myself. The guitar itself has some potential as a player, but it will never be a solid vintage guitar - it will be a player. I have the skill to do the work, but it's going to take some patience! Here's the auction - the pics are pretty decent:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=250335878912

My favorite guitar of all time was a T-100 with one Mickey Mouse pickup, but I foolishly sold it. I then bought a '56 CE-100 project that had a non-original stacked humbucker in the pickup slot, so I think I'll put the Franz pickup in that guitar - it's in pretty nice shape, although I do have to replace the fretboard inlays (they all dried up and shrunk). So I have two dandy Guild projects to work on over the next few months (to go along with my Tele and Strat projects and numerous bamboo fly rod restorations :? ). Here's my CE-100:



Any comments, suggestions, opinions about the T-100 project? How would you approach the rebuild? And thanks again for those who provided pics of the Franz pickup.

Dean

if your not worried about modding it i would put on locking tuners, get a guild brand bigsby, change the knobs and put on a dynasonic bridge pup ala eddie cochrane. but thats just me.

If those are the original knobs, I wouldn't change them out. As far as adding a Bigsby goes, I would borrow one and check the break angle on the bridge- the neck angle can be shallow and that doesn't always put much pressure on the bridge.
One of the members (gilded, IIRC) commented that sometimes the neckblocks "roll" from being left in hot cars and that reduces the neck angle. He said he noticed it on es-125s also. I would take a look at that, since the top is off already.

Hi Dean; congratulations on your old and new guitars! Looking forward to progess pics on the T-100. CJ

Thanks for the responses, everyone. After looking over the T-100 pretty carefully, I can see that I will have my work cut out for me - but I think the rebuild is do-able. Here are some of the high and low points of the guitar:

1. The pickup (5.1 ohms) and wiring look to be all original and in good condition - they just need to be cleaned.

2. The neck is still attached to the top, but it's only held on by the glue under the front of the fretboard - I'll remove the entire neck first.

3. The finish is borderline salvageable - I think I can do some touch-up on the back and bottom edges and still maintain the patina and vintage aging of the top. We'll see on that a bit later.

4. The back of the guitar has some serious delamination going on between the layers. I'll have to force some glue into the laminates and get that stabilized before I do any other serious work.

5. I think I can get the top re-attached OK - I'll just take my time on that.

6. I'll need to replace the binding on both the top and the fretboard.

7. I'll probably re-fret the guitar since the binding is already gone and a couple of the frets are loose.

8. My biggest concern will be reinstalling the neck.

9. I'll be coming back to this forum to check on some of the parts that I'll need to get it all finished.

Whew! That sounds like a lot, but I think this will be a fun project. I am going to keep the guitar as close to stock as possible. I have owned and rebuilt a couple vintage Starfire IIIs, and I have found that I'm not a big Bigsby fan - I never use the thing and it seems to unbalance the guitar in my hands. The T-100 is far and away the best-feeling guitar I have owned, and I hope this one will come together well enough to be one of my keeper guitars.

Again, thanks for the replies.

Dean

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Dean,

A man after my own heart! You're not afraid to tackle projects!

Just for humor's sake, I wonder how It got this way?

1. Pete Townsend impersonation?
2. Spouse fed up with ultimate aquisition - is there a skull impression on the lower bout?
3. Guitar that got away from you as you peeled out on your Harley?
4. Disgruntled fan, er bandmember - or Gothband member (recent event in Italy of band members stabbing their guitarist because he didn't play well)?

Alex

PS Sorry people, I hit the spacer bar not knowing it would post it each time - I can't delete each frigging post that I f__ked up!

Hey Alex,

I don't know how it became a project guitar, but there are a few hints to some of the problems. For all I know, it was used by El Kabong (aka Quickdraw McGraw). As far as why the top and binding came off, I don't know. When I checked the kerfing, it had been split, not just unglued. The guitar has a lot of normal wear and tear, but so did my other T-100. The knobs (which are original) and the electronics all have some residue of dampness - that will clean up OK - but it's not moldy. I am assuming the delamination and residue occurred from moisture. Fortunately, I think I can repair the laminate issues successfully and then move onto the other structural issues. I really do think this T-100 can be resurrected - if so, it will likely become my go-to guitar. As I mentioned before, I think I'll drop the Franz pickup into my CE-100 project and use the P-100 (the replacement pickup in the CE-100) in the T-100 if it will fit without cutting any wood. Otherwise, I'll have Pete Biltoft (Vintage Vibe) make me a suitable Franz copy.

Dean

I'm particularly interested in repairing the delamination.
Looking forward to this thread.