Headstock inlay bulge

[Qvart]

Hey everyone-

Just wondering if there's a tip for a quick fix for inlay that is coming loose. The "Chesterfield" part of the inlay on my '74 S-100 is bulging up in the middle (kind of like squeezing a playing card between two fingers).

Thanks.
G.

 

[taabru45]

Under different circumstances, I'd say give it to my mother....she could shrink anything. :lol: :lol: Other than that, sorry, but you might try a plastic manufacturer, to find out if there is anything that might do the job, or have it re-inlaid.... :? Steffan

 

[JerryR]

 

[john_kidder]

Chesterfield inlay bulging up in the middle

Is it actually sitting higher than the heatstock veneer right at the bulge?

 

[Qvart]

Chesterfield inlay bulging up in the middle

Is it actually sitting higher than the heatstock veneer right at the bulge?

Looks like it is, but the bottom of the inlay hasn't completely cleared the edge of the veneer. I wasn't sure it was enough to capture with a camera, but I took some pics and I think you'll be able to see it clearly.

A couple thoughts:

1) Are these inlays glued in to begin with? I would imagine there was some kind of adhesive used. In which case it can be reseated.

2) Maybe the veneer is shrinking and putting pressure on the inlay. Can't tell if that's the case just by eyeballing it though. If that's what is happening it appears to be slight.

Here are a couple pics:

 

[Qvart]

Tsk tsk Jerry....that is clearly NOT the right tool for the job.

 

[fronobulax]

Nanny software blocks the pics so, once again, I am proclaiming in ignorance.

That said, if I recall the discussion on shrinkage on vintage Starfire basses, the headstock has an overlay that is basically plastic and over time it shrinks. I don't recall what the fix was, although I seem to recall one '67 bass where the shrinkage or the repair ended up leaving a white outline around the headstock. Think of a BWB type pickguard.

So my guess is that the repair would be to take the plastic off, flatten it or straighten it out and then return it to its original position.

 

[Qvart]

Nanny software blocks the pics so, once again, I am proclaiming in ignorance.

That said, if I recall the discussion on shrinkage on vintage Starfire basses, the headstock has an overlay that is basically plastic and over time it shrinks. I don't recall what the fix was, although I seem to recall one '67 bass where the shrinkage or the repair ended up leaving a white outline around the headstock. Think of a BWB type pickguard.

So my guess is that the repair would be to take the plastic off, flatten it or straighten it out and then return it to its original position.

I have no idea if the inlay or veneer has shrunk, or if it was originally set with some kind of a adhesive that has loosened. I'm sure I'll just end up taking it to the shop. But I'll wait until I get the S300 back. They're definitely getting some business from me lately.

 

[jp]

Hey Qvart,

I know shrinkage and warping of inlays and overlays has been talked about a lot on these pages. I would agree with frono that slight shrinkage of the surrounding overlay may be the culprit, especially if it has been subjected to excessive heat for an extended period. Different rates of shrinkage between the inlay and overlay may explain why the inlay is bulging--it's now in a smaller space than it was before! I've seen lots of Starfires with slightly shrunken overlays, which at a quick, far-off glance gives the impression of headstock binding.

As far as a fix is concerned, I think it depends upon a couple things:the flexibility of the inlay allowing it to be reseated flat and glued and how much space you have to get some adhesive under it. You may already know about the trick using a syringe with a fine tip and a slightly watered down wood glue. The advantage of this is easy clean up with a slightly wet rag. I don't know how well wood glue works with inlay material, though.

Also, there are quite the variety of cyanoacrylate glues, i.e., super or crazy glue, which can be used for quick fixes. They come in a variety of viscosities too. I would try a very thin viscosity glue in conjunction with an accelerator to ensure a fast bond. I think Stew Mac has an assortment, and you'd best talk to someone there first to see if it's a decent adhesive for use on inlay material.

 

[Qvart]

As far as a fix is concerned, I think it depends upon a couple things:the flexibility of the inlay allowing it to be reseated flat and glued and how much space you have to get some adhesive under it.

At a glance, and not being knowledgeable - if I press the inlay down it seems to easily lay flat again. That's why I'm not sure if it's being caused by the inlay itself coming loose or the veneer shrinking. However, because it appears to be squeezed (like a playing card) I suspect there maybe be shrinking. That's the point at which I would probably just give up and take it to a luthier.

You may already know about the trick using a syringe with a fine tip and a slightly watered down wood glue. The advantage of this is easy clean up with a slightly wet rag. I don't know how well wood glue works with inlay material, though.

Yep, and it just so happens my roommate has syringes for this kind of situation. It looks like I'll have to pull the inlay up a tad more to get a syringe tip under it, and I have a feeling it may end up coming out completely. I don't think that would be anything to worry about too much as it appears the only thing really keeping the inlay in place is tension on the ends of it.

I think Stew Mac has an assortment, and you'd best talk to someone there first to see if it's a decent adhesive for use on inlay material.

These are the times that make me miss the days when I worked there and had a 30% discount!

Thanks again for the tips and advice. If John ever finishes the finish work on my S300-A I'll probably run the question by him when I pick it up.

Actually, now that I think about it - I should probably have some other work done on it too. I did a setup myself for D-tuning but there's only so much I'm willing to do myself. It needs a new nut and a little fret work so I'll leave that, and probably the inlay too, to the expert. Or maybe I'll get one of these inlays/venners. What do you think - malachite?

 

[Qvart]

What do you think - malachite?

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[jp]

These are the times that make me miss the days when I worked there and had a 30% discount!

Geez! I'm not telling you anything new!

What do you think - malachite?

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Well you do know that there are some here that might find that very appealing. Somehow I envison this a little more suitable to your tastes, although it may clash with the acorn theme. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Qvart]

Well you do know that there are some here that might find that very appealing. Somehow I envison this a little more suitable to your tastes, although it may clash with the acorn theme. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

I won't deny those coincide with some of my musical tastes! But they would probably work better on the '96 reissue, and would be even better on a black one. It's a better punk guitar. 3rd skull - 5th skull - 7th skull - "weeee are 138 ___ ___ we are 138"

 

[Qvart]

this a little more suitable to your tastes, although it may clash with the acorn theme. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

How's this?

 

[West R Lee]

You know, this is interesting and timely to me. An old friend of mine left his D55 with me last week (used to be mine) to have a couple of cracks repaired. The first thing I noticed was that the center strip binding on the bottom of the guitar, in other words, the tapered piece of binding that runs from the top to the back of the guitar, through the endpin, was protruding out slightly from the rosewood.... as if the rosewood has shrunk or the plastic has swelled :shock: ? I was thinking the guitar has gotten dry......never seen this before.

West

 

[Paddlefoot]

West I have the same thing going on with the tail wedge of a D-18 golden era Martin. A local luthier said it was the celluloid shrinking. I know that on some archtops with certain kinds of celluloid the stuff will start to offgas and crumble. The gas can be harmful to plated parts(particularly gold plating) so you need to get the stuff off of the guitar if it starts to look crackled or bubbly. I had a D-50 that the chesterfield had popped out of. I got a new inlay along with the guitar. I scraped the profile of the inlay until it fit well and glued her in place with Duco cement. It was still going strong 20 years later when I sold that guitar.

 

[taabru45]

West I have the same thing going on with the tail wedge of a D-18 golden era Martin. A local luthier said it was the celluloid shrinking. I know that on some archtops with certain kinds of celluloid the stuff will start to offgas and crumble. The gas can be harmful to plated parts(particularly gold plating) so you need to get the stuff off of the guitar if it starts to look crackled or bubbly. I had a D-50 that the chesterfield had popped out of. I got a new inlay along with the guitar. I scraped the profile of the inlay until it fit well and glued her in place with Duco cement. It was still going strong 20 years later when I sold that guitar.

Do people 'wax' their gold hardware for protection. Like Mothers car wax? All these things that I didn't know......you could write a book :lol: :lol: Steffan

 

[Paddlefoot]

Waxing the gold helps. Some peoples metabolism just eats the heck out of the gold just the same way as it kills bronze strings. Flitz works well to polish the gold before the wax. Flitz also works well on the plastic peghead overlays and pickguards. It's non abrasive so if you get something a bit stubborn use a paper towel to give it a slight bit of abrasiveness. If you want to polish out minor swirl type scratches try some mothers Gold and a light sprinkle of corn starch. The starch breaks down as you polish and gets progressivly finer. Was a detailers trick from back in the days of nitrocellulose lacquer on cars and buggys. I used to help an old guy in my neighborhood polish his Jaguar E-Type for shows using that method.