Time to reveal goings-on with the Aria 5102T rebuild/zoot

slyd · 2011-07-07T17:02:12+00:00

Well, a coupley months back, I was brought this old early-70's Aria 335 copy. I t was sad . . . very sad. It had been the guy's (late some while) uncle's axe. He had managed to dig it up, and REALLY wanted it fixed-up (although everyone told him to buy a new guitar!). Big issues: body separation, neck-pocket displacement, top warped away from neck pocket, general warping, neglect, sun, water, rats, spiders, etc. Once I found the neck was cool, and my wood-prof told me we could re-shape some wood, . . . I was off . . . . . . . . Check some pics: Just some of the before pics, . . . what a hectic journey and learning-curve ? Many more pics and details to come . . . :-[

Attila

sorry I noticed that the body was assembled after posting ..... :?

slyd

StephenG wrote

:rolleyes: ? ooooohhh of course..!!sorry man - thought there must have been like 10 guys just standing out of camera shot!!!

keep them coming..!!!

Wow, I wish there were ?

slyd

Hmmmm . . . with so many side-effects completed, it was time for another mock-up . . . . . . . .

I couldn't resist. . . ? everything was looking delicious . . .

Norman86

That is looking rather good hey! im sure your client will be thrilled ?

slyd

Norman86 wrote That is looking rather good hey! im sure your client will be thrilled ?

Boy, sure hope so . . . :-[

StephenG

slyd wrote
Norman86 wrote That is looking rather good hey! im sure your client will be thrilled ?
Boy, sure hope so . . . :-[

eish !! that thing is going to be a beaut....

i was so hoping to buy Keira's one from her ☹

slyd

Well, as mentioned , I'd resigned myself to having to re-rout the purfling and binding channels. Prof and I re-routed the the purfling channel, sweat, and trepidation upon our brows, as it was difficult with a big router to get into the waist etc. due to the arch-top ?
80% of the channel turned out perfectly, and I spent a day cutting the rest of the channel to size with a Stanley knife, kneedle file, and sandpaper.

Starting to lay the purfling . . . .geez . . . d'ya know how hard it is to bend plastic in the horizontal plane (even with a hairdrier)?

one side done . . .

Other side done . . .

Scraped the purfling level

what a cool result . . .

getting closer . . . . . .

slyd

Everything that had been sent for re-chroming turned out really good, except for the tuner buttons. They were some kind of alloy, which didn't take to the chrome . . .

Luckily, the buttons were press-fit, and I removed them. The only ones I found to almost fit the shaft, were Mighty Mites, which had a smaller cavity than the Aria's.
I gently filed down the shafts until I could get a good friction fit with the MM buttons, and gave a few good thwacks with a hammer to finish the fit.

Still making a plan . . . . :-[

Wizard

This journey is such a source of inspiration.

slyd

Wizard wrote This journey is such a source of inspiration.

Thanks Wizard :-[ it's been a very interesting and challenging project. What has surprised me, is how one manages to overcome some big hurdles, by hook or by crook, or by sometimes being a bit clever ?

flatfourfan

I like the way that you work, so methodical..........so erm, how much is he paying you to revamp this guit?

domhatch

this is a real labour of love. i imagine you either will take on a project like this, or you won't. i gather you're using this rebuild - at least in part - as a learning project? either way, thanks roughly a million times for sharing it with us. i can't wait to see the finished product.

were i you, i'd look at putting a book together with the photos you've taken, showing the journey from start to finish. a ranger at a lodge i stayed at recently did this with some of his better photos, accompanied by his story as a game ranger. the full thing cost him about 800 to print, and a buddy did the design for him. he printed two copies. you could keep one and give one to your client as an additional keepsake. (hey, he won't have this thread to keep coming back to drooling over...)

it's a great job, keep at it. can't wait to see how it turns out as i said.
dh

costafonix

+1
I must agree, the guys an inspiration to all of us,,,, keep going Slyd,,,,looking forward to the next instalment :applause:

Neon-Gecko

I only started following this thread last night and I was totally blown away at your workmanship and ingenuity! ? A huge undertaking by the looks of things, but oh so rewarding when completed. Talk about taking your skill levels to new heights! Very well present too. Like the rest, I can't wait to see the end result, well done Slyd, I'll certainly be following with interest, better than anything on the telly, that's for sure.

slyd

Hey everyone . . . thanks so much for the kind words and encouragement :-[

@flatfourfan - like most techs, who are ex-pro musos (broke), I underquoted on the job. But due to the sentimental value for the client, and the massive learning curve for me, it almost covers the costs involved ?

@domhatch - you mention a book . . . the last rebuild I did, I put together a DVD slideshow of the build for the client (with music from his album). But a book-format would be a much more freely accessible reference tool. Good thinking ?

@CostaFonix and Neon Gecko - fanks guys 8)

HEY . . . . . I just noticed I've clocked over to a FULL MEMBER . . . :woohoo: :dance:

VellaJ

slyd wrote
HEY . . . . . I just noticed I've clocked over to a FULL MEMBER . . . :woohoo: :dance:

Congrats ? I noticed the same thing on my profile a day or two ago, feel like people may actually take heed of the little advice I have to give now ?

slyd

Thanx VellaJ

Well, got a little interrupted this past week with emergency repairs to a local muso's Washburn, (hey, gotta earn some money on the side :-[)

Anyway, with the purfling done, I've still gotta re-rout the binding channel due to allignment being a bit out during body assembly (because of the warping, nothing matched up anymore).

After minor scaries experienced re-routing the purfling channel, it's evident that a smaller tool is preferential in order to account for the arch-top. Time to think (difficult ???)
Seeing as I'd just recently acquired my Dremel tool, I set about planning it's use to create a binding channel.

When I bought it, I got a height level attachment tool, which I figured I could adapt to use as a mini router, with height and depth setting :-\.

Anyhoo, . . . . .as I love working with aluminium, . . . I bent, hammered, cut, filed, sanded, (and nogal), an aluminium frame to hold a bearing (for depth adjustment), to be attached to the dremel height attachment, in order to be able to rout a specific channel.

(Don't worry, I tested and practised, and practiced) A quick pause after the first few cuts . . . .

Hmm, going okay

Final preparation and cleaning up of the binding channel with needle-files . . . .

Wow . . . . ? it all worked ???

PeteM

I've been following this thread with much interest and have been too gobsmacked to pass any comment.
All I can say is... brilliant Slyd.

slyd

PeteM wrote I've been following this thread with much interest and have been too gobsmacked to pass any comment.
All I can say is... brilliant Slyd.

Hey thanks Pete, I really appreciate it! :-[

Neon-Gecko

Wow Slyd, that is such a brilliant idea! I've often wondered how to overcome contoured faces with a router. I don't have a Dremmel, but I do have a Ryobi panel trimmer so I can see a similar mod to the tool in the near future! Who would ever have thought cutting binding channels could be made easier, thanks for the idea mate...

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