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 . . . :-[

slyd

X-rated Bob wrote Looking good - and looking better all the time. Such a cool photo-journal and I hope it's a rewarding journey for you. It's a lot of fun watching it.

Yeah Bob, certainly rewarding, and such fun being able to post all the goings on in this forum. At the end of a day working on the axe, I really look forward to downloading pics, and updating progress. The response and encouragement from all you peeps really adds value to my efforts.

Thanks once again y'all :-[

slyd

Yesterday, all ready for action . . . . ?

The pups, just begging to go in . .

Bridge pup in: . .

Neck pup in: . .

Right wot's next . . .
Hmmmm . . the tailpiece and trem unit . . .

a liitle felt padding . . .

and on she goes . . . .

. . .the strap button . .

Don't she look just sweeet ?

. . . . . . What could possibly go wrong now. . . . ???? ???

giggsy

chris77

Dude, if I'm ever in Margate I'm going to visit you just so i can shake your hand. Even the missus agrees that what you're doing to that guitar is akin to a miracle of Lazarus proportions.

Wizard

w.o.w

slyd

So, . . what could go wrong now ? . . . ? ? ??? We'll see. . . .

I take a little step back, with something that's been bugging me . . .
the tuners: . . . with all the reshaping of the posts, and plate-holes, I reckoned that I should revist these parts (even though they were all assembled and working). I noticed the screws holding the gear to the post were not staying snug, and could probably loosen after time.
Went 'n got some "lock-nut", and treated all 6 threads therewith. Cool, cures in 24 hrs, will re-grease and assemble covers tomorrow, let it stand.

Now, with a bit of time, it was therefore in order to plug-in and test the pups and wiring live (minus strings). I plug into my test amp, hmmmm. . . a nice little hummmy sound. Tap on the neck pup with my lil screwdriver. . . . .ahhh, big sound! Tap on the bridge pup, silence ?
I test all configurations, over and over, . . . . . .still . . . "nuthin" from the bridge pup ☹

I disconnect the pickup, and just quickly test all wiring connections, EVERYTHING perfect !!! Uh oh . . . .that leaves the pickup ? A quick test with my meter showed a an open circuit. HOW COULD THIS BE ??? I tested the pups with my wiring harness ages ago, and still occasionally did a resistance test on them, with both working fine!!! So I tested over and over and over, still, I didn't wake from this nightmare :'(

Okay, stripped the pup cover, and tested some more. Same! Nothing!
A little gentle tugging on the connector-wires going into the coil revealed a little more movement than anticipated. Gently tore away at the waxy tape covering the coil, with an eyeglass and tiny tweezers, cos the tape had long-since bonded with the coil wires, and threatened to break the wire.
And . . . . voila! As I'd hoped, the connector-wire had broken it's solder connection with the coil-wire . I dunno how, but it had. Thank goodness before the client had received it :-[

Holy Cow! Hope I can do this . . . . . .. ???

VellaJ

Do they make small enough soldering irons? ???

slyd

So, soldering pickup coil wires is new to me.
Before doing anything, I test the resistance between the broken-off coil wire and ground, and YEAH ? , it's 8.06 kOHM. So if I get this connection right, all should be a happy puppy. ?
I do a nice wrap of the coil wire to the connctor wire, with eyeglass and tweezers, and solder . . .. Lakka . . . worked well ! Now, my meter should show me another 8.06 Kohm, yeah?

(My multimeter has an auto power-off when not used for two mins) . . .so now I need to check the resistance, and notice the meter has shut down. I twist the selection dial up one notch and back down to see if it will switch itself on . . . .nope ,. . . .so switch the "on" button. With my probes (not alien probes) I check resistance . . . .CLOSED CIRCUIT . . . . holey crap . . . now what !!!! ? I check again, . . .same . . . . .(now I'm nearly in tears :'( )
Was my soldering iron too hot ??? did it melt the insulation of the coil-wires ???? Booo hooo hoo :'(
THEN, I notice the selector switch on my meter is not Xactly on the 20k position, but sort of in-between. I change it, test the pup, and YEAH, YEAH, YEAH . . 8.06k :woohoo: Holey moley . . . i s**t myself.

After a visit to the dentist today, (due to a close encounter between my top left canine and a fruit-chew), I re-wrapped the pickup, (yeah, and tested again), and re-assembled it all. All working FINE :dance:
The re-wrapped pup:

Attach the neck . . . . .whooo hoooo ?

Looking reel good . . .

slyd

Reel good

Wot's next . . .

. . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . .

Next round of "boo hoo hoo's" to come . . . .

slyd

Checking the new archtop bridge, I check dimensions and height, and figure that the even at it's lowest setting, the bridge is gonna be too high. >☹
Back to the trusty old Dremel tool . . . .. I grind a couple of mm's off the underside of the tunomatic where the height wheels contact. I also shim the neck very slightly to give more break angle. (I guess with a total rebuild, some dimensions won't be standard ?

Took a coupley quick snaps of the axe with my phone . .. fingerprints and all.

Did a basic set-up, and plugged it in . . . . . .. wow. This baby's alive ?
Everything is sounding and feeling GREAT . I'm gonna leave it for a day or two, to let all the wood and other bits settle in with the sudden new addition of tension to the whole structure.
And then,. . . . final set-up, polish and . . . . . ?

Watch for some pretty pics, and (maybe) a sound clip . . . . . . .

slyd

Something a little on the side . . . . . . . :-[

I don't want to let this baby go without a gig-bag or case to protect it, but my budget is done, and I don't think the client can afford to buy a case.

Any ideas, thoughts . . . . . . . . .. ???

Heath

WOW , it it absolutely stunning man , it's the most beautiful thing i have ever seen

Bob-Dubery

slyd wrote Something a little on the side . . . . . . . :-[

I don't want to let this baby go without a gig-bag or case to protect it, but my budget is done, and I don't think the client can afford to buy a case.

Any ideas, thoughts . . . . . . . . .. ???

What did you and the client agree? If sourcing a bag or case was not part of the deal then hats off to you for being concerned about the well being of the axe, but it's not your responsibility.

That sounds hard arsed, but in business you have to be firm. If you feel sorry for the owner of every guitar you refinish - or feel attached to the guitar - and provide them something that you hadn't agreed to out of the goodness of your heart then your bank balance is going to suffer and you'll end up in a position where you can't or won't want to take on any more such jobs - then everybody loses.

At McGibbon's they generally take the guitars into the workshop sans case (if there is a case). This is really to save space in the workshop and means they don't have to worry about tracking which guitar belongs in which case. There's an implied message there - they take care of the guitar whilst it's in their shop, once it's gone then you have to take care of it. I don't think there's anything unreasonable about such a stance.

slyd

Tailon. wrote WOW , it it absolutely stunning man , it's the most beautiful thing i have ever seen

Wow . . . @Tailon , thank you very much ? ?

X-rated Bob wrote What did you and the client agree? If sourcing a bag or case was not part of the deal then hats off to you for being concerned about the well being of the axe, but it's not your responsibility.

That sounds hard arsed, but in business you have to be firm. If you feel sorry for the owner of every guitar you refinish - or feel attached to the guitar - and provide them something that you hadn't agreed to out of the goodness of your heart then your bank balance is going to suffer and you'll end up in a position where you can't or won't want to take on any more such jobs - then everybody loses.

At McGibbon's they generally take the guitars into the workshop sans case (if there is a case). This is really to save space in the workshop and means they don't have to worry about tracking which guitar belongs in which case. There's an implied message there - they take care of the guitar whilst it's in their shop, once it's gone then you have to take care of it. I don't think there's anything unreasonable about such a stance.

Y'know Bob, I think you've just nailed it right there! Every point you made is absolutely pertinent, . . . (you should be a muso-shrink dude ? )
Thanks for that quick wake-up slap ?

Bob-Dubery

slyd wrote Took a coupley quick snaps of the axe with my phone . .. fingerprints and all.

That brown wood (or faux wood) doesn't look good against the new red stain IMO. Can you not remove it/stain it/replace with chrome parts? Then there'd be a greater unity in the look.

IMO of course.

slyd

OKay Bob . . . .don't push it now! ???

The harp-shaped piece on the tailpiece is Walnut, and is a feature of this particular model by Aria. The round piece is also walnut, made by me to cover and match where the trem-arm spring screw was.

It actually looks great !!

Wizard

slyd wrote OKay Bob . . . .don't push it now! ???
The harp-shaped piece on the tailpiece is Walnut, and is a feature of this particular model by Aria. The round piece is also walnut, made by me to cover and match where the trem-arm spring screw was.
It actually looks great !!

I think it looks astounding as is.
Do not touch it. At all.
You are finished.
?

slyd

Thanks Wizard ?

I'll be doing the final set-up tomorrow, and hopefully get some proper pics after a good "Dr Duck's AxWax" polish up ?

So, . . . still more to come!! This thread is not done 8) .. .... not by a long shot!

slyd

Well, . . . final, final setup done ? don't fiddle anymore . . . !

A coupley more pics of the lady: . . . .

Boy the flash makes it wierd . . . .

Man, and she's playing nicely too . . . .

make-and-do

Impressive! Been following this thread for a while.
Very well done. Like the red and black combo.
I reckon you should put those "Before" shots up again, next to these for extra punch.

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