I have an old Harmony acoustic that needs some major surgery - neck joint issues, and some belly bulge. It's not worth a lot monetarily or sentimentally, so I'd like to use it as a test mule to expand my knowledge of guitar repair. Is there a good site for DIY repair "hacks" (whatever that word means these days)?
Since I'm not going into business with this I don't want to drop several hundred bucks at StewMac for tools I'll probably only use once, so I'm looking for low budget creative stuff.
Ladder bracing or X? Bolt on neck or M/T or Neck through or set neck?
I've had decent luck with youtube, somewhat surprisingly.
Dovetail neck joint, not sure about the bracing. Honestly, the belly bulge (and subsequent higher action) doesn't really bother me, but I figure if I'm doing extensive repair to the thing, I might as well go all the way.
I've heard rumors of belly bulge being fixed with a hot iron, damp towels and clamps....
frets.com.....more than you ever wanted to know
JoeyM wrote: frets.com.....more than you ever wanted to know
Exactly. Frank fords site is pretty amazing.
mimf.com was a great forum too. Haven't been on there in years though.
Oof. The neck block is cracked on this Harmony - the underside/body side of the dovetail joint. Major damage. I would much rather try to kludge together a repair (and learn something in the process) than give up on this thing.
So I'm thinking about dousing everything in wood glue and clamping it all together as is, then removing the fretboard and running a couple screws through the block for reinforcement.
as long as you are doing it for learning....harmony's are not the most valuable guitar.
Oh yeah, I can pick one up for a song if I screw up this one. But you know how it goes* with us weirdos: better to fix it than give up and buy a new one. Some call it a hobby, others call it a compulsion.
*I'm talking to a guy building a car out of broken clothes driers - you know how it goes.
I understand. I'd like to bend some sides and build an acoustic, myself.
JoeyM wrote: as long as you are doing it for learning....harmony's are not the most valuable guitar.
That doesn't make them any less cool. They are the perfect guitars to learn repair techniques on.
I am betting that it will still need a neck reset even after repairing the block. Frets.com used to have a how to on making a steaming rig out of a thrift store espresso maker some hose and a basketball pump needle. Follow his instructions for neck removal and you will have better access to the neck block for repair.
Cyanoacrylate glues have excellent wicking properties and are perfect to get into cracks. Slathering wood glue on the outside and hoping it gets deep enough rarely works out.
ditchdigger wrote: That doesn't make them any less cool.
Thank you! I always have to jump to the defense of Harmonys, Silvertones, Kays and all their oddball US brethren. Just because they were cheap guitars doesn't make them any less cool. My #1 is a '64 Harmony H59 Rocket. I'll take a unique, idiosyncratic guitar tone over the typical Strat/Tele/LP/etc tone any day of the week.
ditchdigger wrote: I am betting that it will still need a neck reset even after repairing the block.
Prior to this...incident...the neck joint/angle was good, but of course that's anybody's guess now.
ditchdigger wrote: Cyanoacrylate glues have excellent wicking properties and are perfect to get into cracks. Slathering wood glue on the outside and hoping it gets deep enough rarely works out.
This is the sort of advice I'm looking for. Thanks!
alex wrote:ditchdigger wrote: That doesn't make them any less cool.Thank you! I always have to jump to the defense of Harmonys, Silvertones, Kays and all their oddball US brethren. Just because they were cheap guitars doesn't make them any less cool. My #1 is a '64 Harmony H59 Rocket. I'll take a unique, idiosyncratic guitar tone over the typical Strat/Tele/LP/etc tone any day of the week.
I am down to 4 Harmonys now but one is a reissue H22 so it isn't a "real" Harmony. I also have a Silvertone 1446 project, an all mahogany H165 acoustic and a very early Catalina Archtop that I converted to electric.
I love me some harmony. They even have a distinctive smell.
ditchdigger wrote:JoeyM wrote: as long as you are doing it for learning....harmony's are not the most valuable guitar.That doesn't make them any less cool. They are the perfect guitars to learn repair techniques on.
I agree...you just need to be aware that you are not going to have a martin when you're done. If the goal is to learn, this is a great plan. If the goal is to make a killing selling an old instrument, it is not.
ditchdigger wrote:alex wrote:I am down to 4 Harmonys now but one is a reissue H22 so it isn't a "real" Harmony. I also have a Silvertone 1446 project, an all mahogany H165 acoustic and a very early Catalina Archtop that I converted to electric. I love me some harmony. They even have a distinctive smell.ditchdigger wrote: That doesn't make them any less cool.Thank you! I always have to jump to the defense of Harmonys, Silvertones, Kays and all their oddball US brethren. Just because they were cheap guitars doesn't make them any less cool. My #1 is a '64 Harmony H59 Rocket. I'll take a unique, idiosyncratic guitar tone over the typical Strat/Tele/LP/etc tone any day of the week.
I've been keeping my eye out for a decent one in the $50 range as a beater/blues box. Got a distinctive, cheap but still good sound.
ditchdigger wrote: I am down to 4 Harmonys now but one is a reissue H22 so it isn't a "real" Harmony.
What do you think about the reissues? The closest dealer was 300 miles from me, and I never got a chance to play one. When I was in NYC last winter I hit Sam Ash on 48th (one of their flagship dealers, evidently) and none of the guys on the floor could even remember the last time they had one in stock. The reincarnation was rather short lived, apparently.
JoeyM wrote: If the goal is to make a killing selling an old instrument, it is not.
Oh, that's easy - I generally don't sell guitars, especially once I have any kind of relationship with them. And if I put any significant work into them, forget about it.
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