Piece of Shit Guitar Challenge: Can I Take This Crappy First Act Guitar and Make It Gig Worthy?

[Guitar Dude]

Somebody gave me this guitar. I don't remember who, when, or why, but I've had it in a corner for quite a while. It's a complete piece of crap! I have no idea if the electronics work (I've never plugged it in), and there are a couple of major cracks where the electronics cavity cover is located. Like, to the point where I can wiggle the pieces of wood (?) around. I think the only thing holding them in place is the cover itself.

So I looked at it one day, and I says to myself, I says, "Self? I wonder if we can make this into a playable guitar?". And then I figured, why not go all out and make it something that is completely gig worthy? To say I've got my work cut out for me is quite an understatement! At any rate, here are a few pics of this beat up old girl in her current state. Not sure where I'm gonna start, but I guess I'll just take her apart first and then go from there. I think I'll call her "Roxanne". This is gonna take a while...

 

[PLX]

That's pretty rough !

Appears to be about a $75 guitar on Reverb

 

[Guitar Dude]

$75? Hell no, this thing is complete trash.

 

[PLX]

$75? Hell no, this thing is complete trash.

No, I mean the one on Reverb that was still in one piece.



It would be a good choice for a beginner/young person who might not stick with it.

 

[Guitar Dude]

Well, my goal is to make this one gig worthy (if possible). Almost have it taken apart right now.

 

[Guitar Dude]

Well this was a surprise - solid wood, not plywood. It's probably 5 piece, but still.

Never seen a bridge like this before

Definitely gonna need to replace the tuning machines.

They call this a ground?

Yeah, I'm gonna need some Titebond for this.

 

[Guitar Dude]

Started the gluing on Roxanne today. The front crack and the back crack I'm gonna wait until I strip the paint. The ones near the control cavity need done now, as I wouldn't expect them to survive the rigors of stripping. I outlined in red everything that needs to be glued.


Front

Back

Control cavity

This one was a lot worse than I thought it was

Almost ready. Gonna need a third clamp vertically set for the above pic.

Three clamps - two across and one vertical

 

[PLX]

Looks like someone went all "Pete Townshend" on that guitar.

 

[Guitar Dude]

Another clampage pic

 

[Mad Goose]

Wow mate! That's one FUBAR P.O.S.
Hats off for doing the 'resurrection' project. I would've just dump it without a second thought.

 

[Guitar Dude]

Wow mate! That's one FUBAR P.O.S.
Hats off for doing the 'resurrection' project. I would've just dump it without a second thought.

Yeah, it's a piece of crap all right. I just want to see if I can make it worthy of playing.

 

[Guitar Dude]

I really wanted to keep as many original parts as I can, but so far it looks like I'll be replacing the pickguard, tuners, pickup, nut, and pots/wiring. Not sure if I wanna keep the bridge or not. I may or may not keep the knobs - it depends on what I end up with for a final finish. Also just realized there are no strap locks.

 

[Guitar Dude]

I also wanna keep it fairly inexpensive, so as of right now I'm thinking of using as many Wilkinson parts as I can.

 

[Guitar Dude]

The glue seems to have done its job well. Looks like I went a little too heavy in a couple of spots, but it'll eventually dry.

Tried a preliminary heat gun strip. There's only the paint, so it'll be relatively easy compared to some of the other jobs I've done. Not sure if I screwed up or if it was a weak patch, but some of the wood came up when I was stripping the paint.

Gonna try a paint remover to see if that's any easier.

Waited 20 minutes like the directions stated. Not all that great - I'll have to do additional sanding to get down to the bare wood. I'll just stick with the heat gun for the rest of the process.

 

[PLX]

If you can find a product called "Strypeeze".. that's the stuff.

Wear gloves.

Don't even thing about smoking.

🔥

 

[Guitar Dude]

I'm still not sure what I'll be doing with the body, but I'll be staining the fretboard black. For some reason, I don't like rosewood for electric guitar fretboards - only ebony or maple. After a bit of research, I've decided to us a Japanese calligraphy/sumi painting style of India ink.

 

[Guitar Dude]

Oh, and I'll most likely be replacing the nut with a Graphtech black Tusq nut.

 

[bridget_murphy837]

It sounds like you've got an exciting project ahead with "Roxanne"! Transforming a neglected guitar into a gig-worthy instrument is a rewarding challenge. Taking it step by step, dismantling and assessing, is a great approach. Best of luck on this journey of restoration and creativity! Can't wait to see the progress.

 

[Guitar Dude]

Thank Bridget! I've done this a couple times before, but this one will be a challenge. Check out my thread on the beat up Hamer Chaparral that I restored.

 

[Guitar Dude]

The back of Roxanne is stripped. Judging from the smells and how easily it burns, I’d have to say it’s some kind of pine wood. The glue joints I did held up surprisingly well to the heat gun.

 

[Guitar Dude]

Roxanne be all nekkid up front. 🙂

Now it’s time to do the sides. The sides suck. The sides ALWAYS suck.

 

[Guitar Dude]

So it seems there some type of face wood laminated on top. I’m not gonna go through all the work of removing it. I’ll just fill in the gaps after I take care of the cracks.

 

[Guitar Dude]

I really wanna start filling and sanding and making her nekkid body beautiful, but I gotta fix the remaking cracks first. Titebond for the one larger crack and CA glue for the others.

 

[Guitar Dude]

Oh, I found something else when I was stripping her - the end pin screw had its head snapped off and is stuck inside. What the hell did the previous owner do to this poor girl?!?!?

 

[Guitar Dude]

I hate having to wait 24 hours for the Titebond to cure.

 

[PLX]

Oh, I found something else when I was stripping her - the end pin screw had its head snapped off and is stuck inside. What the hell did the previous owner do to this poor girl?!?!?

View attachment 133

perhaps a strap hanger ?

 

[Guitar Dude]

perhaps a strap hanger ?

No idea. Got it out with needle nose pliers though.

 

[Guitar Dude]

About to breathe some new life into these fretwires.

 

[Guitar Dude]

Before and after of the fretwork.

 

[Guitar Dude]

After sanding, I found a crapload of raised areas where the laminate top was separating from the core. So I had to cut out the areas that had lifted and fill with wood filler.