my new Domino is going to need some help.

Bringing your older offset back to life.
User avatar
antisymmetric
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3601
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:32 pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by antisymmetric » Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:25 pm

The superglue is a good idea IMO, I was going to suggest it. The water-thin stuff, give the all the surrounding wood a good drink.
Watching the corners turn corners

User avatar
MattK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3569
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Hobart, Australia

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by MattK » Fri Aug 16, 2013 3:40 am

SImply outstanding - I hope you get one of the all-time great guitars out of all that work.

User avatar
Sound for Sandwiches
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 228
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:01 am

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by Sound for Sandwiches » Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:35 am

MatthewK wrote:SImply outstanding - I hope you get one of the all-time great guitars out of all that work.
Ha Ha, me too! Even if it isn't, I will pretend it is, to justify all this work. Actually I am learning a lot doing this neck repair, and glad to use as a guinea pig this guitar, rather than something worth $$$.

Update on the neck: here is what I came up with for the washer. It's a regular #12 fender washer that I ground to shape. This is try #2, the first one got away from me and the grinder flung it across the shop.

Image

Flooded the area with superglue, added the washer, then more superglue:

Image

fitted the filler strip

Image

To joint the fretboard and the neck in preparation for gluing, i used sandpaper attached to this scrap of granite countertop that I use to sharpen and fettle tools. It's not a precision surface but good enough. Here I've used spray mount to attach 80 grit sandpaper and am most of the way to flattening the back of the fingerboard. It curled a bit as a result of being removed from the neck.

Image

My glue up. I am a rookie at this and it really showed at this point, by the time I was done with the glue up I had thought of about 10 things I would do differently. The rubber band technique is something I saw on the internet but it was kind of a pain in the ass.

Image

After it cures I will break out the rasps and feather out the crack.

User avatar
kdanie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4412
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:07 am
Location: On the road

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by kdanie » Fri Aug 23, 2013 8:05 am

Great work on the repair. I love the off brand guitars.

ken
Life is an adventure, not something to be suffered through. Don't like your life? FIX it!

User avatar
kujoalt
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 307
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 1:00 pm
Location: deep South, USA

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by kujoalt » Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:56 pm

She's a beaut, man.
film/music composition major
somewhere between J. Mascis and Joe Pass

User avatar
MustangPlayer
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2013 1:54 am
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by MustangPlayer » Sun Sep 29, 2013 9:12 am

Nice job!

User avatar
MattK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3569
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Hobart, Australia

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by MattK » Mon Sep 30, 2013 3:06 am

Wanna see the glued up neck!

User avatar
Sound for Sandwiches
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 228
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:01 am

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by Sound for Sandwiches » Mon Oct 21, 2013 6:35 pm

Back in business!

Image

Actually it's been a while since I've had it back together. I had to do another fret job after the fretboard was glued on, natch. I tried to skimp this step the first time so I had to pull the strings off and do a second fret leveling, crowning, and polishing. Here's the area of the repair. It looks about the same as before but now with the splines hidden in the neck it is totally sound and shouldn't pose any more problems. Also you can't tell in the picture but you cannot feel the crack through the finish (nitro shot from an airbrush). You can also see a little bit of where I had to sand down the back of the neck to feather out the repair, and how the finish is a little lighter around certain areas. I'd mind except there's a big old crack running through the middle of it, so the change in color is of little importance.

Image

Now that it's back together I am directing my attention at other aspects of this guitar that need improvement- for one it's very noisy. I have mostly single coils and I am no stranger to hum but this one is ridiculous. I am going to have to shield the PU cavity and see if that helps at all. Also the sound is very dark and fairly low output. I am wondering if switching to 1 Meg pots would help that at all. Next time I change strings I will do these alterations and report back what I find.

So overall I still dig it but it's not the last guitar I'll ever need. Maybe after I sort out the electricals it will be a little closer.

Cheers, and thanks for all the positive comments.

User avatar
antisymmetric
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3601
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:32 pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by antisymmetric » Mon Oct 21, 2013 7:08 pm

Well done!
Watching the corners turn corners

User avatar
GRUNGECASTER
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 80
Joined: Sun Aug 18, 2013 1:46 am

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by GRUNGECASTER » Sun Nov 10, 2013 5:05 pm

Amazing job! The dedication and work you put in has me in awe. It's great to see a guitar like this fixed despite not being fender. Well done man!

User avatar
Fiddy
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 12391
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:38 am
Location: Canada Dry

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by Fiddy » Sun Nov 17, 2013 9:53 pm

Excellent job.

User avatar
mr_axe
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 12:22 pm

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by mr_axe » Mon Nov 18, 2013 11:04 am

amazing job!

User avatar
Sound for Sandwiches
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 228
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:01 am

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by Sound for Sandwiches » Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:22 pm

OK...work continues on the Domino.

I mentioned upthread that I didn't like the trem arm feel- like a strat, it simply screws in and therefore there's no way to keep it from swinging loose and in the place you want it. Also there was a lot of free play in the arm, so it wasn't very easy to get smooth movement in use.

My idea was to make a collet sort of like in a dremel tool or a router. This is an idea cribbed from my Yamaha SC50 but I am sure there are other trem systems that use this idea too. Basically it takes a smooth arm, like a jazzmaster trem, but instead of fingers that pinch the arm, there is a split threaded part at the top and a nut that forces the split closed, gripping the arm. The main advantage of this setup is that you can adjust how easy it is to swing the arm, and eliminate free play, but cinching down on the nut.

I wanted to have this be a non-destructive modification, so my new collet has the same rough dimensions and thread as the original.

I created a prototype out of a piece of brass and some cold rolled steel I had laying around. Now that I have proven this will work, I am going to make a couple out of stainless steel; one for the domino and another for a guitar I am building using a few parts off an aria with the same style trem.

All of this work was done on a metal lathe and a small horizontal mill. Here I am making the first steps, defining the main features of the collet.

Image

Making a groove with a cutoff tool to provide exit for the thread:

Image

Setting up for the .380, 20TPI Left Hand thread where the collet threads on to the trem plate. This is a metric thread but my lathe only does imperial threads and this is awful close. It only has to match for three turns or so, which makes any potential mismatch pretty insignificant. Cutting LH threads is not something I've ever tried before, but it turned out fine. I started the tool in the groove to the left, and used progressive passes just as I would with any normal thread. here I have made the first pass and am using a thread gauge to verify that I had set up the gear train correctly for 20 TPI.

Image

After a few more passes, the threads are looking pretty good:

Image

Here the LH thread is complete, and I have begun the 5/16-24 RH thread for the end of the collet. This is done in the normal manner.

Image

I finished up these other threads with a die, to speed things up.

Image

Now I am drilling the 3/16" hole through the collet for the arm. One could just as easily make this 5mm and use standard import jazzmaster arms. I am actually planning to make my own out of 3/16" stainless rod as the jazzmaster arms will be too long I think.

Image

Back to the cutoff tool, to release the part from the rod.

Image

And here is the collet:

Image

Now to make the nut that will tighten the collet around the arm. This is made of cold rolled steel for prototyping purposes. Here I have cut the outside diameter, and drilled the tap hole and am beginning to tap the internal thread.

Image

Here I am putting a flat on the collet so I can screw it in to the trem. This is a quick step in the milling machine. I also used this cutter to make a couple flats on the nut so it can be tightened.

Image

I used a hacksaw to cut a slot in the threaded part of the collet to let it snug around the arm:

Image

and this is what it looks like put together. I made a prototype arm out of some 3/16 steel rod to test this out, but I will make the final one out of stainless.

Image

To be continued...

User avatar
Sound for Sandwiches
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 228
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:01 am

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by Sound for Sandwiches » Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:31 pm

Even though it drives me crazy, the fact that the trem rout on the domino goes all the way through the body means I can install my prototype collet without unstringing the guitar.

Here is the cover off, and the old collet removed:

Image

With my prototype installed, from the top, with the tightening nut and my test arm in place:

Image

Image

Here is an edge shot so you can see how it all lines up. The height of the arm off the body is pretty comfortable for me, but it could be changed to suit another taste by bending the arm. I do think I want to make the final arm about an inch longer than this based on playing with it for a few minutes.

Image

All in all, this does exactly what I wanted it to. There's plenty of resistance to the arm swinging, even without cinching on the nut. If you want the arm to be extremely rigid, you can have that too. there's no free play in the arm at all. I can't wait for my stainless to arrive so I can make the final version.

User avatar
Sound for Sandwiches
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 228
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:01 am

Re: my new Domino is going to need some help.

Post by Sound for Sandwiches » Fri Jan 03, 2014 8:24 am

I've finished and installed the final version of the collet. No pictures of the fabrication but it was essentially the same process as before, with a few tweaks to make the nut look a little nicer. I added a chamfer to the top of it and stepped down the through hole for a cleaner look. It's only threaded about halfway through. I used hex stock for the collet itself so it can be tightened into the plate with a 5/8" socket.

Image

I bought a standard size JM trem arm from someone on ebay, which is a little long but I kind of like it. It does look a little weird. It's a piece of junk- I bent it slightly to lay closer to the guitar body and about 2" worth of the chrome plating flaked off. Oh well it only cost a few bucks.

Image

Image

Image

Post Reply