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Washburn - Made in China
http://mowrystrings.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10137&t=41087
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Author:  dradlin [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 12:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Washburn - Made in China

A customer brings in a Chinese made Washburn with a cracked heel.

Attachment:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1375981158.966631.jpg


In addition to the heel being cracked, the sides are cracked and the portion behind the heels butt joint are pulling away from the head block. This suggested that more than a cracked heel was in play. I decided to remove the neck to see how the guitar was constructed and what further damage was present.

Attachment:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1375981438.682514.jpg


Notable observations:

- a dowelled butt joint

- CA used under the fretboard extension, in the dowel holes, and on the end grain face of the butt joint

-many unexplainable and illogical voids in the area of the head block

Attachment:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1375982180.632495.jpg


-rusted truss rod and wood in the body truss rod slot looks deteriorated by moisture (I think condensation on the metal truss rod is the culprit)

-there is an unidentifiable piece of plastic (?) embedded between the top of the head block and underside of the top on the cutaway side

Attachment:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1375981991.182648.jpg


-there is some other foreign substance that looks like a filler material caked inside some of the voids

Attachment:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1375982141.732454.jpg


-the heel remnant still fixed to the guitar is made from two pieces with the glue joint running vertical and slightly offset from the neck center plane

Fortunately I didn't prior commit to doing anything more than taking the neck off to assess the repair prospect.

So if you come across one... run the other way!

Author:  Jeffrey L. Suits [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 12:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

Whew! AMJ & AMG to the max!

Author:  B. Howard [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 5:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

very interesting......

Author:  Chris Pile [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

I am not impressed.

Author:  Alex Kleon [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

How about the Etch-a-Sketch Rosette?

Alex

Author:  James Ringelspaugh [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 11:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

Wow, I thought truss rods were getting expensive but I had no idea folks would start breaking into guitars to steal them.

Author:  WudWerkr [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 3:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

If it says Made in China , I tell them it will cost more to fix than buying a new one ! .

Author:  dradlin [ Sun Sep 08, 2013 12:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

My customer wanted to salvage the guitar, and paid for a bolt-on conversion.

With a small heel and no tenon I was concerned that the existing heel would crack if salvaged. I constructed a new and slightly larger heel to strengthen and support the bolt-on connection hardware. A few photos trail.

Heel block rough shaped and glued.

Image

Carved to blend into neck.

Image

Hanger bolts added.

Image

Neck angle/alignment set.

Image

Finish applied.

Image

Repair completed.

Image

It would have been easy to scrap the guitar, but it was salvageable and I was paid a fair and reasonable price to do so.

My philosophy is to get good and efficient at fixing the imports and there will be lots of opportunities to do so. It would be a luxury to fix Martins all day, but that is not my reality.

Author:  Chris Pile [ Sun Sep 08, 2013 12:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

YOU DA MAN!

Looks great.

Author:  WudWerkr [ Sun Sep 08, 2013 3:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

Great work , Blends in nicely !

Author:  Alex Kleon [ Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

A seamless repair, David. Nicely done!

Alex

Author:  dradlin [ Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

Thanks guys...

Author:  SteveSmith [ Wed Sep 18, 2013 2:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

Very nice job indeed!

Author:  Mike Baker [ Thu Feb 06, 2014 12:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

Lovely work! It always amazes me how much time people/companies will take in order to "save time". All that junk, filler, etc took time to do. They could have easily stayed with a butt joint, but ran hanger bolts like you did and produced a much better product.
I have an older Washburn that will need a reset soon. I plan to cut right through the fretboard at the neck body joint, and bolt 'er back together when the time comes. Sure wish they'd do a better job, as the guitar actually sounds really good.

Author:  fingerstyle1978 [ Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

Thanks for posting that. Chinese guitars make me feel better about my building technique! People salvage some strange things, great job on the repair. You;d think people would be embarrassed to bring a junk knockoff to a builder. Strange indeed.

Author:  Shaw [ Sat Feb 08, 2014 3:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Washburn - Made in China

Nice job. I didn't know that some were still using doweled neck joints. These used to pop up on older Japaneses and some others foreign make guitars..

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