Working on my new OM-21

[Dave W.]

As the title suggests I have been working on my new OM-21. I have worked on the action setup as outlined by Bryan Kimsey, and have it pretty much dialed in. Next will be to slot the bridge pin holes, go to solid pins, and set them a bit deeper. Two other things are hanging in my mind. First would be to remove the pickguard, as I play nothing but fingerstyle and would prefer the look of the guitar without it, like my 000C-16 nylon string. I am concerned about whether the finish under it will have been disturbed by the adhesive. Gentle application of heat from a hot air gun will loosen most pressure sensitive adhesives very well. Some of these adhesives have a solvent base, rather then pure latex, and may have eaten in to the finish a bit. Has anyone removed a late model Martin pickguard? Is the finish intact, or does it show disruptions from the adhesive.

 

Second is the fret position markers on the fingerboard. The stock ones are small plain dots. I would prefer slightly larger snowflakes or diamonds. Has anyone ever heard of having the inlays changed without removing the frets and re-sanding the entire fingerboard.

 

Just can't leave anything alone, a born tinkerer.

 

Dave

[nylon rock]

For my OM-21, to "supe" it up, so to speak, I installed ebony with MOP dot pins. You may want to sand your pins to a better taper rather than widen the holes. The holes will always get wider on their own over time from the wear of the seating and unseating of pins when you restring, and enlarging them may make for too easy a fit later on. I sanded down my pins. Had the bone saddle lowered by about an eighth of an inch. My luthier gave me another bone saddle that brought my string clearance to Martin specs. That saddle barely cleared the bridge. I found the strings almost impossible to bend using it. I just couldn't push the strings sideways without them wanting to slip under my finger. So I went back to the other original saddle that had been reduced.

The diamond fret markers is an interesting idea. Although I like my small MOP dots, I've always been attracted to the diamond sort of vintage look. On fingerboard inlay work, I've gone to some pro websites and they forewarn that the frets need to come off for any inlay work. But who knows, maybe diamonds being compact can preclude fret removal. But probably not, at least not to the satisfaction of a pro inlayer. Anyway, the small fingerboard dots are the only way you would be able to sub in diamonds since the dots are so small. If I went this route, I would probably want to know if the inlayer could make my fretboard radius 12 inch instead of 16 inch, too.

I like the look of a pickguard on the OM-21. Without it, the guitar may look naked. The tortise teardrop has got to be their best looking one, by the way. The I-03 shape one is what I have.

Keep us informed of the diamond inlay recon that you do. That could make the fretboard look incredible.

Since my OM-21 is a cutaway custom to begin with, with BWB trim before the tortise on the top inlay, these few upgrades might really look good! Maybe spectacular.

[riffmeister]

wow......all I will do is change strings, adjust the truss rod, and maybe modify saddle height (if needed) on my acoustic guitars. keep those power tools away from me!!!

[Freeman Keller]

If you are going to remove the pickguard do it soon. The top will quickly take on a "sun tan" and the wood under the guard will be lighter. It should be put on with double sticky tape and should come off pretty easily. I didn't put one on my 000 and really like the look.

 

Replacing the the fret makers might be more work that it is worth. The normal way to install the snow flake (diamond) markers is to drill a round hole with a brad point drill, then enlarge the hole to the right shape with a chisel (a tiny router bit in a Dremel tool works really well). Mix a little ebony sawdust into your epoxy to fill any gaps. Scrape with a cabinet scraper when it dries. I drilled my fretboard in a drill press before it was fretted or glued onto the neck - might be tricky building a caul to hold the neck of the guitar while you drill it.

 

You can buy the markers from Stew Mac or LMI - why don't you get some and experiment on a hunk of hardwood before you start drilling into your OM.

 

Pic of my guitar - snow flake markers, pearl initial and no p/g

[Dave W.]

Freeman,

Thanks for the reply. I am still pondering the pickguard thing, but won't wait long if I am going to do it. I guess the worst that could happen is that the old one gets a little bent up on removal, and if I don't like what I see underneath it I can always order a new one and put it back on.
Besides being a printer I have a small engraving business with a CNC laser. Engraving the inset reliefs for the markers, and cutting the MOP to match should be easy enough, but my main concern is getting the surface perfectly level. Sanding or scraping in between the frets would seem very tough to do without it showing. I am going to order a rosewood fingerboard blank and some MOP sheet from Stew Mac and play around with that first.

Dave

[Freeman Keller]

Dave, if you want to wait a couple weeks I should have a scrap of fingerboard material that I could send you. I'm making a classical and I'm pretty sure the fretboard that I have is too long. When I cut it off I could send you the scrap (probably a couple inches). You would need to PM me a snail mail addy.

 

I work in a machine shop with a BIG CNC laser (it will cut 1/2" black iron). I used it to make a stainless pattern for my Dremel tool when I routed the "K" inlay on the 000. I'm in the process of of making a stainless pattern for the headstock of the classical.

 

I'm still not sure how you would clamp the neck of the guitar into the laser (or a drill press). If it was a bolt on you could simply remove it and build a clamping caul. Scraping shouldn't be too much of a problem - my fretboard was pre-radiused and preslotted - I just scraped with a flat cabinet scraper (you can flex it slightly). I sanded to 1200, then used steel wool - it might be hard to sand with the frets in the way.

 

Here is another source for MOP. I was planning to get a sheet of pearl and cut my initials for the headstock but it was so much simpler to order them here. I actually bought both MOP and abalone to see which I would like better.

 

Pearl

[Dave W.]

Freeman,

Thanks for the link to Andy's site. I am not much into gaudy inlay-ed guitars, but can appreciate the artistry involved. I ordered a little MOP and a RW fingerboard blank from Stew Mac. Thanks for the offer, but I had a few other items I wanted to get like the ebony bridge pins and some nut blanks. All this makes me want to build a guitar so I can try a bit of subdued inlay work. I have a 25 watt Co2 laser, but on thinking about it, getting just the neck in and clamped would be tough. Wonder what it is like to remove and replace a fingerboard?

Dave

[Freeman Keller]

Originally posted by Dave W. Wonder what it is like to remove and replace a fingerboard? Dave

 

A bitch. Sell the 21 and buy a 28 or whatever has the markers you want.

 

The pickguard is easy, tho. Here is a link

 

UMGF pickguard

 

Building a guitar is a fun thing to do. Just don't do a dovetail on your first one

[knockwood]

Pickguard removal... I've thought of maybe doing a swap job on my Taylor (I hate the wacky shape of their standard guards). What stopped me was thinking if I'm loosening the glue on my pickguard, maybe I'm also loosening the glue on my braces... But I guess a zillion people have done this without issue. Thanks for this thread!

[Dave W.]

Originally posted by Freeman Keller A bitch. Sell the 21 and buy a 28 or whatever has the markers you want.

 

 

Freeman,

 

Good link, seems it is done pretty often, though most seem to replace it with a different one. I am going to do it, and if I don't like what I find underneath then I will replace it with something else. Not about to sell it over a fret marker thing, isn't even broken in yet, but I understand what you mean about the work involved in removing the fingerboard. Thanks,

 

Dave

[Freeman Keller]

 

Originally posted by knockwood Pickguard removal... I've thought of maybe doing a swap job on my Taylor (I hate the wacky shape of their standard guards). What stopped me was thinking if I'm loosening the glue on my pickguard, maybe I'm also loosening the glue on my braces... But I guess a zillion people have done this without issue. Thanks for this thread!

 

 

Knock, the braces are glued on with AR "yellow" glue - it would take a lot of heat to loosen them (bridges and necks are usually glued on with white glue which will loosen with heat and moisture to allow resets and replacement). The p/g on modern guitars is put on with sticky tape over the finish - sometimes there will be some adhesive left on the top but that can be cleaned up with mild solvent. Old Martins of course were glued to the top and finished over the p/g - best left to the pros.

 

The problem you will have on your Taylor is that the spruce will have darkened with age around the guard and will be lighter under it. Unless you replace it with the same size and shape you will have unsightly tan lines. I suppose eventually they will darken also but you should be aware before you start.

 

Dave, the picture is a basic Martin style neck (with the truss rod inside the guitar) The rod goes in the slot and the fretboard is glued over it (with non-releasing yellow glue), located by the roll pins at each end. The extention is glued to the top of the guitar. It really would be a bitch to get it off without damaging the guitar. You would probably also screw up the neck angle.

[Dave W.]

Originally posted by Freeman Keller Dave, the picture is a basic Martin style neck (with the truss rod inside the guitar) The rod goes in the slot and the fretboard is glued over it (with non-releasing yellow glue), located by the roll pins at each end. The extention is glued to the top of the guitar. It really would be a bitch to get it off without damaging the guitar. You would probably also screw up the neck angle.

Freeman,

Yeah, TWOTF (typing without thinking first)

The Stew Mac order is on the way, looking forward to playing with some simple MOP inlays, I will stay away from the OM-21 except for removing the pickguard and slotting the bridge pin holes and putting in the ebony pins.

Dave