1960s teisco audition 2 ...

so, i've been tinkering a little with this one (the donor that's too good to scrap).

the tremolo arm bolt was snapped off. i've removed what was left of it from the tremolo. now i'm trying to find a replacement. what was left seems to have been 3/16 inch with 28 turns per inch (UNS) thread (0.907mm pitch), which screws very neatly into the top plate of the tremolo. oddly, the cone that locates the spring and also screws onto this bolt, under the top plate, rather loosely is M5 x 0.9mm pitch thread.

does anyone know if these tremolos really did use such unusual bolts?

Obviously messed with.
Metric mate!

Made in Japan isn't it?

Westbone wrote:Obviously messed with.
Metric mate!

Made in Japan isn't it?

... i have an M5 x 0.9 tap that goes very easily through the spring cone. it doesn't fit at all in the top plate threaded hole of the tremolo. this is 1960s. i've read that they weren't metric and that seems to be true. but a 28 turns per inch thread is really quite exotic (UNC is 24 and UNF is 32). i just can't think of any other explanation, though.

Wouldn't worry too much, just get it fixed up.

Westbone wrote:Wouldn't worry too much, just get it fixed up.

This. Get it working and move on, eh!!

Lets have a photo of this donor guitar with the trem.

Westbone wrote:Lets have a photo of this donor guitar with the trem.

... i'll let you re-size this, as it's not a skill that i've acquired yet!

i should add that it appears that the tremolo arm bolt ought to be M5 x 0.9, however, it isn't.  i can only speculate that at manufacture someone thought that 3/16 inch with 28 TPI was a suitable substitute.

the other glaringly obvious major problem this guitar has is that the frets have had it.  the two nearest the neck pocket are nearly down to the fretboard, yet the '0' fret (which is higher than the others) is hardly worn.

i spent last night replacing the tuner ferrules (3 of the original 6 were missing) and cleaning the tuner plates and pegs.  the tuner holes in the headstock are about 8.5mm.  it took quite a bit of coaxing to get the new 9mm tuner ferrules into the headstock.  some bonzo has used a pair of pliers on one of the tuner buttons, which had done quite a bit of damage - you'd wonder why!

An obvious major problem is a fooking great hole in it!!

Now here's your trem. The bolt in this is 5 mm.
It's missing a 'cup' that sits in the base plate for the bottom of the spring. Can use a coin or such to stop the spring from rubbing on the body.

I'd buy one of these and make it fit, saves a lot of messing around.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263294748868?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

monkey wrote:

i spent last night replacing the tuner ferrules (3 of the original 6 were missing) and cleaning the tuner plates and pegs.  the tuner holes in the headstock are about 8.5mm.  it took quite a bit of coaxing to get the new 9mm tuner ferrules into the headstock.  some bonzo has used a pair of pliers on one of the tuner buttons, which had done quite a bit of damage - you'd wonder why!

Don't know why you put 9 mm in a 8.5 mm hole. Just use  8.5 and a spot of glue.

You'll end up splitting the wood between the ferrules. No wonder it took 'quite a bit of coaxing' or hammering!
The wood can split weeks later from the tension.

i did mention the "fooking great hole" in the other thread. that's why it was to have been a donor. however, i do think that i can fix that (plan A is to glue in a section of appropriately curved 4 ply, whilst plan B is to use a 'strat' style pickguard).

i need an M5x0.9 taper tap to increase the tread from 3/16 inch with 28 TPI in the tremolo top plate. my tap and die set only has bottom taps (pretty useless, really).

of the tremolo, i have the cup, spring and cone, which came with it. i'm just missing the arm, tab washer, flat washers and, of course, the bolt.

of the tuner ferrules, the holes are between 8.5mm and 9.0mm. the tuner ferrules that i used have a lead-in of 8.8mm. so, i'll guess that's what the holes are, as they just fit on the lead-in up to about 1/3 of their insertion. the remaining 2/3 insertion was done using my right thumb, albeit with a fair bit of effort. had i known that 8.5mm tuner ferrules existed, i would've tried them ... but i didn't.

You seem well on the way with the Teisco.

When are you going to acquire a decent Westone guitar?

Westbone wrote:You seem well on the way with the Teisco.

When are you going to acquire a decent Westone guitar?

... i've got one!  a completely original thunder jet bass.

sadly, it looks like the spectrum LX bass has fallen through.  the seller is saying that they were acting on behalf of a third party who has reneged on the deal.  candidly, i think i've been gazumped.  and eBay seem very dismissive of this situation too.

tonight i decided to remover the frets from the fretboard.  so, in preparation for what might be a tricky task, i watched a few internet videos on the subject.

i decided to use a paring knife, rather than pincers.  the reason for this was that the two frets nearest the neck heel were so filed down that i doubted there was enough left of them for pincers to grip.  working from the heel of the neck upwards, i found that i could get the heel of the knife blade under the edge of a fret, then work the sharp edge of the knife along the fret and then lift the fret completely with the blunt edge of the knife.  it should, perhaps, be noted that the paring knife i used has the tip broken off.  as such, it has no point to dig into the fretboard.

i also decided to skip on heating the frets as i was confident that they were original, which they were, and therefore not glued into the fretboard.

this actually worked remarkably well.  i removed all 22 frets (excluding the '0' fret, which is higher and i won't be replacing) without a single splintering of the rosewood fretboard.

now, i can't really recommend this to anyone, as it is a bit dangerous.  i've worked with sharp knives nearly all my life and even i managed to take a minor slice of skin off one of my fingertips.  if i did this again, i'd wear a glove on the hand not holding the knife.

i cleaned up the fretboad this morning with a stanley knife blade.  i wasn't quite sure if i was going to do this or leave it as-is to retain that vintage look.  anyway, i did.  gently scraping the blade at 45 degrees to the fret slots worked well.  the grime came off very easily, down to the solid rosewood beneath.  i can now see where the 'fret fiend' has caught the heel of the fretboard with a file in their attempt to file away the 21st and 22nd frets!

i'm not quite sure what width the frets are.  even with a x10 loupe i'm guessing a bit.  i think they're 2.2mm, however, i'm going to get a vernier calliper to be absolutely sure.

i've been looking at frets, and mine seem to have been only 0.5mm deep. everything i can find is at least 1mm deep.

also, i got some rustins boiled linseed oil to re-oil the fretboard. this stuff says ...

IMPORTANT
Application cloths and soiled cleaning rags may self-ignite without warning.
Dispose of safely to avoid fire risk.
Lay out flat in a single layer to dry or wash out well in warm soapy water before disposal.

... eek!!!

Careful, careful you don't want to spontaneously combust.

i intend to burn said rag before said rag gets the chance to burn itself.

come to think of it, i actually had some difficulty getting this as ...

Rustins has had a massive fire and it's wiped out all their stock.

... perhaps it really does self-ignite!

Put some on your cricket bat you'll be on fire...

I've always used almond oil or danish oil.

Westbone wrote:I've always used almond oil or danish oil.

... is that better?

i've got 300ml of this stuff now. i'll use some of it on my 1 piece swamp ash strat body, when i get around to that particular build.

Westbone wrote:Careful, careful you don't want to spontaneously combust.

Mmm, fricassee of monkey!

monkey wrote:

Westbone wrote:I've always used almond oil or danish oil.

... is that better?

Yup.

Barry wrote:

Westbone wrote:Careful, careful you don't want to spontaneously combust.

Mmm, fricassee of monkey!

... hopefully not!  i've put said rag in a jar.  i think it'll be safe enough there.

Barry wrote:

monkey wrote:
... is that better?

Yup.

... how so?

monkey wrote:

Barry wrote:Yup.

... how so?

Uh, Almond oil doesn't go B-O-O-O-M!

The worst that can happen is that you get soft silky fingers, which you can lick dry.

linseed oil is what's in oil paints. i'm a little surprised it's that flammable. maybe boiling it breaks it down and makes it more refined, and therefore more flammable.

If boiling makes the product dry quicker that presumably means that oil vapour would be flashing off at a higher rate than normal?

I guess the higher concentration presents a greater potential for Kaboom! By the way, they recommend laying the cloth out flat to dry, not sealed in a jar, just for this reason methinks.

Oh, and Linseed oil stinks.

i'll be utterly gobsmacked if, on self-ignition, said rag melts the glass jar!!!

'said rag'    sad rag more like it!

i got the vernier calliper this morning.  after checking the zero, i measured the frets, which are 2.3mm wide by 0.7mm deep.  the closes that i've found are 1.0mm deep, so i guess they'll have to do.

i got an M5x0.9 bolt from france.  i think it's intended for a motorbike chain.  anyway, it fits the tremolo.  so, using my new-to-me vernier calliper, i measured the thread diameter: 4.86mm.  3/16 is 4.76mm.  anyway, it will certainly do.

Don't know why you didn't post all this crap about a Tiesco guitar on an appropriate forum.

Yeah, I'm afraid I have to agree with Westbone.

We all have an interest in guitars other than Westone, but it's a mild or passing general interest as far as these Forums are concerned:
Post a pic or two.
Brief chat.
Thank you and good night.

Going into a full detail "resto" of a non-related product is seriously off the mark. These are not general guitar forums, there are plenty of those out there.

We're happy to help with a Westone or even a related Mats instrument...but a Teisco!? C'mon now.

this is being posted under NON-WESTONE DISCUSSION.  it's a guitar.  It's even a Japanese guitar.  enough said, i feel.

just tap the 'stop watching this topic' link.

No it isn't "enough said"!
And please do not have the arrogance to tell us what our forums are for. I've just explained that to you.

You seem to think you have the right to do whatever you want here. You don't.

There is a world of difference between a discussion and a full, blow-by-blow personal Daily Diary about every minute detail that you are thinking about doing to restore a guitar which has little or no interest to this membership.

You do not help your cause by making aggressive statements, especially to those of us who have attempted to have a discussion with you on this topic, and who have kindly attempted to offer assistance and advice.

The fact is, you just don't want to listen to anything other than your own voice, and that has just become tedious.

I would suggest that you be the one to stop posting on this project until you have something completed and of interest to all.
We're happy to see a battered guitar saved from the junk pile, but please, spare us the excruciating details and your wild speculations about guitar repair.

you don't have to read any of this.  please don't.