Another Thunder 1 'project'!?!

Prepare yourselves, this one is a bit grim.

Sitting comfortably, LOOK AT THIS!

Why god why . Definitely a candidate for 'I Need My Tools Taken Away' award me thinks.

DAN.

I love this:-

"I dont know if the plate that holds the strings to the body is original because its got a tremolo arm, it doesn`t sit flat on the body as shown in the pictures."

By the powers, lads - someone get that; it's an easy fix, eh, and cheap as chips! providing of course that the pups are MMK 45s... Remember that there was a trem version which ran a strat-style trem...

Yeah, I was looking at the Westone.info site for the 1T versions and I'm possitive this isn't one of them. I don't think uncle Mat put their trems on at an angle, and with only five screws!?!

DAN.

Lord have mercy!
See, that's why I don't want to replace my brass saddle bridge with a chrome one.
'Course it might look a lot better if it was installed square!
(For those not already following this discussion in the Matsumoku forum go HERE but brace yerself for a long read!)

On the whole though it looks salvageable.

I'd just put a decent Wilkinson tremolo on and be done with it (what do you reckon, gold or silver?! ).

Are them pickup rings from a Spectrum model? They look like they're from a Westone, but not the Thunder range.

DAN.

Look at the lacquering around the pups the which was done with a brush.
But for 10 quid it's worth buying and restoring it.
Think about the cold dark winter is coming.

H.

Must have dug a chunk of stuff out the back of the body to get the trem assembly and springs in. What would that have done to the tone?
Judging by the mess of the rest of the work looks like a spares only job to me, neck, pups, machine heads.

I can't understand it. Someone has had the balls to knock a dirty great hole through the body for the trem (not a job for the faint hearted, even done properly), but couldn't be arsed to strip the hardware off and remove the neck before sanding and refinishing it!!! CRAZY

I still think it could be saved, as long as the scale length between the nut and the saddles is near enough correct. I personally would fit a two post Wilkinson trem to avoid all the old screw holes.

You just got to hope the 'expert' who customised it hasn't butchered anything else?

DAN.

I have the strange feeling that the pups aren't the original ones.
The frames are covered in clear lacquer,see the last two pics.
Which is definitely not Japanese craftsmanship.

So condition could be worse.

H.

Even with the thought of long winter evenings, I shall resist temptation.

Having just had another look at the photos, let me rephrase... I shall resist this abortion!!
Good luck to whoever "invests" in this reworking of one of Uncle Mat's finest but I think this may be good for spares. Shame, there was a nice Thunder there once.

Alcohol and belt sanders don't mix .

It went for £93.90, gulp.

Someone is expecting a very long, dark, cold winter sitting alone in is hole and restoring the guitar.
In any way good luck to the buyer.

Cheers

H.

I bought it. Its my first Westone and I have already stripped it down and began to restore. I have figured out the best way to restore the damage caused by the non standard tremolo fitment and have bought a brass bridge. As well as the tremelo issue, the finish was appalling and the the wiring a mess. It does have MMK 45s and I should have it finished within a couple of weeks.

Cheers to you all

Hoax

Good luck then!
And welcome by the way.
And don't forget to post some pictures over the process.
Show us also the damage which has been done to the guitar.

Cheers

H.

Is this a hoax? lol

I reckon about £20 to restore. The brass bridge cost me a tenner and say another tenner for varnish/stain. I have sorted the wiring and it is all broken down into pieces for the wood repairs and refinish.

I will make a new maple pieces for the back and front and lay in some skunk stripes with a router, rather than making a sandwich. I am going to make my own decal. The tremelo job was done strat style with some untidy routing so first job is to re-route to make the edges square. It will never be invisible but should look a whole lot better when I'm done......or alternatively anyone want to buy a project for a tenner!!!

Hoax

Welcome here, man and good on you for saving the poor old thing!! If it's got the MMK's then you're golden - they roar!!

Hey, yeah, post some pix as you're doing it; we love to watch... voyeuristic bunch that we are!!

Well, good on ya Hoax, and the very best o' British (and Canadian) luck getting her on the road to recovery. I'm anxious to see her when she's done so we can all feel suitably envious.

I have just completed the guitar today. If someone can let me know how to post pictures I will do so.

Graham

Good on ya Graham. That was quick!
As fer pix, you don't post directly into the forum. Rather, you need to set up a free account at a picture hosting service such as photobucket.com or similar.

Copy the IMG tag provided in that photo album for each picture.
Click on the "link" button in this forum's editor (looks like a chain link, to the left of the red f ) and paste it in where it says URL. You can make it display a more descriptive reference by typing something more meaningful in the second box underneath.

Hope this works to show you the promised pictures. Its not perfect by any means but a helluva lot better than when I got it. Didn't even have to spend the winter in my hole doing the work!

Graham




https://2img.net/h/i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss103/hsk925/S5000214.jpg

https://2img.net/h/i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss103/hsk925/S5000213.jpg

https://2img.net/h/i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss103/hsk925/S5000221.jpg

https://2img.net/h/i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss103/hsk925/S5000222.jpg

https://2img.net/h/i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss103/hsk925/S5000223.jpg

Thats scary, great job

Photo 1 shows the tremelo job as I got it. I stripped back the trowelled on varnish with thinners and a Stanley blade.

Photo 2 shows the front after stripping. Nice wiring job!

Photo 3 is the completed job. I scraped the pick up rings and rear covers with a sharp Stanley blade and polished them. The brass bridge I had was not suitable so I used a gold one instead. For quickness I made it a toploader as I wanted to get the guitar operating quickly. I sanded the body, gave it 4 thin coats of flat varnish and then applied teak oil using fine wire wool. As it is my first Westone, I do not know what the original finish is supposed to be, but I really don't care as I am more than happy with the way it looks now.

Photo 4 is my own headstock decal

Photo 5 shows the rear. As you can see the repair block runs off towards the rear. It was a tight fit and skewed over a little when pressing home. I think that when I come to do a string through job, this will not be as obvious.

That's one heroic rescue Hoax! Well done!
Doesn't look too bad at all (except for the back) but hey! How's she sounding now? That's the important thing, eh?

As many here already know I have a real beef with the original brass barrel-saddle bridge on my Thunder I-A...it's a piece of sh!te! So, I'm interested in how well this bridge of yours works out. Please let us know and I'd appreciate model details, etc. if it's satisfactory!

Brilliant work, thumbs up and deep bow.

For the headstock:

WESTONE DECALS

H.

Good on yer Hoax, I'd written this off as spares.

Another Uncle Mat saved

I'm glad that you guys approve and thanks for your nice comments. As I said its not anywhere near perfect, but to me that doesn't matter. I have recently retired (at a very early age - I hasten to add) and after many years shuffling papers in an office and kidding myself it was important, I have decided to do exactly as I please.

Right now that involves pissing about with guitars. I have always liked tinkering with things and have done car and house restorations. I like fixing things but I am not a slave to originality. I got over the originality phase when I restored a 1960 Mk2 Jaguar. Originality and the search for perfection become an Albatross.

As you can see, I have well and truly throttled that Albatross as I am happy to use non standard parts and put up with imperfection.

At the end of the day, I now have a perfectly useable guitar which is more than presentable and sounds fantastic.

Take Care

Hoax

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/nottinghammusicshop/

Barry - This is the bridge I used. Seems OK to me.

Regards

Graham

Your guitar has a very nice grain. One of the better Thunder woods. Very good job, congrats.

Thanks Hoax but that link gives me a feedback page...no bridge.

Congrats on early retirement Hoax, wish I could do the same!

I had a similar "albatross." Mine was a 1963 Rover P4 which I had for many years, gradually restoring with obsessive attention to detail. Gave up the classic car shows when it became clear that the same cars were picking up the trophies and that these were (unlike mine) not daily drivers.

Saw the light when I hit 50. Sold the P4, bought a modern soft-top and picked up a guitar for the first time in 20 years. Downhill ever since....