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Topic: It Lives - Sho-Bud resto/refrub |
Brian Hollands
From:
Geneva, FL USA
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Posted 21 May 2018 12:21 pm |
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As you may remember, I bought a rather sorry LDG in January. It was missing the entire undercarriage and looks as if it was a platform for some sort of experiment… Whatever it’s back story, it had lived a strange life. The plus was that is cosmetically pretty good – nearly un-faded body, no lacquer cracks and only a few small dings. The thread is here https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=326223&highlight=
The underside was covered in black paint and was pretty ugly. So I pulled the end plates off and cleaned off the paint with a scraper and sandpaper. After a healthy dose of elbow grease it looked decent. I put two coats of shellac on the underside. I also polished the end plates and changer while they were off.
The big problem was that it was missing the finger guide plate assembly. Took me two months to find one and, while it’s one of the pretty ones, it’s not exactly correct for the guitar – more on that later. Anyway, thanks to Rick MacNamara for saving me from having to fabricate that part myself.
Thanks also to Jim Flynn at Lone Star Steel Guitars for sending me some return springs.
Michael Yahl at PSGParts.com was also very helpful over the phone. I ordered all the undercarriage parts from him. After the underside was cleaned up it was fairly easy to find the existing holes for the brackets. Pictures from the forum served as an adequate guide for assembly.
But, there are always issues… The first two were the finger guide plate. Once I got it in place and screwed the changer back down, one of the fingers wouldn’t move in the guide slots. It had a pretty obvious bend so I took that one out and hammered it flat on my vise. Once the bend was removed, it worked just fine.
Then, with the guide and then changer installed, I put the springs in place I figured I’d put the low B string on. Got that under a bit of tension and checked for finger movement. The raise finger worked fine but the lower finger wouldn’t budge! I pressed a bit harder with my finger and got a pop, then free movement. But the lower wouldn’t go back to the rest position correctly. Several of the fingers that didn’t have a string on them were also stuck. Turns out the legs that the horizontal stop plate screw to are a bit too short. The flange of the lower finger where the pull rod goes was contacting the stop plate and sticking. My solution was to put a couple of shims between the leg brackets and the body to gain a bit more clearance. Once those were in, everything seemed to move fine.
On went the rest of the strings, tuned to pitch and all was well.
Next step was the rods. I started with one of the longer rods thinking if I messed it up, I could cut off the deranged end and use it on a shorter pull. Turns out it was easy. Just approximate the length, cut with pliers, bend a 90 degree angle at the end and voila… I cut a couple of roughly 2 inch sections off a rod to use as a jig for bending some music wire into retainer clips – Martin Weenick had posted on how to do this in an older thread.
After making up 10 of the retainers, I bent the remaining rods and got them installed. I have to say that having this forum was invaluable in putting this thing back together. In another older post, Gene Haugh posted a Pro-III rodding chart. I used that as a guide and Damn if it wasn’t nearly spot on. I think I had two rods that weren’t exactly as the chart indicated. I used the 9-hole bell cranks Michael sells and wound up with a couple pulls that are in one of those “in-between†holes on the 9-hole crank. Having that chart probably saved at least 2-3 hours of trial and error.
Once the pull rods were in I hit the next problem. The pedal rods that came with the guitar were too short. I’d never even thought to check them. No big deal right? Just head to any hardware store to get three coupling nuts… Except that no one around here stocks any #10-32 coupling nuts ^%$#@. I had to order them. I think I’ll add new pedal rods to the next psgparts order…
Coupling nuts arrived and the rods are ¾†longer and on the guitar. Now just some set up.
It seemed to take a while for the strings to stretch enough to hold tune but they seem fine now. I ended up changing the pulls on the LKL as I felt the lever movement was too long. Shortened that up a bit and it’s better. I may still make a few more adjustments but it’s in tune working well.
As of now, it’s a 3 pedal 2 knee lever configuration. I’m planning on adding the other two knee’s later this year. 3/2 is plenty to keep me busy at this stage – predominantly working on right hand technique…
I have only wired the pickup temporarily with jumpers as I’m waiting on a few more parts to arrive so I can wire it up. Because the guitar had holes in the end plate for two pots and a switch, I decided I’d wire it such that I can get 3 settings 1). Pickup directly out to volume pedal 2). Normal volume and tone pots 3). Volume pot with an Eldred Cocked Wah. I’m not sure how useful that third one will be but a lot of Esquire guys like it.
The resources on this forum have proven invaluable in getting this old Sho-Bud back into a playable condition. That said, and even though I’ve only got right at a grand in this guitar, I’d suggest that restoring an old guitar is not the best path that a beginner can take. I bought this guitar right but it’s way too easy to actually spend more money than less. Further, unless you’re mechanically inclined and have some fabrication experience, I can see getting stuck with a half-finished project. The mechanicals are not particularly complicated but they are fairly precise. Tuning and timing pulls seems like it could be very easily screwed up if you don’t understand how the linkages actually work. While rodding this one, I had to stop and think through whether I was making a pull longer or shorter and still did it backwards a time or two…
Finally, even though I think this one is working as it should, I don’t have a reference point so if there is something off, I don’t know it. I’m planning on bringing it to a show at some point so that someone with some experience can play it and suggest any changes.
Anyway, I’ve been “playing†it for just over two weeks now and I can pretty reliably harmonize a major scale now... Life is good.
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'81 Sho-bud LDG, 2 EMCI's |
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Jeff Evans
From:
Cowtown and The Bill Cox Outfit
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Posted 22 May 2018 6:26 am
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| Quote: |
| . . . unless you’re mechanically inclined and have some fabrication experience, I can see getting stuck with a half-finished project. |
We mechanically-challenged types admire your boldness. Here's hoping a tone monster emerges. |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 22 May 2018 7:01 am
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| Quote: |
| Volume pot with an Eldred Cocked Wah. |
Forgive me, I've been out of the loop for some time now. Just what is that? |
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Brian Hollands
From:
Geneva, FL USA
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Posted 22 May 2018 9:12 am
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| Barry Blackwood wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Volume pot with an Eldred Cocked Wah. |
Forgive me, I've been out of the loop for some time now. Just what is that? |
A popular wiring option on Esquires (Telecasters).
https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/The_Eldred_Esquire_Wiring
I've not heard it on a steel but why not???
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'81 Sho-bud LDG, 2 EMCI's |
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Craig A Davidson
From:
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA
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Posted 23 May 2018 5:14 am
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| Brian it looks great. I noticed the screws for your knee lever stops are turned around. Both of my Buds have the Allen head facing the knee lever. Probably because the head gives a little more space for the lever to hit on. |
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Craig A Davidson
From:
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA
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Posted 23 May 2018 5:14 am
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whoops double post
Last edited by Craig A Davidson on 1 Jun 2018 6:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Colin Swinney
From:
Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 1 Jun 2018 4:04 pm
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I love threads like this, keep us posted on your progress. You've come a long way and it's looking good!
I'm thinking of taking on a restoration project sometime later this year. It's inspiring to see someone who hadn't even started playing yet basically rebuild one entirely from scratch. And an LDG no less! |
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Brian Hollands
From:
Geneva, FL USA
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Posted 2 Jun 2018 7:57 am
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Thanks. I'm having fun with it. Can barely walk past it without stopping to play something.
I've got to finish up the wiring which I'll do this weekend.
Everything seems to be working well. I'm playing at least a half hour to an hour most nights and haven't touched a tuner in two weeks.
Working through the first couple of Joe Wright's lessons on the Sierra site (my, those new Sierras are nice ehh) and some of Troy Brenningmyers stuff. I can play his arrangment of Amazing Grace and his beginner back up licks. Looking at some of Mickey Adams stuff too. I like his teaching style, both technique and theory. The pick blocking and such are comming along. Not great but probably on par for the first month. I'm finding this instrument is teaching me a lot about actually applying theory that I'd already learned. It's truly a cool instrument.
I'll update the thread as I get the other KL's on it later in the summer.
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'81 Sho-bud LDG, 2 EMCI's |
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Johnie King
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 4 Jun 2018 6:29 am
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| U the man good job |
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Neil Lang
From:
Albert Lea, Minnesota, USA
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Posted 4 Jun 2018 7:39 pm
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Good job Brian!!! Enjoy! Having rebuilt a couple Buds myself, I know exactly what you went through.Thanks for bringing her back to life.....to many have gone to the junk yard. 
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Sho-Bud Steel Guitars, 3 Super Pro's, 1 Super Pro II (Rose) & 1 Finger Tip
Fender Guitars & Basses
Peavey Amps & Sound Equipment |
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Damir Besic
From:
Nashville,TN.
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Don Kuhn
From:
Poetry/Terrell ,Texas, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2018 9:39 am
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I'm thinking LDG would be proud of you I am and heck I don't even know you. Good Job  |
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