OAHU Tonemaster restoration project

[Alex Cattaneo]

This guitar fell on my lap (pun intended) and I fully intend to bring it back to its glory days. Looking for as much information as I can get. Date, model iteration, replacement parts, advice, the works!

The tuner buttons are almost all gone, but some debris remains. The actual tuners work, so maybe replacement buttons will suffice?

Haven’t tested the pickup yet, but that whole thing is a mess. I guess the Goldtone control plate would be my best option? Unless I get a local luthier to make a custom plastic pickguard. I also have the plastic cover, which is also black.

Some binding needs to be re-glued. That’s about it for now. Pictures coming up in the next post…

[Alex Cattaneo]

[Alex Cattaneo]

P.s. That jack plate does not inspire confidence, hahaha!

[George Piburn]

Hello from GeorgeBoards™

That broken control plate looks to be plastic.

If it is I can make a replacement so long as you are willing to Send me your broken one to reverse engineer.

Not certain of the cost of material, but not much, I still need to caliper every thing to get as close as we can.

The shipping is now high as always around 20usd, but I ship to canada all the time. Of course I will return yours.

[Jack Hanson]

If that cool old Tonemaster was mine, I would:

1) Definitely take George up on his generous offer.
2) Send the pickup to Jerry & Christine Sentell.
3) Fabricate a new jackplate from plastic pickguard material.
5) Rebutton the Klusons.
6) Reglue the binding.
7) Replace electrical components with new CTS pots, an orange drop tone cap, a Switchcraft jack, and stranded pushback wire.

And it should be good to go for another century or so (if the planet survives that long). Have fun, and good luck!

[Alex Cattaneo]

Good news, the pickup works. Haven’t tried it with strings so I can’t attest to the sound, but this is a good start.

If I understand correctly, the Tonemaster with plastic control plates are roughly from the 40s, and the metal control plates came in the 50s?

The original tuner buttons were white, but I would love to find brown or tortoise buttons that would match the headstock.

Thank you George for the offer! I’m still sorting out my options, but I will keep you posted. The plastic control plate is quite thick, 1/8 of an inch, so much thicker than your typical guitar pickguard.

Does anyone know more about the wiring schematic and the pot values? I’m guessing 250k for the volume? These old pickups with a single color for all the wires!

[Bill Sinclair]

Stewmac's "Dark Tortoise" buttons are just what you need. Unfortunately they're currently out of stock.

https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-hardw ... OiEALw_wcB

Before George made his offer, I was going to suggest just epoxying the broken piece back on, reinforcing it from behind with some fiberglass mesh (epoxied) and building up any missing chunks with more black epoxy. Then use a big knob on that pot to cover the mess.

[Alex Cattaneo]

Hey Bill, those buttons look great, but they have a round shaft hole, and I don't think they would be compatible.

As for your pickguard strategy, somebody got to it before you did, and it didn't work out too good, hahaha! The broken off piece is made of wood and left a mess of glue and gunk on the body. Different shape, and not really meshing with the main part, etc.

[Chris Clem]

That pickguard (or pickup surround) sure looks like Bakelite....not plastic.

[Alex Cattaneo]

That pickguard (or pickup surround) sure looks like Bakelite....not plastic.

You're probably right! Not that I can tell the difference, but that would make sense.