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Guitar and watch repair

jdrichard
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jdrichard Distinguished Member

jdrichard

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I was going for reliability over changing the sound. So the Stock USA made Gibson pickups seemed right.  Also I am a drummer but sometimes I have to work out cords so I have a guitars for that.  I wife is a flute player that plays only wooden native craftsman made flutes. So I play her backup sounds. So I have way more drums, cymbals, chimes, rattles, gongs and things that go pop and clack than anything with strings.
As far as using a E string for a spring, it has lots of nickel in it and so I bet it won't temper to spring hard.

As a click spring, a guitar spring should be bent into shape a bit bigger than it needs and then heat and cool : correct?


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jdrichard Distinguished Member

jdrichard

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This is one of the electric guitars we made. It was made for Jeff Carlisi when he was the guitarist for 38 Special.
 160_DSCF4540.JPG
david

I think this is amazing. Looks like a reverse firebird ?? Where the angled parts are glued the the centre piece of wood in the opposite direction.


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david WRT Addict

david

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JD,

This was back in the early to mid 1970s. In addition to repair and restoration work we also manufactured steel string acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bluegrass mandolins, bass guitars and a few archtop guitars and banjos. We had a contract with Gibson for their warranty work in the Southeast area.

My first contact with Jay Rhyne was in 1970 as a customer. At that time I was the guitar player in the pit orchestra for the Third US Army Soldier Show. I had a jazz background and could read music so it was a good fit for the Broadway style  of tunes that were done by the show.

While on the road I purchased a 1930s Epiphone (which I still own) from a pawn shop that needed restoration. I took it to Jay but he was always too busy to work on it. At that time he had a three man operation which included himself, Steve Isco, and Grover Jackson. Grover quit and went on to start Jackson Guitars. In any case I went over to Jay's shop and he handed me a box of chisels and showed me what needed to be done. I took the stuff back to my apartment  worked on it and brought it back. Jay then told me that when I was discharged from the Army he would give me a job. For me it was a dream come true. I worked there until the mid 1970s. 

The guy standing up in front of the music stand is me.  The show members did not have to wear uniforms which was fine with me.

GettingItTogether1.jpg

The guy on the left in the picture below is my friend Jim Wilkes . The lady in the middle is Helen Brown and the guy on the right is Ross Clark. Jim became a famous attorney (check Wikipedia for his profile) and Ross Clark became a movie actor and is now known as John Ross Clark.

HelloDolly2.jpg

david

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jdrichard Distinguished Member

jdrichard

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JD,
This was back in the early to mid 1970s. In addition to repair and restoration work we also manufactured steel string acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bluegrass mandolins, bass guitars and a few archtop guitars and banjos. We had a contract with Gibson for their warranty work in the Southeast area.
My first contact with Jay Rhyne was in 1970 as a customer. At that time I was the guitar player in the pit orchestra for the Third US Army Soldier Show. I had a jazz background and could read music so it was a good fit for the Broadway style  of tunes that were done by the show.
While on the road I purchased a 1930s Epiphone (which I still own) from a pawn shop that needed restoration. I took it to Jay but he was always too busy to work on it. At that time he had a three man operation which included himself, Steve Isco, and Grover Jackson. Grover quit and went on to start Jackson Guitars. In any case I went over to Jay's shop and he handed me a box of chisels and showed me what needed to be done. I took the stuff back to my apartment  worked on it and brought it back. Jay then told me that when I was discharged from the Army he would give me a job. For me it was a dream come true. I worked there until the mid 1970s. 
The guy standing up in front of the music stand is me.  The show members did not have to wear uniforms which was fine with me.
GettingItTogether1.jpg
The guy on the left in the picture below is my friend Jim Wilkes . The lady in the middle is Helen Brown and the guy on the right is Ross Clark. Jim became a famous attorney (check Wikipedia for his profile) and Ross Clark became a movie actor and is now known as John Ross Clark.
HelloDolly2.jpg
david

I know Jackson Guitars and it is quite amazing that you travelled among these talented people. My folks played in their bands starting in 1963 in northern Canada; in clubs run by the Montreal Mafia. I still have my dad's Gresh Tennesseeian from 1965 and in mint condition. I have Repaired a number of amps over the years but the one that brings back the memories is a 1969 Heath Kit. And that is because it was not grounded and would shock my arm as I grabbed the neck and strings. How long did you fix watches for?


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david WRT Addict

david

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JD,

Even though I have been collecting and restoring small lathes for a number of years,I have only been repairing watches  for a few years. I started by taking the three Time Zone Watch courses. At that time Mark's courses did not exist.  Due to limited time constraints I spend more time studying about watches than actually working on them and currently have no desire to engage in a watch repair business.

I started taking in repair  work a couple of years ago and quickly got burned out replacing batteries, adjusting straps and doing the routine disassemble, replace a broken part, clean, reassemble and adjust. I do enjoy making parts and have geared up my shop to pursue that goal as far as I can. Time permitting I would like to begin making some watches. This goal is a long way off but I am beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I have been putting together equipment to make parts in a precise and repeatable fashion.

Roger Smith and George Daniels started making watches with a jewelers saw, a watchmaker lathe and some files but using this technique it took several years for either of them to produce a single watch. I am going to pursue this using my background which is manufacturing engineering. If I fail at this I can always sell off the equipment at a later date. 

david

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17 hours ago, jdrichard said:


As a click spring, a guitar spring should be bent into shape a bit bigger than it needs and then heat and cool : correct?


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nickel steel my not have the right properties for a spring.  Steel is very unique for it elastic and plastic properties.  We put up with rusty springs because low corrosion alloys are not very springy.  Guitar strings have lots of other stuff in them, not just iron and carbon.  

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jdrichard Distinguished Member

jdrichard

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nickel steel my not have the right properties for a spring.  Steel is very unique for it elastic and plastic properties.  We put up with rusty springs because low corrosion alloys are not very springy.  Guitar strings have lots of other stuff in them, not just iron and carbon.  

So I need to buy some steel wire


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On ‎3‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 4:49 PM, jdrichard said:


So I need to buy some steel wire


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I have worked in spring factories here in Texas that made all sorts of springs. It's amazing how they actually do it. Some are cold formed, some are struck, some are wound.  In some ways it's easier than one would think and some ways it's very complex.    

 

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