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Hamerhead's 77 Sunburst restoration.

BCR Greg

Asked by BCR Greg,

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BCR Greg Veteran HFCer

BCR Greg

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Young Tim(Hamerhead) can give the backstory on this one. When it arrived at the shop, this is what I found in the case.....

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Yes, that is a truss rod channel full of bondo, a THICK layer of brushed on paint and a severely broken headstock.

Looking closer at the back of the neck, we find....

4HHS.jpg

Why, the neck's nothing BUT bondo!

A couple of hours later.......

5HSS.jpg

Good God, this thing is worse than I though! If I hadn't found this....

6HSS.jpg

...I would have trashed it. BUT....it's the 89th Hamer Sunburst made, from 1977. After a long phone conversation with our owner, the decision is made to move forward.

Full armor on, kids, this one will be a battle.

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BCR Greg
BCR Greg

Young Tim(Hamerhead) can give the backstory on this one. When it arrived at the shop, this is what I found in the case..... Yes, that is a truss rod channel full of bondo, a THICK layer of bru

BCR Greg
BCR Greg

Well, it's wired up with new Hamer pots.... ..and the original rosewood shim is back under the bridge.... So after making a new truss rod cover, and final assembly, here is the completed guitar.

BCR Greg
BCR Greg

Bumped, just because.

141 answers to this question

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gorch Veteran HFCer

gorch

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This is profession! Greg stemed the "heavy weight" with ease.

Jeff R Veteran HFCer

Jeff R

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That is truly incredible work, Greg. Definitely one of the best.

raythewrench Member

raythewrench

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nice work Greg ..Ya see fellas Greg got this good putting mummies back together after they travel from one museum to another and fall apart{He put KING TUT back together 3x completely on the 1996 tour. plus minor repairs .And just like the recently announced roadie bit for kiss he would rather sleep in his own bed ,one that dosent move at 75mph.....and who want to eat fookin catering everyday SALUTE DON GREG.

capo di tutti cappi di la guitiarerra con casa repare. I think all will agree here.

LefThanDed Inner Circle

LefThanDed

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Carolina - LSU Second Round 2009 NCAA

GREENSBORO, N.C. - LSU rallied from a halftime deficit to take a second half lead but North Carolina asserted it self as the No. 1 seed in the South Region withy a 84-70 victory at Greensboro Coliseum

(2010 Tarheel Basketball - no comment)

The-North-Carolina-Tar-Heels-cheerl.jpg

guitaround Member

guitaround

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Fantastic job!... without seeing the whole process I would have though it was broken beyond repair!

Caddie Veteran HFCer

Caddie

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UOr05_12.jpg

Caption

The mechanic said; "Well...We put 'er up on the rack. It looks like she has a blown main and a leaky pan. She also could use a new set of fuel injectors. My opinion? Well I suggest you fix 'er up. For a 19 year old, she still has a great interior and exterior. Then you can decide to keep 'er or auction 'er off."

High maintenance but an exhilarating ride. :huh::D:ph34r:

Thundersteel Veteran HFCer

Thundersteel

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High maintenance but an exhilarating ride.

No doubt!

Keep the cheerleader repair pics coming!

gorch Veteran HFCer

gorch

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Great stuff! How did you learn how to do this??? Look forward to seeing more!

blow_up_doll_cheerleader.jpg

hamerhead Veteran HFCer

hamerhead

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Dammit Greg!! WE NEED MORE PICTURES!!!

.....I know, I know - I have no patience............. :blink:

BCR Greg Veteran HFCer

BCR Greg

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BUT......here's what's drying.........

19HSS.jpg

Yes, that's the original logo.

gorch Veteran HFCer

gorch

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Nice cuty Sunburst. Let's see what's coming next.

zenmindbeginner Veteran HFCer

zenmindbeginner

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I have been showing this thread to everyone that I know that is involved in woodworking and they have ALL been absolutely BLOWN AWAY!

Holy flippin' CRAP! Tim is gonna be soooooo happy when he gets this one back...

This repair is absolutely EPIC!!!!!!

Any luthier anywhere in the would be completely shook by Greg's masterful work.

There is no repair that Greg can't handle.

SteveC Outer Circle

SteveC

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Great stuff! How did you learn how to do this??? Look forward to seeing more!

It's unbelievable, isn't it?!?

I've known Greg for almost 18 years, and get to watch him perform these miracles on a regular basis. It's freakin' amazing! One of the first ones I got to play around '94 was a sunburst Special with a particularly nasty break. He ended up naming that guitar "Lazarus", and while he didn't take it to the same cosmetic level as his usual work (he fixed it for his own use, not for a customer...), it was solid as hell and sounded great! To this day, one of the best sounding Specials I've ever heard.

As for how he learned to do this kind of work, I think it's just years and years of practice, coupled with an innate ability to visualize solutions to seemingly hopeless problems, a talent for shaping wood into unique, precise shapes, familiarity with various adhesives & finishes, and a deep understanding of the various forces acting on the structural parts of a guitar.

Before beginning work on a new arrival, he generally puts the patient on his bench for a few days (sometimes longer...) while he works out the repair plan IN HIS HEAD. The first time I saw this, I just thought he was procrastinating (like most of us - just putting off doing things that don't look like much fun!). Not so. He's just figuring out how he'll approach the surgery. From what I've seen, I think it's because there usually isn't a "do-over" opportunity, so it's critical that the plan is good the first time! Once the plan is worked out and actual repair commences, the slowest thing in the process is waiting for glue or finish to dry. He ends up working like a maniac until the instrument is done. From my observations, I think his repair time on things like busted headstocks averages out around 60/40 (60% of the time is working out the repair plan in his head, and the other 40% is the time it actually takes to perform the repair). If you don't count glue or finish drying time, it's probably more like 80/20.

I have a 1937 National Duolian resonator that came in to Greg's shop with a particularly bad headstock break (slotted headstock, and not much wood to work with to re-attach it). It is now in great playing condition, and you would really have to know what to look for to figure out that it had once been decapitated. It plays and sounds great, expecially for a 73-year old guitar!

Amazing work - Greg, you really need to publish a book!

StevieC

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crunchee Veteran HFCer

crunchee

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BUT......here's what's drying.........

19HSS.jpg

Yes, that's the original logo.

WOW! Masterful work! Just curious Greg, has anybody ever asked you for help in 'moving' the Hamer logo on Standards to their 'proper' place at the end of the headstock? I can guess what the answer was... :D

hamerhead Veteran HFCer

hamerhead

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Assembly time!

This should be pretty cool............ :D

BCR Greg Veteran HFCer

BCR Greg

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Parts are on. Strings are next.

I am shaking right now. Really.

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