going for gold in 2014

here is the checklist of all the luthiery jobs i need to do in order to upgradde to gold level tech:

  

 SILVER TO GOLD LEVEL STRINGED INSTRUMENT CERTIFICATION EVALUATION
 Submitted photos or video must be high resolution for detail. Technicians will need to choose at least 4 items from Section A as the primary part of the evaluation
 SECTION A
1. Acoustic or Electric stringed instrument construction from raw materials, must submit photos/video of complete build
process
2. Headstock re-attachment or repair with re-finish or finish touch-up
3. Acoustic stringed instrument brace fabrication and replacement
4. Complete vintage restoration, acoustic or electric stringed instrument
5. Re-fret of maple fingerboard neck, with re-finish of neck
6. Acoustic or Electric stringed instrument neck re-set, not bolt-on, with finish work
7. Truss rod replacement
8. Stringed instrument top, back or side crack repair with finish work
 Technicians will need to choose at least 4 items from Section B as the secondary part of the evaluation
 SECTION B
1. Truss rod plug removal and replacement
2. Skunk stripe removal & repair or replacement
3. Binding repair or replacement with finish work
4. Tremolo conversion, standard or locking
5. Roller nut conversion
6. Acoustic stringed instrument bridge fabrication and replacement
7. Acoustic stringed instrument bridge plate replacement
8. Custom inlay or rosette work
9. Colored/tinted finish touch-up, polyurethane or nitrocellulose
10. Electronic modification to incorporate Fender S-1 switch
11. Electric pickup rewinding
 Either or both of these 2 may also be submitted for additional consideration
1. Any “heavy” modification to acoustic or electric stringed instrument
2.Unique, custom wiring scheme on electric stringed instrument, from raw components to installed/completed circuit.  

i'm going to post all the jobs i document for certification as well as submitting them to fender. so far from section A i have already shown two complete builds from raw materials with the courting dulcimer and el charango. 

i also think the outlaw is a perfect example of a "HEAVY!!!" modification, from the extra credit section.

so now, from section B, #1. truss rod plug removal and replacement. 

the truss rod on this guitar couldn't be tightened because the allen wrench couldn't grip. the truss rod nut had been stripped out where the wrench fits in to adjust it. 

 first i shield the neck with reflective sheet metal. i leave the area where the plug is glued in exposed. actually, before this, i score around the plug outline with a scalpel.

 then i blast the heat lamp for about 10 minutes. i get the lamp as close as possible without risking any surface scorching. i want to cook the glue all the way around the plug but quickly enough so as not to start softening up the glue holding the fingerboard.

 the wrench can still grip to loosen the nut. so now with the glue soft the nut gets backed all the way out, pushing the plug out with it.

 the nut had bottomed out on the truss rod threads, so when someone tried to tighten it more the wrench slipped and rounded out the nut. three washers go in under the new nut so it won't hit the end of the threads before adjusting the neck enough.

 the new nut gets screwed in completely out of the way. any old glue gets lightly sanded off the plug then it gets glued back in with titebond. the plug slides right in and gets positioned so its flush.

after the glue dried i drop filled around the outline with laquer. when that was dry i scraped it flush and buffed out the area. and that's all there is to that job aside from putting the hardware back on,  re-stringing and adjusting the truss rod properly.

that being said, to properly adjust one of these kind of truss rods you must use a long handled 1/8" allen. the little L shaped ones don't reach in far enough to get a firm grip and are likely to slip, eventually causing the nut to get rounded out. then you will have to bring your guitar to me for this job, and i only make it look easy.

six more jobs to go, stay tuned.