Adonis Acoustic Overhaul - Part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

It's the 3rd of December, and the clamps around the soundhole have been applied and taken off for the third time. I'm glad to report that the delaminated layers have been "reunited," so to speak. Admittedly, there are a few rough edges here and there, but a little sanding should take care of that.

Lower Soundhole - Image 1

Lower Soundhole - Image 2

Upper Soundhole - Image 1

Upper Soundhole - Image 2

Right, then. What remains is to reinforce the reglued areas with wooden braces. As luck would have it, I've somehow misplaced the braces I'd fashioned earlier, and have had to make new ones. Now comes another round of gluing and clamping, and this should be the last time as far as the soundhole is concerned.

Custom Soundhole Braces

Fourth Round of Clamping

Upper Soundhole Brace Glued in Place

Lower Soundhole Brace Glued in Place

With the warped soundhole having been taken care of, let's get back to that bulging belly. It's December 6, and I've utilized the usual nyatoh planks I keep around specifically for this job, securing the jig with four F-clamps. This time around, there's no need to seal the soundhole or humidify the inside of the body as it's raining 24/7. Let's fast forward to December 21, then. As you can see, the belly bulge has virtually disappeared.

December 6 - Belly Bulge Treatment Commences

December 21 - Top is Sufficiently Flat

Next on the list is the bridge. There's a substantial amount of wood slivers and splinters to be removed, and the bottom also needs to be flattened. For the first task, I've utilized a rectangular metal scraper, and the second, a sanding block and abrasive paper. The bridge should fit snugly onto the top now.

Unwanted Wood Splinters and Slivers

Scraping Off Splinters and Slivers

Flattening the Bottom

Bottom of Bridge Fully Prepped

Prepping the bottom of the bridge for regluing is only the first chapter of this story. I also have to "ramp" the bridge in order to lower the action sufficiently. To this end, I'll be (1) lowering the area around the saddle, (2) Cutting slots to achieve sufficient string break angle, and (3) lowering the saddle itself.

This Area Will Be Lowered

Rotary Tool/Sanding Band in Use

Slots Cut Into Bridge

Folks, it's now time to reglue the somewhat modified bridge back onto the top. And, of course, the area of the top directly beneath the bridge has already been tidied up and flattened with chisels and abrasive paper. The implements used for this reglue include Titebond Original Wood Glue, small wooden cauls, and four StewMac Soundhole Clamps. It's the 26th of December today, and the third wave of the monsoon has just begun. That being said, I believe we'll be needing a little more time than usual for the glue to cure. 

Top Prepped for Regluing

Bridge Reglued and Clamped in Place

      

Carolers Visit Taman Impian Ku

December 12, 2025. Team Carol 2025 from the Tamil Methodist Church (TMC) Kuantan dropped by the home of Uncle Ramesh (my neighbor) earlier tonight.

Team Carol 2025 T-Shirt

Team Carol 2025

Team Carol 2025 with Uncle Ramesh

1996 MIK Squier Stratocaster Neck - Part 5

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Clear-Coating the Fretboard

Clear-coating commenced on November 15 and concluded in early December. The job basically involved spraying light and even coats of Samurai 1/128 Clear, with gentle abrading after every three or four coats. To even out the final coat and give it a matte look, I employed 0000 grade steel wool. This would have been on December 8.

Clear-Coating in Progress

The Fretboard on December 8

Refretting Commences

As the client requested super jumbo frets, Dunlop Accu-Fret 6000 fret wire was used on this job. Fretboard prep included cleaning out and deepening the fret slots with a Luthiers Mercantile Fret Saw, all the while checking fret slot depth with a StewMac Fret Slot Depth Gauge.

Luthiers Mercantile Fret Saw in Use

Checking Fret Slot Depth

 

After cleaning the fret wire with naphtha, each two-foot length was gradually curved into a 7.5" radius with a StewMac FretBender. A 7.5" radius would help ensure that each fret would seat securely on the 9.5" radius fretboard. After cutting the fret wire to length, I also went one step further and slightly overbent the fret ends by hand.

StewMac FretBender in Use

Fret Wire Cut to Length

The frets were installed by the "hammer-in" method, as I have yet to own a fret press. The fretboard was then waxed in preparation for the next procedure, which was super gluing the fret ends. Here, drips can sometimes happen, so the back of the neck was taped off beforehand.

First Seven Frets Installed

Fret Installation Completed

Applying Super Glue to the Fret Ends

After leaving the super glue to cure overnight, the fret ends were trimmed with a StewMac Fret Cutter. The next task was leveling the trimmed fret ends flush with the fretboard edge. Two files were used for this purpose, a dedicated flat file and a plastic-bodied fret end leveling/beveling tool. This tool incorporates a removable flat file. This file may be installed in one of two slots, the first, perpendicular to the fretboard edge, and the second, angled at 35 degrees.

Trimming the Fret Ends

Files Used For Fret End Leveling

Fret End Leveling in Progress

Fret Ends Leveled - Side View

Fret Ends Leveled - Top View

With the fret ends leveled, it was time to bevel them. For this purpose, the plastic-bodied fret end tool was once again used. Repurposing this tool only required a Phillips screwdriver. The flat file was unscrewed from the perpendicular slot, and reinstalled in the angled slot.

File Angled for Fret End Beveling

Fret Ends After Beveling

Comrade! Vol. 32 Gig - Calm Before the Storm

Here we are at WarmRoom Records on the evening of December 6, 2025. Showtime is 8:30PM, so everyone is on their toes. Five bands are slated to perform, namely, Seek, Likedodgeball, Fushojiki, Channeling Mahatma, and Ratchet.

Comrade! Vol. 32 Poster

Gig Rundown

Emcee Bro Hafiz

New Stage Setup

Guitar and Bass Amps

Drum Kit Is in the Corner Now

Soundman's Station

WarmRoom Staff

Channeling Mahatma Sound Check

Yamaha Pacifica PAC612VIIFMX - Part 5

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Wilkinson VS50 Disassembled

In today's exciting episode, the Wilkinson VS50 Vibrato Bridge has been taken apart for evaluation and servicing. At a glance, it's obvious that most of the components are tarnished, while the screws and bolts have begun to rust. Now, while a bit of spit and polish should take care of the tarnish, I'm quite certain those rusty components will need to be replaced.

Individual Saddles Disassembled

Base Plate/Tremolo Block - Top

Base Plate/Tremolo Block - Underside

Tuners and Neck Plate

The Grover locking tuners, featuring the same satin chrome finish as the saddles, are just as tarnished as the latter. Yes, time for a little polish and lots of elbow grease. And, though the bushings themselves are largely in good shape, a number of washers show signs of rust. As for the "Yamaha" neck plate and screws, they'll look much better after some Autosol.

Grover Locking Tuners Disassembled

Neck Plate - Top

Neck Plate - Underside

More About the Neck

Looking at the butt end of the maple neck, it's safe to conclude that the lumber is rift sawn. Equally interesting are the neck heel and neck pocket stamps. We'll start with the neck pocket, then. Here, the "23 NOV 2021" stamp tells us exactly when the body was milled. Meanwhile, the "1412 - 2021" neck heel stamp suggests that the neck was also manufactured in 2021.

Neck Pocket Stamps/Markings

Neck Heel Stamps/Markings

Neck Heel - Right Side

Neck Heel -Left Side

Neck Heel - Butt End

Fretboard and Frets

The rosewood fretboard has definitely seen lots of use with probably zero cleaning and conditioning. Hopefully, we'll be able to remove all the crud and grime with naphtha. Now, the frets. The owner was complaining about fret buzz when he sent his PAC612VIIFMX in, and after closely examining the frets, I can see why. Frets 1 to 16 suffer from a combination of divots and flat spots. No spot leveling here, folks. We'll be going the whole hog and dressing all the frets.

Frets 1 - 2

Frets 3 - 4

Frets 5 - 6

Frets 7 - 8

Frets 9 - 10

Frets 11 - 12

Frets 13 - 14

Frets 15 - 16

Frets 17 - 18