Benjamin Brockway Strings
Forum Replies Created
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Mr. Erliwine uses said tool in this video:
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Start with the bar set HIGH. I’m talkin bout money here. USD’s where I’m from. Make sure you get those. Opportunist types tend to come out of the woodwork when an individual sets up shop and starts to advertise as having affordable rates so I’d advise against doing that. Figure out what you’d like to make and charge accordingly. People can then decide whether or not it’s “affordable”. And don’t feel like you need to prove yourself by taking in instruments that nobody else within a 500 miles radius of your area wants to touch and if you have friends with instruments I suggest not getting into the habit of cutting “friend deals”. Your friends should want you to do well for yourself not take advantage of your endeavors and services. Wherever you start out at you’re going to wanna keep making things better for yourself as you build your business and your skills. You probably know by now how easy it is to underestimate how long a project can take and/or get into wishful thinking so just start with the bar high.
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Can confirm this is in my top 5 dumbest jobs ever taken on… at least in recent memory.
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And by “bid” I mean I gave him a ballpark estimate in an email that I hope is high so he thinks realistically before bringing it to me.
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I’d say an afternoon getting the templates located correctly, routing and installing then futzin’ with the setup for at least an hour maybe more. So maybe 4-5 hours altogether.
I guess this one bothered me cuz the instrument is probably worth about $500. So parts and labor plus they want fretwork means a bill upwards of a grand. But you know… I already bid it at these numbers they can make that decision.
I have some anxiety now that my prices are up that people will go find and torture the next poor looth till they learn that person learns the hard way. I want people to not have that option and not necessarily for my own benefit. More because I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I’ve gone through with this stuff
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Put some gold foil in there and that’s a pretty cool pickup cover
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That placement does not look too bad. Certainly could be better but there are scenarios where there’s no option but to install the pickups that close to the pin holes because there’s no room at the front end of the bridge plate and they sound fine. I would steer the client towards investing in a preamp with some reassurance that the difference in relocating would be negligible. I definitely wouldn’t give any guarantee of being able to salvage the pickup upon removal.
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You just use TJ’s bits with your Dremel and what … the StewMac base?
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I’ve never used Mixol products. I use Transtint and Colortone dyes but recently ran out of Colortone white which has been discontinued. Looking into Mixol products, I read the thing about having to use more of it and filter it well or it will spit chunks. I have no hands on experience with Mixol products and am still searching for white pigment. As for Badger 150 vs. PointZero. The Badger is more expensive and it’s not gravity feed. I’m certain there’s a good reason Ian recommends the PointZero gravity feed style but I got my hands on it and due to a time crunch decided I wasn’t ready for the learning curve and went for my trusty 150 which is worth looking into even just to have the two styles if you’re doing a good amount of finish work. You can open up the 150 enough to finish a neck or a smaller instrument but also shoot pretty narrow lines for touch up. And you can take it apart easily to clean it out and replace parts forever it seems.
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I heard the Mixol pigments need to be filtered a bunch. It may have clogged the gun. I got the PointZero as well but it didn’t work out and quickly went back for the Badger. I’ve had it for over a decade and will have to replace parts on occasion but it’s basically become a part of me.
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I’ve used the Prevel sprayer in a pinch if I’m remote loothing. It can work but it’s not ideal. The Badger 150 will atomize the finish much better which will help the shades of black blend together better.
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What airbrush are you using?
I have the Badger 150 and it’s one of my most used tools. I haven’t been able to make friends with a gravity fed airbrush or any other airbrushes yet.
I personally would use the Badger and spray color and lacquer on that. If there’s a poly finish that gets good results I am curious.
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I remember the burn in knife from the Red Wing school. Back when I was even stupider than I am now! I didn’t get good results and didn’t feel comfortable with it so I’ve not used it since. It seemed like a lot to invest in for what it does given the other options you have. I’d go the epoxy putty / painty route or a scoop of matching wood b4 that
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Was gonna say that doesn’t look bad. The dark edges draw the most attention.
I’ve been trying to “bid high” and set expectations low with little finish repairs and it’s been beneficial for my health as I beat myself up less, get paid and the client ends up being stoked about the results and sometimes I surprise myself or I just don’t get into it! Crisis averted. Perfect 🤩
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I just finished up 3 instruments and gotta book it up to Minnesota from Tucson Arizona 🤪
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Thank u so much, Gerry. Really on a time crunch and this helps immensely.
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‘Tis a 3 pole / 3 position rotary switch
Not sure if that’s obvious in the above photo
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First steam out the dent out as much as possible and then access. A cymbal Vs. Mahogany likely isn’t going to steam out but might help. Any deep gashes might require some repair putty.
Then color match and painty. Ian drops lots of useful info in the first 5-6 ding kings videos
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I talked myself through it. Sanded back and did a shellac wash coat then lacquer. Also added a white dot inside the black dot for fun. Looks good to me. Thank u 🙂
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Respirated? That’s an odd autocorrect. I re-sprayed it ! I can’t seem to figure out the edit button. Whatever
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That sounds tricky but if you can press it down flat on a shooting board while cutting the joint or wet the board and put some weight on top of it then let it sit on a flat surface for a few weeks? I would be weary of the joint if you fit it before the wood acclimates back to your shop’s avg relative humidity
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I’m doing touch up on a Guild today myself. Just started. It always looks like shit off the bat. Don’t get discouraged just keep mixing and trying till it starts to look right is my approach
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Eek! That’s never easy to swallow but good news is you probably won’t make that mistake again. At least not exactly like that. I’ve gotten halfway decent at finish work because of similar situations I’ve gotten myself into.
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Good news is there’s an excellent network of repair folks these days to discuss such things. Don’t fall into the trap of not charging enough. I went through it and I hate to see it happen to other people. If your mentor wasn’t charging enough that’s good to acknowledge and not follow his example in that area. Check out Doug Proper’s “Loothing for Dollars” series also Al Pachter’s “Health and wellness for looths” meetings cover this area.
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Yikes. I was thinking that might be the case here if they end up bringing it in. Project guitars are always a PITA
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My issue was I didn’t have the correct adapter for my air compressor setup 😜
I still have mine and I’ll give it another go. I think the gravity feed airbrushes might have better control with fine line work
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That’s a tough one. Filling a void in maple with a clear finish and making it disappear is near impossible.
You could try a “scoopy” from Ding Kings. Rosewood or wood with finish on it is waaaaaaay more forgiving than clear coat maple tho.
I would tell the owner it’s gonna be a few hundred for me to make it possibly look better but no guarantee. Just to cover my butt. In other words I might avoid doing anything to it at all. It’s character!
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Thank you, Doug! I’m really bad at this stuff without a diagram. Someday I might learn 🤪
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LOL I just removed my Google listing but when it was up I would get random calls from guitar people even though it specifically stated in the listing that I do not answer my phone and please E-mail me. I stopped picking up the phone for cold calls a couple years ago but had a phase a few months back where I would pickup the phone and chat with these people just let them down and blow off some steam. Kind of an act of vengeance from me but I stopped doing that. You can count on these people to be problematic because they took zero milliseconds to get an idea of your business or if they did then they are right off the bat trying to overstep your boundaries. I have zero tolerance for any of that any longer and my life and my work finally feels like it’s coming together after 11 years of self-employment.
