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Hamer Steve Stevens resto! Finished pics 06/08//09


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Ok, so I purchased this 85 SS1 off of ebay with the OHSC for dirt cheap...headstock repair, few mods, etc. The pro's were: it was a pretty early model & was fairly complete, plus crown inlays on a rosewood board! Strap button was on the horn & the rear button was off center, closer to the top. I've seen this on the real early ones. Floyd was complete & in great shape. However, when it arrived, the headstock repair broke again during shipping. Sooo, I decided to do things myself & do it right!

Here's the auction pics:

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Cleaned the break really good as well as the truss rod (was not removed or protected by the last guy...ARGHHHH!), used titebond (with a syringe) & clamped for 3 days. Truss rod safe & fuctional!

hamerss7.jpg

Removed clamps, cleaned area, stronger than wood!

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Finish completely stripped (beautiful honduras mahogany!). Now time to fill dings, patch up the hole drilled for the coil tap & prep for paint!

hamerss2.jpg

hamerss1.jpg

hamerss6.jpg

To be continued...

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Thanks! I do have a logo for it. I also like the mahagony look, but I've got something special in mind for the finish!

One vote here for zebra. :lol:

What year is that model, BTW?

1985. I already have one that's cracked dayglo, so this one won't be zebra. What I have in mind is pretty cool...wait & see!

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Thanks! I do have a logo for it. I also like the mahagony look, but I've got something special in mind for the finish!

One vote here for zebra. ;)

What year is that model, BTW?

1985. I already have one that's cracked dayglo, so this one won't be zebra. What I have in mind is pretty cool...wait & see!

:lol:

The Zebra was a joke:

Epic Zebra Standard Restore Thread

Nice work, BTW!

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Wow. Nice job. I'm very impressed.

So you didn't end up needing that Alco switch ?

Thanks! Kim K found 1 last 2 way for me..Thanks Kim! But I did find a site that had a lot of Alco switches on there. I'll try to find the link & post it.

I guess I should add what came with it & what I replaced. It had the original 3 way Alco, but not the 2 way. Got a correct pair of vol/tone knobs from Serial (thanks!), and removed the coil tap switch that was drilled into the body (ARGHH!). I'll still do the tap, but with a push/pull pot. Pots were original. Pup's were a little hot for my taste...will be installing Seymour Duncan Black Back humbucker & 2 SSL's.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Wow, that's looking great! Good stuff!!

Ok, here's the latest...Been very busy gigging (thank God!) but had some time to continue with the resto. Since my last post, I've spent most of the time getting rid of every little ding (and there were a lot). The headstock face needed to be patched up & leveled due to the bad break. Also, there were some MAJOR dents from improper clamp use by the previous owner. First off, I like to pull most of the dents with a soldering iron & wet rag. From years of auto body work, I prefer to steam them out than slap a bunch of putty (you've seen those cars with a ton of bondo!). There's some dings that you can't steam out, especially when wood is missing! I chose to mount the humbucker directly to the body, so I filled the PU ring holes with super thin pieces of wood & patched them up. I also had to fill in the hole drilled out for a coil tap. I used a dowel for that. I'll be applying sealer this afternoon & prep for paint within the next couple of days.

hamerssproject001.jpg

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In the meantime, here's a pick of me over the weekend putting my SS2 through the paces:

RHwCRYSsmall.jpg

Such a great guitar...it always brings the girlies to their knees!

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Nice thread! Great pics (of both the refin project and the SS2). I've got a custom SS1 that was further customized by a PO with an aftermarket Kahler for some reason. I am in the process of looking for a correct Floyd to put back on it, but I'll have to do some woodworking to the body as well. If you get a chance, could I impose on you to take a few pictures of the back of you project guitar? Also, would it be possible to take some measurements to locate the holes for the tremolo pivot pins? The holes on mine were filled.

Two more requests, I'd like to see the link for the switches. Also, where did you get a decal? Does it include the SS signature? If not, do you happen to have a scanned copy of it? I'd like to get a custom truss rod cover made with the signature engraved in it if possible.

Thanks, and good luck with the project!

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Nice thread! Great pics (of both the refin project and the SS2). I've got a custom SS1 that was further customized by a PO with an aftermarket Kahler for some reason. I am in the process of looking for a correct Floyd to put back on it, but I'll have to do some woodworking to the body as well. If you get a chance, could I impose on you to take a few pictures of the back of you project guitar? Also, would it be possible to take some measurements to locate the holes for the tremolo pivot pins? The holes on mine were filled.

Two more requests, I'd like to see the link for the switches. Also, where did you get a decal? Does it include the SS signature? If not, do you happen to have a scanned copy of it? I'd like to get a custom truss rod cover made with the signature engraved in it if possible.

Thanks, and good luck with the project!

Well...let me try to answer some of your questions. I'll try to get you measurements as well as pics of the back. Switches were here:

Alco switches

As far as the decal goes, I'm having it done. If it comes out ok, I'll send you info on that as well. I know a lot of people said they were going to do it, but I've never seen one yet.

Here's a pic of the back I had from before:

SSLP004.jpg

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Thanks for helping me out. I hope I didn't ask too many questions at one time. I was just excited to see your project, and the pictures were just what I was needing in my own less ambitious restoration.

If I can impose with one more request, could you take a close up shot or two of the strap button on the horn? I much prefer this location myself, and have thought about doing the same to mine. If I decide to do it, it would be the only non-reversible mod I would make. Since it seemed to offered this way from the factory from time to time, I didn't feel it was out of character for the guitar.

Also, you noted that the other strap button is located above the centerline of the guitar. I checked mine again and noticed it is located below center. Is this location normal from what you have seen? Just curious.

Thanks again for the help, and good luck with your project! I am enjoying watching the progress.

Take care.

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I'll get you some pics tomorrow of the horn strap hole. As far as it being below center...I don't know too much about that. I just thought it was odd that mine was higher than center. I seen a pic of Steve's & his was like that. Thanks for the support...I don't mind the questions.

I just picked up the paint today....nitro!

Stay tuned!

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Thanks again.

I remembered I had one more question (this one doesn't involve taking pictures though). You mentioned you had another SS1 (DayGlo paint) and your SS2 pictured above; how do the 2 compare with each other, both physically and aurally? I haven't come across comments or reviews that compare the 2 to each other. Do you feel the back slanted pickups on the SS2 offer a different sound from the standard vertical positioning? I know Steve continued with this orientation on the Washburn model he worked on, so I would assume he must have thought it was cool. Is the back portion of the body of the SS2 smaller than that of the SS1 (not counting the stretched horns). As you noted in one of your previous posts it looks pretty small on you. It does depend on the angle of the picture, I think. Some of the shots don't look as proportionally small but others do.

Anyway, just curious.

Later.

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Thanks again.

I remembered I had one more question (this one doesn't involve taking pictures though). You mentioned you had another SS1 (DayGlo paint) and your SS2 pictured above; how do the 2 compare with each other, both physically and aurally? I haven't come across comments or reviews that compare the 2 to each other. Do you feel the back slanted pickups on the SS2 offer a different sound from the standard vertical positioning? I know Steve continued with this orientation on the Washburn model he worked on, so I would assume he must have thought it was cool. Is the back portion of the body of the SS2 smaller than that of the SS1 (not counting the stretched horns). As you noted in one of your previous posts it looks pretty small on you. It does depend on the angle of the picture, I think. Some of the shots don't look as proportionally small but others do.

Anyway, just curious.

Later.

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Thanks again.

I remembered I had one more question (this one doesn't involve taking pictures though). You mentioned you had another SS1 (DayGlo paint) and your SS2 pictured above; how do the 2 compare with each other, both physically and aurally? I haven't come across comments or reviews that compare the 2 to each other. Do you feel the back slanted pickups on the SS2 offer a different sound from the standard vertical positioning? I know Steve continued with this orientation on the Washburn model he worked on, so I would assume he must have thought it was cool. Is the back portion of the body of the SS2 smaller than that of the SS1 (not counting the stretched horns). As you noted in one of your previous posts it looks pretty small on you. It does depend on the angle of the picture, I think. Some of the shots don't look as proportionally small but others do.

Anyway, just curious.

Later.

They feel basically the same (neck, weight). The SS1 has more to offer sound wise with the middle PU & the 2 toggles, but the SS2 is a rocker! I used to have an interview with SS where he tells the reason for the SS2. The longer horns were for strap balance & he wanted a "stripped down" model for the Whiplash Smile tour. There's not much of a tonal difference with the slant, but then again, I have different pups in each. He must have liked it since the Washburn has em slanted...I also have the SS80. There's more mass on the back end of the SS1.

My SS1:

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Seriously cool, I have one in the same shape minus the headstock repair, but with some fretboard issues that I`m not sure how to tackle without going to see Uncle Greg.......

Do yourself a favor & send it to Greg!

I've done this before, plus I didn't have a lot of money into this guitar.

What's wrong with it exactly?

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