• From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,912

Topic: NGD & bringing her back to life :)

Well it's a late ngd.... I got the guitar last Sunday but things have been really hectic lately and I haven't had much time to get online. She's a '73 Yairi Dy77 Herringbone. Had some issues but overall in good condition. She was buzzing some but the main problem was the top! She was horribly dry sad Running a straight edge down the fretboard and over the bridge showed that the top had sunk in about 7/32 of an inch!! The saddle was extremely high and after pulling the saddle I saw that is had been shimmed with some old paper matches...:lol: The saddle & bridge were also tilting toward the soundhole rather sharply..

Here's a quick pic showing it before I started reshaping the top...
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4312580694_78c45b1081_b.jpg
As you can see the saddle is very high and tilting toward the soundhole... A sure sign of a dry guitar.. Luckily, Yairi uses a twin solid sheet lam back that's also sealed interanlly with lacquer so it's more stable and had maintained it's proper shape.
   I took the strings off, straightened the neck, and then leveled and dressed the frets eliminating the buzz. I then went about humidifying the guitar. I started off with 3 damp-its placed in the body with a soundhole cover on it to keep the moisture in the guitar. I did this for 3 days checking it daily and adding water to the dampits... The top was starting to rehydrate good at that point so I removed the cover and stepped down to one damp-it. At this point I also added some upward pressure to the top to be sure that it expanded in the proper direction since the dip was so bad. I did this by using a piece of fairly rigid foam under the X bracing and using a yard stick with a fulcrum at the neck joint and secured at the headstock to apply steady upward pressure to the top...

Here's a quick shot of the rig..
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2703/4312579700_b4209038a0_b.jpg

You can see how much I've already been able to lower the saddle and the top has risen so that the saddle no longer leans forward. The installed string has just enough tension on it for me to use as a reference point for movement from day to day... Things are looking really good smile Running a straight edge now only shows a 1/16 drop in the top, assuming it was a perfect neck set from the luther originally. The damp-it's are no longer running dry and it's close to being done. I'll maintain this through the weekend without using damp-its and just keep the pressure on with a room humidifier going. This should allow it to stabilize and maintain shape. I've also picked up some new GOTOH tuning machines to replace the original (36 yr. old) Grovers. I'll post pics of that process when I get to it next week...
   
  So that's where I'm at, A neglected guitar that is coming back nicely... And did I mention that I scored this vintage Yairi w/hrdcase for a mere $250 bucks smile
   As you can see in the pics, the top has some play wear but nothing major... Just some pick rub and I'd expect that for a guitar of it's age. I've never played a guitar with such overtones... She really rings smile The back and sides are some very nice looking EIR (IMO). I Love the coloration in the set... Here's a quick pic I just snapped..
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2510/4311843909_c462d84e3a_b.jpg

Thanks for reading! I'll add as she progresses in her restoration smile All the best! -Pix

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website

  • zguitar
  • Don't call me Sir
  • Offline
  • From: Mentone, Ca
  • Registered: 2009-01-10
  • Posts: 1,367

Re: NGD & bringing her back to life :)

Wow Pix,


That's a definate project guitar. Not many people would take on that sort of task. So if you picked it up for $250 in that shape, what would one in good shape go for?




Keep Rockin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep Rockin!!!!!!!!!!!
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,912

Re: NGD & bringing her back to life :)

zguitar wrote:

Wow Pix,


That's a definate project guitar. Not many people would take on that sort of task. So if you picked it up for $250 in that shape, what would one in good shape go for?




Keep Rockin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The earlier models tend to bring more but still Yairi are an underated brand and you can get them fairly cheap... A comparable guitar with out the humidity issues would probably only go for 700 -1200... It's hard to narrow them down any more than that. The last one I saw on ebay was a '75 and I believe it sold at around 900... There's one online now at a boutique for $1259.00... The guitar really wasn't in that bad a shape. It was fully playable, just needed some tlc to bring her back to full potential. The fret buzz wouldn't have been a problem for most players but I set my action real low with zero neck relief, so things have to be near perfect...

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website

  • From: T.O.
  • Registered: 2009-08-16
  • Posts: 57

Re: NGD & bringing her back to life :)

Wow, that is a lot of work.  Good on you for having the wherewithal to get it done.

Hope she pays you back with years of fine music!

Now I work down at the car wash where all it ever does is rain.

'99 Gibson Les Paul Special DC, '99 Epiphone Dot, '06 Norman B50, '03 Yamaha FG-433S, Fender Performer 650

ckphoto's Website

  • From: NY
  • Registered: 2009-08-26
  • Posts: 4,320

Re: NGD & bringing her back to life :)

Wowie... that's pretty awesome Pix!  Keep us updated!  LOVE the pictures!

Art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder.
What constitutes excellent music is in the ears of the listener.

mekidsmom's Website

  • From: Madeira Beach, Florida
  • Registered: 2007-12-05
  • Posts: 3,311

Re: NGD & bringing her back to life :)

Congrats Pix - I hate that I missed the opportunity to see her in person. One day.......

Rule No. 1 - If it sounds good - it is good!
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,912

Re: NGD & bringing her back to life :)

Well I couldn't sleep last night so around 1am I took the rig off and test tried one tuner install. The bushing size is a little larger on the gotohs so I had to do some sanding to expand the hole but all went well and here's a quick shot of it with the one new tuner.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2751/4316152597_8ef842258f.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4316882180_08bdec49c3.jpg


So I couldn't stop with one smile They all came off and I sanded them for fit (pause for quick pic) http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2782/4316886662_4ea32a9eed_m.jpg
Don't know if you noticed or not in the first pic but the headstock was matte finished so I took this opportunity to polish it out to gloss. I did this with some McGuire's scratchX and finished off with toothpaste smile Yep toothpaste works great for buffing out light scratches and is safe on most all finishes when used lightly/carefully... So anyway, I got her polished up and then installed the new tuners.. All went well and I think she looks much better smile
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4316889362_91103f0ba1.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4316149653_77be17bb68.jpg

I'm dying to string her up and play but patience is of virtue at this stage and I want to keep her stress free until she's stable from all the humidifying. -Pix

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website

  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2009-06-12
  • Posts: 873

Re: NGD & bringing her back to life :)

Guitarpix,
Interesting idea using the neck as a lever to tilt the bridge back. I've got an OLD 12-string with similiar issues and might give it a try. My concern is the forcemay casue the neck to bow which would make teh problem worse. Also, thanks for the tip about the dry guitar. I did not know the symptoms but would not want an igition source around the 12-stringer. It's as light as feather, and I'm sure, very dry.

I'm not familair with you humidify process?

  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2007-02-08
  • Posts: 1,912

Re: NGD & bringing her back to life :)

naolslager wrote:

Guitarpix,
Interesting idea using the neck as a lever to tilt the bridge back. I've got an OLD 12-string with similiar issues and might give it a try. My concern is the forcemay casue the neck to bow which would make teh problem worse. Also, thanks for the tip about the dry guitar. I did not know the symptoms but would not want an igition source around the 12-stringer. It's as light as feather, and I'm sure, very dry.

I'm not familair with you humidify process?

The tension on the neck isn't much with the rig I used... Just enough to to keep the top in the shape I want. The tension I'm applying is far less than it would normally have with strings tuned to pitch.  As wood dries it shrinks and can cause the top to sink in.. When you hydrate it it swells and the tension from the rig is just to make sure that the majority of the swelling is caputered where it's needed. If not, the sides of the top could catch it and push the top further down. As far as the humidifing process, This video is very close to what I did  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB8tELj4 … re=related There's a part 2 in the related vids..

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Guitarpix's Website