buyusfear
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2006
- Messages
- 2,953
I've had the privilege of being the custodian of this fine '52 Les Paul for several weeks now.
My main task will be replacing an already poorly replaced 1st fret, and matching it to the current worn '52 frets, as well as re-glue down a couple of inlays; however, this thread is all about the case.
One question I have is what brand of case are these old flat top early lester cases?
Lifton, Stone, Geib?
With the condition of the case's interior, and how the machine heads were constantly catching on the unglued fabric, not to mention the fact that the guitar never actually rested on the cases neck support, but rather on the cases interior compartment-lid, combined with added support coming from the headstocks tip and D & G tuner tips, I felt I had to offer a better solution to the owner.
After clearing with the owner, both the case liner repair and custom improved neck support, I got to work.
I will state that the added neck support is 100% friction fit, and does not alter the case in any way whatsoever. This is very important to me, as it would be to any vintage enthusiast.
The modern upholstery adhesive was enough of a departure, but had to be done.
First a quick before and after, then a detailed pictorial.
Much of the lining was coming unglued
And here you can see how the neck wore only on the case lid.
But not on the actual neck support. Crazy!
If you look close you can see that there is almost no wear or grime on the neck supports fabric.
Another crazy thing is that a guitar this old and used, living in a case with such poor neck support, didn't suffer a headstock break.
My fix was to make a custom fitting dual neck support insert.
I scoured all the local fabric and upholstery shops looking for the correct burgundy/royal-red velvet, but no luck. So I opted for classic purple which was at least very similar to vintage case linings nap and pile.
Now i'll walk you through the steps.
This case was in bad need of TLC
My main task will be replacing an already poorly replaced 1st fret, and matching it to the current worn '52 frets, as well as re-glue down a couple of inlays; however, this thread is all about the case.
One question I have is what brand of case are these old flat top early lester cases?
Lifton, Stone, Geib?
With the condition of the case's interior, and how the machine heads were constantly catching on the unglued fabric, not to mention the fact that the guitar never actually rested on the cases neck support, but rather on the cases interior compartment-lid, combined with added support coming from the headstocks tip and D & G tuner tips, I felt I had to offer a better solution to the owner.
After clearing with the owner, both the case liner repair and custom improved neck support, I got to work.
I will state that the added neck support is 100% friction fit, and does not alter the case in any way whatsoever. This is very important to me, as it would be to any vintage enthusiast.
The modern upholstery adhesive was enough of a departure, but had to be done.
First a quick before and after, then a detailed pictorial.
Much of the lining was coming unglued
And here you can see how the neck wore only on the case lid.
But not on the actual neck support. Crazy!
If you look close you can see that there is almost no wear or grime on the neck supports fabric.
Another crazy thing is that a guitar this old and used, living in a case with such poor neck support, didn't suffer a headstock break.
My fix was to make a custom fitting dual neck support insert.
I scoured all the local fabric and upholstery shops looking for the correct burgundy/royal-red velvet, but no luck. So I opted for classic purple which was at least very similar to vintage case linings nap and pile.
Now i'll walk you through the steps.
This case was in bad need of TLC
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