vintage guitar advice

hey

i have an old pan (by aria) guitar that a friend was chucking. his 15 yr old got it some place, took the tuners and scrapped the guitar. made in the sixties i think.


i took it home, put new tuners and light strings and it played real nice. played it a bit for about 6 mnths put on heavier strings and the bridg lifted up a mm or two in the back towards the strap peg. the rest seems to be still glued because the string pegs and the adjustable bridge is holding it on. also there is a screw or peg through the bridge just below the string pegs. it is covered by a dot but when i look thruogh the hole for the strap peg i can see it inside the guitar.

that was a few yrs ago

I havnt played guitar much for the past half dozen yrs because of some strenth and dexterity issues with my hands and arms. the reason i started the uke in fact was because i missed playing some thing. wasnt much of a guitar player but i did know how to play.


so dug out the old pan thinking i could find a luthier to fix it but i live in the boonies and i cant find one to save my soul.

so .....

am thinking of trying a repair my self...mainly white carpenters glue squeezed inder the lifted bridge with a syringe and then clamping.

any advice??? should i wait till i find a luthier???

any one know anything about the pan by aria guitars???

thx

I'm not familiar with that brand of guitar....is it worth anything? If not, you can try to fix it up. Squirting glue under the bridge and clamping might work....the big problem is the old glue under there will prevent a good glue joint and it might just break free again. Much better if you can remove the bridge and clean up the old glue.
I'd say start with the glue squirt and go back to light strings. Worst case, you'll be back to this condition in a few months. I'd recommend Titebond glue and maybe scrape out any crusty stuff under there you can get at with a pick or something

ksquine said:

I'm not familiar with that brand of guitar....is it worth anything? If not, you can try to fix it up. Squirting glue under the bridge and clamping might work....the big problem is the old glue under there will prevent a good glue joint and it might just break free again. Much better if you can remove the bridge and clean up the old glue.
I'd say start with the glue squirt and go back to light strings. Worst case, you'll be back to this condition in a few months. I'd recommend Titebond glue and maybe scrape out any crusty stuff under there you can get at with a pick or something

Click to expand...

What they said.

This guitar isn't worth all that much. If you take it somewhere they'd probably tell you it's not worth the cost. Get Titebond 2 and go nuts.

Good luck!

ksquine said:

I'm not familiar with that brand of guitar....is it worth anything?

Much better if you can remove the bridge and clean up the old glue.
I'd recommend Titebond glue and maybe scrape out any crusty stuff under there you can get at with a pick or something

Click to expand...

hey

thanks folks

I dont think its worth much but i was suprised how good it played and sounded.

all i can get here is gorilla glue wood version and regular white carpenters glue. thought the white glue would be better since it isnt waterproof so could perhaps be dismantled easier down the road if needed..

i tried to get the bridge off but it seems to be on pretty good exept fot the leading edge at the bottom of the bridge. i was scared to force it and break some thing hence the idea to squirt glue under it. thinking trying a dry runfirst to see if the bridge will go all the way down befor i try glue

thx eor


.

Older Aria guitars are cool, most of them sound and play really nice... that's the value I find in them. Glue it up and clamp it....

I agree w/Vic. Some Arias can be sound cannons just like the Yamahas of the same time. They were made in the same factory as the Washburns and Epiphones of the time. I say do it right or make a fire and roast some hotdogs with it.

Here's what I would do and it should take you 30 minutes max:
Put a piece of blue masking tape on the body flush to each side of the bridge and make a reference mark on the bridge and tape for registration. Apply gentle heat to the bridge for 5- 10 minutes or so with a hair dryer (protect the body with a rolled up bath towel around the bridge). This should allow you to loosen it fully without tearing up the top. Use some undiluted white vinegar dabbed on with a cotton ball to soften any hardened glue, rinse well with a wet paper towel and try not to change the fit/profile by using a chisel or scraper. Scuff lightly with some medium sandpaper and glue it back. The white Carpenter's glue is what you want.

But then there's the screw behind the pearl dot to contend with... I guess it's already lifting out though. But yeah if you just squirt glue in and clamp it it might last a while but eventually fail, might as well do it right.

Oh yeah the screw! Sorry! The Pearl cover may come off clean when you heat it. Put a piece of tape on it and pull it off once the glue softens. Otherwise you will need to pry it up with a tiny screwdriver. You'l need to glue a few toothpicks (Maple) into the screw hole in he bridgeplate to give the screw something to bite. While you're at it, toss the plastic adjustable saddle and get a bone or Tusk replacement. If you don't have clamps, get some machine screws that will fit through the bridge pin holes, nylon washers and nut. Stew-Mac has these:http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Bridges/Acoustic_Bridge_Bolts.html?tab=Details#details but I imagine you could be resourceful and do just as good. 4 would be better than 2.

Oh yeah, I read that too about replacing the plastic saddle to improve tone... meant to mention that. Love Arias and Old orange label Yamahas... good stuff. I also read that putting a tight fitting hardwood shim under that saddle thingie might greatly improve the tone. Dunno... that seems a bit tedious... if I were going to go to that trouble I'd just make a copy of the bridge but solid with a regular saddle slot. But I wouldn't do that either because it wouldn't be the original.

I wouldn't try to pry the dot out. Take a hammer and awl and break it leaving the wood around intact. You can buy replacement dots if you want. That will expose the screw head. They crack pretty easy.

The right way to do it is to lift the whole bridge and clean the old glue off. With a proper re-glue you won't eve need the screw. Martins, Taylors and most Gibsons never use any fasteners to hold the bridge down.

This might give you some idea of what is involved.

http://banjoist.tripod.com/b1.htm

Bill