Flea Market Fare: Restoring an Old Guitar

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View of the head showing the tuning keys, adjusting nut (knob) and the ivory nut.
View of the head showing the tuning keys, adjusting nut (knob) and the ivory nut.
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Close-up of the bridge area.
Close-up of the bridge area.
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A comparison of necks (if a guitar is badly bowed, check to see if it's equipped with an adjustable truss rod which can help you straighten it.)
A comparison of necks (if a guitar is badly bowed, check to see if it's equipped with an adjustable truss rod which can help you straighten it.)
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An electric guitar face-on, showing the basic parts that'll need to be checked and (possibly) repaired.
An electric guitar face-on, showing the basic parts that'll need to be checked and (possibly) repaired.
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List of tools you will need to restore your flea market guitar.
List of tools you will need to restore your flea market guitar.

All that it takes is some time and patience–and a bit of skill–when restoring an old guitar.

Flea Market Fare: Restoring an Old Guitar

I’ve made the better part of my income for over 20 years–by playing guitar in country bands. And, not long ago, I had to leave my regular instrument at the repair shop for a complete fret transplant, a job that would take several weeks. Doing so could have presented a problem, too–since I play two or three nights a week–if I hadn’t happened to have a spare guitar on hand, a no-name brand that I’d picked up at a garage sale for $5.00.

When I made that purchase, though, I honestly wondered whether I might be paying $4.00 too much! The poor thing looked like it had been used for killing rats. Its neck was broken, the tremolo bar was snapped off, and a couple of keys were missing . . . and that was only the most visible damage. But–perhaps more out of pity than in any hope that I could actually resurrect the guitar–I gathered it up and took it home. I repaired and straightened the neck . . . replaced the ivory nut . . . lowered the bridge . . . put on some keys “borrowed” from another scrap instrument . . . shaved the frets . . . dressed the garage sale special up with a new set of strings . . . and darned if the junket didn’t play better than my $600 guitar!

At first I took a lot of ribbing about my “bargain basement axe”, but I used it on gigs within a month, and it earned me $475. That’s not a bad return on a $5.00 investment in anybody’s book . . . and the kidding soon stopped.

  • Published on Jul 1, 1982
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