In the above pic you can see that the electronics cover plate cleaned up quite well. Compare with the pre-cleaning picture HERE . The pickup bunker cover cleaned up equally well. Years of cleaning scratches can further be compounded down with brasso and brown-bag paper, should someone desire to take upon that quite timely process. The plate has about 2 hours of brasso and brown paper compounding already ! |
Pickup reassembly continued on Next Page >>> |
1953 Valco El Grande Steel Guitar Customer's Work Progress Reports ~ Page 8; Pickup Reassembly ~ |
Pickup reassembly continued on Next Page >>> |
The repaired coil is on the left. The blue lead is the one replaced. The leads are gathered and tied loosely with a unwound strang of nylon twine, to align the leads with the hole in the electronics plate when the coils are reinstalled upon the plate in their mounting & cover-plate. The string also keeps the very delicate leads connections on the coils from moving around during reassembly, and thereafter for this Steel's future. |
The coils are secured in their cover plate simply by a "seatbelt" of electrical tape. I could see no residue of glue securing the tape to the cover plate although I feel rather sure a glue would have been used but has since completely dried and fallen out over the last 26 years. In any event, I used white carpenters glue to glue the tape "seatbelt" onto the coils cover plate; I don't want the coils moving or getting jostled around in their future within the cover plate. This pic was taken just after the tape was laid onto the wet glue. |
Then I used half of a wood clothespin as a flat plate to push the tape down flat upon the glue, with pressure applied by stacking these pliers down upon the clothespin. Wax paper was placed between the sticky tape and the clothespin, so that the clothespin would not stick to the tape. |
The glue under the tape "seatbelt" is now dried and ready to receive the coils. The white on the right end of the tape is not glue ....it's the camera's flash reflecting back. Again, I use the bottom of tuna cans for my pallets .....for the glue to be picked up and applied with an artists brush in this case. |
The coils cover plate is now slipped under the coils and the coils positioned upon the tape. Notice that all during the work on the pickup so far, the pickup leads were left connected to the circuit. This was done to have a direct reference to the leads lengths and behavior during reassembly, and to prevent any potential confusion of where the leads were routed and soldered into the circuit; Just another old habit of good work tricks and ethics. Fall out of a boat enough times and you get pretty good at it and trying to prevent it from happening ! |
Knowing that all is well and wire lenths and routing is not problem, the coil leads were then clipped from right where they go in the circuit (where those solder points were overdue an overhaul, and being refreshed correctly). If this Steel had an intrinsic excellent condition vintage value and worked properly, I would not have disturbed the original solder joints. I then places a bed of white carpenters glue under the coils to secure them from being josstled around in their future; And then MILD clamps were placed upon the coils to settle them upon the glue exactly in place. Exacting position is required to ensure that the strings sensing screw holes line up and don't bind upon those screws when installed. ------- If a person doesn't have such clamps, then they can be made with rubber bands, clothespins and popsicle sticks as pressure plates .....or something similar. Notice the rubber bands in the background that I used to do just that in repairing this pickup; And also notice the knot tied in the rubber band to adjust it's tension in the clamp I made out of clothespin halves (but didn't think to take a picture of). You can see my large tuna can of clothespin halves I keep on hand for any number of things they're great for. |
The pickup cover is then slowly and carefully guided into place while gently teasing the pickup lead wires through their hole in the electronics plate. The coils cover plate tab ears are carefully pressed through their slots in the electronics plate and then bent over to hold them in place. The strings sensing screws are inserted FROM THE BOTTOM of the electronics plate where they can be easily started in their threads. Before installing any metal-to-metal screw on a guitar, always oil them and squeeze them in a rag to remove ALL wet oil residue. |
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In the picture below and above you can see 5 of the strings sensing screws threaded-in even with the top of the coils cover plate. They are allen screws, accessed through the holes in the coils cover plate. |
Here the allen wrench is inserted, rotated to gently find it's fit into the screw, and the screw threaded upward into place. |
In the above pic you can see that the electronics cover plate cleaned up quite well. Compare with the pre-cleaning picture HERE . The pickup bunker cover cleaned up equally well. Years of cleaning scratches can further be compounded down with brasso and brown-bag paper, should someone desire to take upon that quite timely process. The plate has about 2 hours of brasso and brown paper compounding already ! |
