New Member Restoring a 1982 S-250

[mroddjob]

And I overlooked the fact that I never extended a hearty welcome to mroddjob nor gave him kudos for restoring the S-250. Way to go!

Thunderface:
Wow, where are your manners?
Just kidding. Thanks for the welcome and the pics of similar Guilds.
I'll keep this thread posted with progress.
I'm expecting my mahogany veneer and dowel rod tomorrow so I can begin the last of the wood restoration this weekend.

On a side note I received my headstock overlay from a company in the UK and it's crap.
It said in the description it was "professional quality ... mother of pearl effect".
It's a decal, which I knew and expected but, it's just an inkjet decal transfer, which I could have done myself; and better no less.

Does anyone know where I can find a real headstock overlay?
I'd rather not have to cut one out myself from mother of pearl if I can avoid it.
Also how thick is a typical Guild overlay?

 

[mroddjob]

EDIT: I searched the archives and found this place that offers pre-cut Mother of Pearl Guild inlays:
[http://www.luthiersupply.com
Yay! I won't have to cut my own.

You can disregard my previous questions, but I am curious of one thing.
Are the black areas on the overlays plastic or wood?

 

[quildluv]

Welcome mroddjob!! Nice to see others out here with an affection towards the S250. I've taken a few pics of my recently arrived S250 but they look terrible. I'm going to take a few more, in natural light, and will hopefully post them soon. I have an '81, so the configuration is different that yours (4 knobs vs. 3 knobs).

Looking forward to seeing the results of your labors!

 

[mroddjob]

I hung out with my friend tonight and took some photos of his oddball S-300 with the bolt-on neck with my camera phone.
The images are terrible, and I will take better ones when I get the chance, but I wanted to post them anyway to show you what I was talking about.
My friend said his brother bought the guitar in a pawn shop around 1982-83.
It has a mahogany body which you can tell because the finish is worn through on the back, a maple neck with center strip of mahogany and an ebony fingerboard.
Tell me what you think?
A rare Guild prototype or FrankenGuild?

See the thread about this guitar here:
http://letstalkguild.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21447

 

[matsickma]

Yep. That is the type I saw a while back on ebay.

Another odd ball guitar I saw a while back on ebay was a Guild S-70 (i.e., S-300 style with 3-SC pickups) with the 3 Dimarzio single coils. However the guitar was wired up with a set of three in a row mini toggle switches like is used on the X-79-3. It looked origional but I never held the guitar in person to know for sure.

I have to start saving images of these odd instruments.

M

 

[matsickma]

I recommend you post the bolt-on neck S300 as a new topic.

M

 

[mroddjob]

Some more progress pics of my S-250 restoration.
There are three issues that I needed to address with this guitar before I can start putting on the finish.

1. Getting a real mother of pearl Chesterfield inlay for the headstock

2. Laminating mahogany veneer on the headstock to get it back up to the correct thickness.
Because of the previous owner's customization with a wood burning tool my headstock is .5" thick but should be .625" thick.
He basically removed about 1/32" of an inch from either side of the headstock when he sanded the finish off and then when I sanded out his woodburning iron handiwork, I removed about another 1/32" from either side.
I could have used wood filler to fill in the gouges from the woodburning tool, but the headstock would still have been 1/16" thinner than factory, so decided to go this route instead by laminating 1/16" mahogany veneer to either side of the headstock. Here is the front side completed.

3. Plugging the extra holes that were drilled in the control cavity using a 1/4" mahogany dowel.

 

[Hammer]

Lookin good man! I wish I had those kind of skills. But alas, I am just stuck with nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills and a really sweet bike and mustache... :lol:

 

[mroddjob]

Lookin good man! I wish I had those kind of skills. But alas, I am just stuck with nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills and a really sweet bike and mustache... :lol:

Thanks. What's your really sweet bike?
You're from Harrisburg?
I know it well. I go to the Carlisle Import Show every year with my buddy who grew up in Camp Hill.

 

[Hammer]

Lookin good man! I wish I had those kind of skills. But alas, I am just stuck with nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills and a really sweet bike and mustache... :lol:

Thanks. What's your really sweet bike?
You're from Harrisburg?
I know it well. I go to the Carlisle Import Show every year with my buddy who grew up in Camp Hill.

I am indeed in Harrisburg...worked in Carlisle for a few years and frequent Camp Hill. And I have no bike...just some Napoleon Dynamite ramblings. :wink:

 

[mroddjob]

I am indeed in Harrisburg...worked in Carlisle for a few years and frequent Camp Hill. And I have no bike...just some Napoleon Dynamite ramblings. :wink:

Ahh, I didn't get the Napolean Dynamite reference, but I do now.

 

[mroddjob]

A pic of the mahogany veneer being laminated to the back of the headstock.

 

[mroddjob]

Woodwork is completed.
The next step is the headstock overlay.

Guild pickups are about 1/8" wider than your typical Gibson humbucker, so standard humbucker pickup rings are usually a hair too small to completely cover the pickup cavity.
I'm putting standard humbucker sized P90 single coils in this guitar, and it didn't make sense to mutilate a set of rare and expensive Guild pickup rings.
So I laminated some 1/16" mahogany on both sides of the pickup cavities

The back of the headstock with 1/16" mahogany laminated to build the headstock thickness back up to standard.
I also restamped the serial number and "MADE IN USA".

The front of the headstock with 1/16" mahogany laminated to build the headstock thickness back up to standard.
I used "cabinet-makers wood filler" which is the mahogany sawdust mixed with wood glue to fill some gouges around the tuning peg holes.
I thought it would be better than wood filler, but in the end I think non-waterbased wood filler is actually a better choice.

 

[mroddjob]

Making the headstock overlay:

 

[wyndworks]

WOW! I have just finished reading all the posts concerning your restoration. Very cool! I just bought a Black Guild 1981 S-250 with the four knobs and two switches. I think I am going to love it as I do all my other Guilds and Guild amps. Does anyone have a copy of the original wiring diagram for the 1981 S-250? Someone snipped the wires off of the small switch and I would love to restore the guitar back to original specs.

 

[Thunderface]

Wyndworks,

We have the same guitar...