Hey folks,
I was going to jump in with both feet and build myself a new guitar, but I was a little intimidated. OK, a LOT intimidated! Then I thought, “Maybe I should learn how to do a setup first…”
So I went looking for my son’s old Fender from Costco. (It can’t be THAT bad, can it?)
A little background - A hot air balloon crashed into my shop a few years back. It destroyed my shop, broke or destroyed a lot of my bigger tools (I still don’t have a drill press any more, and my radial arm saw and main table saw and lathe and band saw were damaged more from exposure to the elements over the nearly 2 years it took to clear the space.)
Anyway, my son’s guitar had been out in the shop for a couple years already, and exposed to the elements while clearing the debris. It got left in a leaky tent for a couple years after it was recovered. (I didn’t know it was leaky at the time, and fully expected the shop project to be completed in a couple months, not years.)
At this point I realized, “Hey, I can rebuild it, better than before!”
So I have been bugging folks about tools and techniques. And chose a mentor (Thanks, @DeltaTyne Hec!) I met through the original BLIM class. (I am still open to any and all assistance and comments anyone might care to share.)
I was worried about that, but the neck seems in pretty good shape, and fairly straight. The hardware seems to have gotten the worst of it. My neck straight edge arrived last night, so I will double check it with the micrometer. I may need a lesson in fret replacement, but the wood seems to have weathered well. (Pun intended!)
Super learning project and you certainly can’t break anything extra with it… but it is a bit yucky… (I also have one here with mold on it if you have time to spare )
I can’t find any other photos of the damage, but this is bad enough … it happened very quickly in the house somewhere in a corner of an upstairs room where my wife doesn’t come often and I’ve never been,
O my goodness Chip 
if you have time to spare )
… it happened very quickly in the house somewhere in a corner of an upstairs room where my wife doesn’t come often and I’ve never been,
