Resonator rambling..

Thought I'd share how much I enjoyed working on a resonator guitar. (bet ya'll be glad when I have to work 5 days a week again, next year LOL)
It was my first and don't know if others here mess with them.
 
A friend found one at a pawn shop. I think it was @3-4 hundred Fender, new, and it was modified to finger play rather than slide.
The mod was made by an employee at a music store that is no longer open so I'm glad I'll never know who hacked it up.
 
I had to replace the nut, bridge saddle, neck relief and repair the drum to spider adjustment.
I also had to create a bill as he insisted on paying me so I did and also talked with pro luthiers about it. They thought my charges were "for a friend" and I found out what I had suspected...luthiers cost. I've never paid one so I didn't realize.
 
So...the bridge saddle and the adjustment for tension - spider to drum - were of the most interest to me. The saddle- I removed a butchered piece of plastic and replaced with a Maple/Ebony cap- originally used on Dobro I'm thinking. The tension...loosen off until a note distorts and then adjust until it doesn't then a 1/4 or so turn tighter. Suppose to be about as loud as it will get from there.
Fitting the saddle correctly and getting string height as needed was the tricky part but all went well and it's a resonator now.
 
I don't mind repair jobs but no doubt I'd rather build. Mistakes and goofy stuff can be a hassle to correct...bad enough when they're your own lol.
 

Wow...friggin' great Randy.
 
**** you not- "Chuck: Come get this or I'm gonna start charging you storage! (hangs up)"   - Resonator owner has heard this and many of the other lines from me. When he shows I have to get it from the loft. I chunk stuff in my way up there. :)
 
Maybe it's something that comes with repair work? 
 
Yeah, they told me I should be ( recommended 10% lower than the best around) at @ 80.00 per hour.
Part of their reasoning, IMO, is because they don't want folks like me underbidding. With that, I did make it clear I don't do repair work...just a friend favor and I don't have many of those.
 
As is I didn't make minimum wage...but I gained.
 

Slugbaby
The joy of being self-employed...  I'd be fired and blacklisted if I spoke to my customers like that.  I'm apparently in the wrong business.

*apparently, I'm in the wrong business.*  better.  If you start your sentences with the adverb it's more powerful.

It didn't sound broken to me John but I didn't like correcting it with the low action. I thought, and recommended, that it be setup for slide. It's easy to hit the cover with a pick now with the low string height and not like he didn't have other guitars. His mistake to play with but it was a round neck so I didn't push.
 
I thought "what would Jerry Douglas want?" the whole time I was working on it lol
and the weird thing is; right after I finished with it I was having a conversation with the phone repair tech that knew I built guitars and was telling me about his relatives in the area that write songs and how cool Alison Krauss is...his cousin and her kick around and he ran into them at the dollar store lol. 
 
leaves wanting more?....at least an ending lol.

I'm guessing it might be one of those things where the cost - if you charged what you're worth - might not be worth it for an instrument that's not particularly expensive to begin with. IOW, it's good to have friends like Spacey!
 
I love these kinds of stories. Can't say I know much about resonators though.