Vintage Marlen Refurb HELP!

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 20 Aug 2015 1:57 pm

Thanks for the tips.
Rolling along.

Ned McIntosh · Post by **Ned McIntosh** » 20 Aug 2015 2:18 pm

Tim,

If you have access to one, an ultrasonic-bath cleaner would do a fine job on the roller-nuts and keyhead frames all in one go, without necessarily removing the rollers and axle from the frame.

For the solvent, naptha, white gas (we call it "Shellite" here in Auz) or kerosene will help get all the gummed oil out.

If you decide to disassemble and clean the changers, a run in the ultrasonic cleaner first (before disassembly) wouldn't do any harm either.

These days the electronic hobbist suppliers have very competitively-priced ultrasonic bath cleaners about the right size.

Just a suggestion. (Might clean a lot of other metal guitar-parts too.)

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 20 Aug 2015 3:05 pm

Naptha is one of my go to cleaners, so using plenty of it.
The ultrasonic-bath sounds like another item to check out.
I absolutely could have used one while doing many guitar rebuilds in the past.
Thanks Ned.

Ned McIntosh · Post by **Ned McIntosh** » 20 Aug 2015 10:44 pm

Tim,

I noticed one of the fretboards was lifting in your photos. One of the recommended ways of removing them is an old 0.011"string used as a "wire-saw" between the fretboard and the neck. Work the string side-to-side to cut through the adhesive, with a little gentle heat to the top of the fretboard to soften it. That way you should be able to remove the fretboards without bending them.

This seems to be the preferred technique by the guys who do a lot of restoration work on the forum.

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 22 Aug 2015 12:57 pm

Bought an Ultrasonic Parts Cleaner today.
Should arrive before the end of the week.
Thanks for the suggestion Ned.

All screws and bolts visible from the top of the instrument are off being replated.

Fretboards being removed shortly. Likely with hair dryer and seam separation knife (or guitar string) like you all suggested.

Photos soon.

Ned McIntosh · Post by **Ned McIntosh** » 4 Sep 2015 2:10 pm

Hi Tim,

Any photos yet to show us how it's going? I'd be interested to see what sort of job the ultrasonic cleaning did around the roller-nut in particular. That's a fiddly area to try and clean up manually.

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 5 Sep 2015 1:37 am

Hi Ned
Sorry to have a bit of a delay posting photos but I've been running items to the plating company, waiting for some proper aluminum polish to be delivered and trying to spend time with my kids during the last couple of weeks before school starts.
The Ultrasonic cleaner was returned to sender by Canada post and, since it was the last ine in stock, I had to wait until it was relisted on Amazon before I could buy it again. It just arrived 2 days ago but I'm doing gigs all weekend.
So enough excuses, I'll try and get this thread rolling once all the pieces start coming together. Thanks for the interest and, ultimately, the encouragement.

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 5 Sep 2015 7:29 am

First chromed items back from plating.

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 6 Sep 2015 7:19 am

Ultrasonic Cleaning.

Went well.
Loosened grime and allowed easier cleaning of the fine parts.
Still used all my fine cleaning tools and tricks but a great help.

Before:

During:

After:

Peter Moller · Post by **Peter Moller** » 6 Sep 2015 10:31 am

Great job! Looks awesome. How much did you pay for the ultrasonic?

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 6 Sep 2015 10:43 am

Hi Peter
It was $250.
Price seemed to be dictated by how large the tank is.
Mine is 6L/1.58 gallons and 13x8x4", which was the largest affordable one I could find.
It did a good job but, you can see in one of the photos above, the gunk on my hand was picked out of the bridge. So some elbow grease is still needed.

They still have to be polished.

Peter Moller · Post by **Peter Moller** » 7 Sep 2015 3:43 am

Thanks!!

I know the ulstrasonic from other electronic cleaning projects. I have a friend who used it intensively when he restored and big old SSL mixing desktop.

It's a real inspiaration watching you work! Keep up the good work!! And keep us posted.

Walter Bowden · Post by **Walter Bowden** » 7 Sep 2015 10:39 pm

Hi Tim.
I know I'm coming in late on this thread but the Marlen keyhead/string rollers looks almost identical to Emmons. A few years ago I removed the keyhead/string rollers on my S-10 p/p to install new tuners.

I figured as long as the keyhead was off, I could remove the roller shaft and individual rollers and was able to get it them by clamping the keyhead it to my workbench and used a bamboo chopstick and very small hammer to gently force the roller shaft to unseat and come off the key head w/o dinging the aluminum.

Once I had it off it was a breeze to clean with warm soapy water, toothbrush and get all the grime off. I then used naphtha to really clean the parts and compressed air to blow away any water. After some elbow grease polishing the keyhead with Simichrome polish and a very light wiping with Rem Oil I put he new tuners on.

When I put the rollers and shaft back on I rotated the shaft about 180deg cause it had some wear grooves that the rollers had made over the years. I posted this home project on the Forum complete with before and after photos and will try to dig them up.

The rollers/shaft can get pretty grungy over time and since you are doing a great job on other aspects of the Marlen I just wanted to put in my 2 cents worth.

Best wishes and looking forward to seeing the finished project.

Ned McIntosh · Post by **Ned McIntosh** » 8 Sep 2015 5:04 am

I recall seeing somewhere (probably on the forum) that in the early days Len Stadler sourced some parts from Emmons, and both companies may have used the same suppliers (Quality Castings in Greensboro, NC, was one such company).

I also recall somewhere on the forum seeing a comment that JCH steels used some Marlen parts (keyheads etc), most probably bought up after Len Stadler passed on.

Some very interesting connections there.

The parts are coming along nicely, Tim. That ultrasonic bath is going to be very useful for a whole lot of stuff.

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 10 Sep 2015 3:17 pm

Legs chromed and reassembled.
Looking good.

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 13 Sep 2015 11:12 am

Discovery.
Seem that I've located the original finish.

And finally received my Aluminum polish.
Gotta say, it works.

Ned McIntosh · Post by **Ned McIntosh** » 13 Sep 2015 12:57 pm

That's a very interesting discovery, Tim. Looks like this steel may have started life with a blonde maple cabinet and been re-finished, perhaps more than once.

How easy would it be to remove the top layers and get back to the original wood? If the original marquetry is intact, restoring the cabinet to the blonde finish could be well worth considering. If the marquetry has been damaged, I have no doubt there are people on the forum who could advise where new marquetry could be sourced, and you may well know this yourself from your work anyway.

The California Custom polish looks like it is doing a great job, I can see why it has been recommended. I use Mothers Metal Polish and it's good too, but none of my steels had badly tarnished surfaces. That and the re-chroming are going to make a big difference to the appearance.

I'm thinking if this ends up as a blonde with highly-polished metal (top and bottom) then it is going to have some pretty seriously good looks and you will have put a lot of value back into the instrument, probably far more than you thought you would.

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 13 Sep 2015 1:54 pm

Hi Ned
It's a tough call on the finish restoration, I kind of like the 70's hot rod refin.
I will restore the instrument so that I can return it to original if I get the urge.
Once it's cleaned up and running, disassembly and stripping that finish can be done fairly efficiently.
I've just grown to like the sparkle finish....

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 17 Sep 2015 4:08 am

Glueing a separating seam.
The things you find...
Plus a photo of my other "new" instrument, a 1929 Greenfield Hawaiian, that needs a bit of work:

Ned McIntosh · Post by **Ned McIntosh** » 18 Sep 2015 11:55 am

Thanks for the photos, Tim.

Just looking at how thick the cabinet-wood is on the old girl. Wow, a solid-looking unit indeed.

Also, I'm curious about the gadget in the background of the Hawaiian photo, the device in the diecast metal box with what look like two BNC connectors and a stomp-switch on the top, and a 1/4" jack on the side.

It reminds me of a diode noise-bridge I made for checking impedance of amateur radio antennas!

Tim Mech · Post by **Tim Mech** » 18 Sep 2015 1:46 pm

Hi Ned
That is an early original Demeter Tremulator, owned by my boss, in my shop to be cleaned up and made to work again. A bit of history on my bench.
And by the way, your CD-ROM arrived on wednesday. Such great info and beautiful photos to keep my mind spinning. Thanks so much!

Ned McIntosh · Post by **Ned McIntosh** » 24 Sep 2015 12:33 pm

Good news on the CD-ROM, Tim.

Have you run the changers through the ultrasonic cleaner yet? I'm interested to know if there is any sign of galling on the axles or the fingers.

I appreciate your boss keeps you pretty busy with his schedule so you may not have had time for this yet.

Dan Kelly · Post by **Dan Kelly** » 11 Apr 2016 3:45 pm

Hey Tim!

How did things turn out? I am taking the first step on the journey you seem to be close to completing. Any updates?

The wealth of information in this post is fabulous!

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