The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello fellow PSG'ers!

This is my ancient Marlen ( all pull)
There are a few aluminum ( I think) plates on the top of the guitar, and one has fallen off.
Any suggestions on how to fix it?

I think I'd have it welded in place, if endplate removal is easy

Looks like it was 'glued' on originally.. might try some thinned out wood glue. Clean it up nice, DRY FIT it about a hundred times, glue it, and WATCH IT for a LONG time to be sure it doesn't 'float' out of position before the glue sets. Using thinned glue will allow you to remove it without taking the top of the guitar with it, should it become necessary. Clamps are your friend, but if you use them, gentle is your friend, too. They can 'scooch' the part if you're not careful. From the pic, it looks like it'll fit up against the end plate, making positioning it much easier.

That looks like double-sided carpet tape. Just renew with "Duck Heavy Traffic" carpet tape.. or similar.

Thanks Lane- I definitely don't want to weld a piece that was originally glued.....

Thanks Dave! I am hoping to make this as simple as possible ( two left hands:)

Jerry Jones wrote:That looks like double-sided carpet tape. Just renew with "Duck Heavy Traffic" carpet tape.. or similar.

That sounds like a great idea Jerry- and yes, Leonard originally attached it with double sided tape....
Follow up- what should I use to clean it?
Follow up #2) do you guys think if I clean it and simply leave the part off I'll be making a mistake?

To clean off double sided carpet tape, I'd use Goof Off or similar

Lane Gray wrote:To clean off double sided carpet tape, I'd use Goof Off or similar

Thanks Lane- just ordered....

If it was adhered with double sided tape here is what you should do.
Follow the same procedure as installing golf club grips to the shaft.
With a golf club you apply double sided tape to the shaft, plug the air release joke of the grip with a tee, fill he grip with naphtha, pour the naphtha on to the tape on the shaft and slide the grip on to the shaft. You have less than a minute to get the grip where you want it, then it is stuck in place.
Clean your part as suggested above, apply naphtha to make the glue slimy and position the part. In a minute the naphtha will evaporate and your part will be solidly in place for s couple years of tee shots.
This is the same procedure I use for positioning fret boards. It gives you a little positioning time.
If you cannot find naphtha, use regular old Zippo lighter fluid.

If it were me, I think I'd be tempted just to take the other one off.

John Scanlon wrote:If it were me, I think I'd be tempted just to take the other one off.

Really good point John- I think these parts are exclusively decorative. What do you think?
I'm considering just cleaning the spot up and leaving that piece off- I would wait for the other one to fall off as opposed to ripping it off.,
The finish of my guitar is totally lacquer checked- I can easily peel off pieces of the finish- but I really don;t want to refin the axe.....

I don't recall seeing these on any other Marlen, so they may have been made and installed to cover up some defect, like a hole or split in the cabinet. As they appear to be purely decorative, it probably really doesn't matter what you use to reattach the one that's fallen off.

Donny, I agree with you. But I have only had a few Marlens and did not know if maybe the plates were a period thing.

Does it look like there are some boo-boo holes covered up by the plates? Some overly enthusiastic pilot holes coming up from underneath? Cigarette burns? Stigmata?

I think the end plate was milled to thin on the treble side. The plate is to hide the error