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How to flatten a '60s scratchplate
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:48 pm
by Vinkie
Although I saw some comments about flattening I'm still not really clear about how to go around it. The plate on my Jaguar is curled up (at most about 2mm) on three different spots and I'd like to flatten it. Do you just clamp it inbetween some flat surfaces and maybe weigh it down, do you apply any heat? How do you prevent the plate from cracking?
Any help is much appreciated.
Re: How to flatten a '60s scratchplate
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:51 pm
by zhivago
Doug will tell you exactly what he used, but the general idea was clamping it between two glass sheets and leaving it in the warn Florida sun
Re: How to flatten a '60s scratchplate
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:56 pm
by Vinkie
zhivago wrote:
Doug will tell you exactly what he used, but the general idea was clamping it between two glass sheets and leaving it in the warn Florida sun
Man I wish I had some warm Florida sun over here right now
Sounds very doable to me, I wonder how long it takes for a plate to settle.
Re: How to flatten a '60s scratchplate
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 5:08 pm
by fullerplast
That's it basically. I sandwiched it between two thick plates of glass, secured it with three C-clamps, and left it in direct sun for about a week. I turned it every other day or so (but I never basted it with butter or added spices).
After it was flat, I filed all the openings with a jeweler's file to compensate for shrinkage, periodically setting it on the body for a fit check. After everything fit (mainly the pickups and brisge thimble holes, that was it.
This was a pretty bad one, I about shit when I took it out of the box. But it turned out well, as you can see in the photos of Misty...
P.S. Don't use an electric heat source, it may flame up. Really!
Re: How to flatten a '60s scratchplate
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 5:13 pm
by Vinkie
Thanks for the lowdown Doug, much appreciated. I'll be gentle and skip electrical heat to prevent flame-out situations
Re: How to flatten a '60s scratchplate
Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:35 am
by mezcalhead
fullerplast wrote:
as you can see in the photos of Misty...
Re: How to flatten a '60s scratchplate
Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 2:26 am
by zhivago
Re: How to flatten a '60s scratchplate
Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 3:20 pm
by Vinkie
I was thinking of this post today as I shipped of a Fender Pastorius Jazz Bass to a customer in the NL. It had been in our store for a while and the extra tortie scratchplate that came with it looked like a badly decayed Pringle crisp
I told my Boss: "I know what to do! All we need is two glass plates, a few clamps and at least a week of warm Florida sun!" We had a good laugh over it and substituted a new plate.
