Jancar Guitar

09/03/2026

This was a doozy…… broken headstock on a Gibson!? You don’t say? Ok, it happens, but not typically on a neck like this: maple/walnut stringer/maple! On top of it, a previous repair from another shop didn’t hold up, and I was tasked with resolving it. Typically a broken headstock can simply be re-glued and clamped properly, but this one had issues right out of the factory. The truss rod route was too deep and the back of the neck was sanded thin, leaving very little material, causing a weakened stress point behind the truss rod nut cavity and exactly where the headstock angle begins. After cleaning up the previous repair and re-gluing, I routed and installed some splines. The wood was so thin though between the splines, that I decided it would be best fabricate a solid maple back strap and graft it onto the neck, and carve a volute to add some mass to the weakened area. Reglued, added splines and back strap, refinished. Solid, functional and looks great. Glued down a couple loose braces and set it up as well. Sounds amazing.

07/03/2026

This Nash wasn’t in need of a refret quite yet, but the customer wanted a taller and wider fret. Only Jescar will do. Refretted and sanded to a very fine grit and highly polished for smooth,sustained big bends.

06/11/2026

This was a fun one that was recently back in the shop for a set up. A couple years ago it came in for a refret and to shave the neck width down from 1.65” to 1.5” at the nut and a narrow taper all the way down the neck, reduced the cutaway side of the neck pocket on the body, glued in shims on each side in the neck pocket, and installed a narrow 2 1/16” string spaced Callaham bridge. A while later the customer wanted a Tele bridge pickup routed in the body and anodized pickguard. Dropped in a Texas special bridge pickup and plugged the original strat pickup height adjustment holes for a cleaner look. Strung up with 8-38 gauge and tuned standard. Took a minute to get comfortable with the string spacing, but it plays like butter and is just a fun guitar to play.

06/08/2026

Here’s a rare left handed burgundy Rickenbacker 4003 with reverse headstock and inlay. I believe they were just using right handed necks for the lefties at the time. Earlier transition version of the 4003 with two piece pickguard and dual truss rod adjustment at the body. This one appeared to have sat in its case for a long time as the hardware was oxidized & some finish a bit grimey. Managed to clean and polish it all up before it was too far gone. Also did a set up & cleaned the electronics. Plays and sounds great with that Ric-O-Sound.

05/29/2026

Touch up on a previously touched up headstock. Removed the old finish and found quite a ding hidden beneath. Seems the previous tech used ca glue for the repair on a lacquer neck, so it wasn’t quite right. Steamed the ding out as much as possible and color matched, whisked turned out even better than I hoped for.

05/22/2026

05/22/2026

The neck on this Univox was barely hanging on to the body and needed reset. After removing the neck I noticed that the neck block was actually separated from the cut away,which could have contributed to the neck sagging, and if not addressed, possibly further damage. May have been part of the reason this brace was broken as well. Re-pitched neck & added riser shim beneath fingerboard.

05/14/2026

Here’s one from a while back, strangest cleat on a crack that I’ve ever seen. It had to go, as it was almost tumoresque. Even named it: Buck Melanoma, Moley Russell’s wart. More abstract really, cubism perhaps? Kind of a blind extraction with a small hand plane in the sound hole while trying not to damage the label or the mahogany back was fun. Came out nice, a bit of a tear in the label, but minimal and with a clean and neatly cleat now in place. Oh, and it needed a neck reset too.

05/07/2026

1966 Fender Telecaster pickup set that needed restoration and rewind. Both pickups had the typical coil degradation from the inside out, due to oxidation on the magnets.The neck pickup was sad & frowning, looking like a potato chip. The bobbin had to be dis-assembled, magnets removed and bottom flatwork re-flattened before being re-assembled and rewound. The bridge pickup was in a bit better shape and just needed cleaned up and rewound.