Doing Things Wrong

Factory Mods

Brownsville Violin Bass
Danelectro Silvertone 1457 Rescue Guitar
Danelectro Companion Guitar
SX Precision Bass
Schwinn Stingray Bass
Samick SG450 Guitar
Fender Squier Stratocaster Guitar
Danelectro Pro-1 Guitar
Danelectro '63 Guitar

These are factory instruments that I either significantly modified, restored or refurbished.


This is my reference for guitar setups - a Japanese "E-series" Squier Stratocaster from the early '80s. This was an era when Fender-America was not doing their best work, while the Japanese models were superb.


This is a Harmony-made Sears Silvertone 1478. This body style was originally called the "Silhouette", and Harmony sold similar models under their own name. Later it became known as the "Bobkat". I can't find a serial number anywhere, and I'm not taking it apart to look for one, so I don't know the exact age of this guitar.


This was a box of junk I got on eBay, originally a vintage Convertible. I replaced the front and back with cabinet-grade birch plywood, as the original mother-of-countertop material is no longer available. I rebuilt it as something like a Companion, which is a very rare model. The neck and sides are vintage, the rest is modern.

Factory Mods


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This is a Martin-style single-acting truss rod. I built it years ago and never used it, and at this point, I never will. I am breaking it up for parts, so I thought I'd post a picture first. It consists of a 10-32 threaded rod in an aluminum channel. At the fixed end, at the lower left, the rod is set in a T-nut and the end is peened (hammered) over to keep it from rotating. The adjusting end is nothing more than a washer between the nut and the channel. Both ends are secured by bending the channel over them, then the center of the channel is cut down and everything is ground to minimal dimensions. You can find detailed directions online.