Burns Gear-O-Matic Truss Rod

[Barry Daniels]

Polished out the finish by hand using Meguiars 105 and it shined up surprisingly easy.

The new bound fretboard blended well with the neck.

[Barry Daniels]

Tuning machines back into the bushed pegholes seemed more stable. Made a ebony truss rod cover held in place by hidden magnets. New bone nut.

The tone of the instrument seems more alive with the new electronics. Hope the client is happy.

Thanks to those here for their interest and suggestions on this project.

[Mario Proulx]

Well done..!

I've been using Jescar wire(mostly SS but some EVO) for all my new builds since around 2004 or 2005. Great stuff..! For repairs, I'll still turn to various SM wire to match the original size, or for the wider tang.

[Barry Daniels]

Thanks Mario. Yep, the Jescar is nice stuff. I now remember that I had used it before, but never realized the difference in tang width. Doh!

[Ryan Mazzocco]

It's crazy that I'm finding this now after all these years. I have an old Baldwin 12 string guitar in the shop right now and it has this truss rod. Fortunately it seems to be working just fine. Thanks Barry for posting these pics. I figured there had to be gearing and a worm drive involved, but it's nice to actually see it taken apart. Also, a little late but, Great job on the rest of the project as well!

[Barry Daniels]

Thanks Ryan!

By the way, a couple of years ago I visited the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix and they had a 7-string Gretsch just like the one I repaired, except in primo condition.