Framus 5/116-54 restoration

[Dan M]

Here is a beast of a guitar that I am currently restoring. When I bought it the neck was badly damaged and it was missing the bridge. I have found a temporary replacement for the bridge and had the neck refitted but I want to try get this one rocking again as it has been neglected for many years.

If anyone can help me locate parts for this I would be super grateful =)

This is what needs to be done:

* Find a Framus Bridge
* Replace missing spring in tremolo
* Find a Framus tremolo arm
* Repair the heads of the two switches on the right
* Replace the horrible light blue swith plate with a nice Tortoise-shell one.
* Clean the electrics and switches
* Replace the crappy machine heads

Here is a 5/116 in much better condition although I find mine to be a bit more interesting. >> http://www.terrym.co.uk/website/page39.htm

I'd love to know your thoughts on this project

[Bob K]

Yours definitely has more "vibe"! That's going to be killer when you finish it.

Bob

[VintAxe]

Hi Dan,

I think this guitar provids a good foundation for a satisfying restoration. On the tremolo spring, I've had good luck using compression springs obtained at my local hardware store. If you can find the right diameter, you can cut it down to the length you need. I've found these springs where they keep parts for aluminum storm doors. Some shops even stock an assortment of compression springs with their bolt/screw selections.

You will probably need to cut that switch cover yourself. The new tortoise isn't nearly as pretty as the old tortoise in my opinion. If you could find an older tortoise strat pickguard, I wonder if you'd have enough material to cut your switch cover out of it? Ideally, it would be nice to find an old pickguard with damage that would sell cheap but still possess enough clean material for you to cut your cover.

Good luck on finding the Framus Trem arm. You may need to settle for a similar style Japanese arm while you wait for the elusive Framus arm to cross you path.

Please post a picture when you complete the restoration.

sb

[tnlcooper]

Hi. Here's a few pics of a beautiful one that passed through my hands a while ago. Don't know if it'll help you with your parts-finding.




Cheers,
Tim

[tnlcooper]

And a nice plain red one (with replacement tuners and missing the scratchplate):



Cheers,
Tim

[VintAxe]

Thanks for the excellent pictures Tim. They should prove very useful to anyone attempting a 5/116 restoration.

Was the scratchplate on yours a reproduction or were they all white from the factory? sb

[tnlcooper]

I think it was original. It's the same shape as the one on the Atlantic [above right] and the New Sound [above left] has a white pickguard so it looks right.

[tnlcooper]

Dan's one should have a pickguard like this I suppose:




btw the last three pics are from Framus Vintage