Old Guitars

It's astonishing how quickly October has dissappeared! I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post. As we careen headlong into the holiday season, it's time for a quick update. I had planned to post a bunch of pictures of the custom builds I have going, but to be honest I've spent most of the last month puzzling over repairs at Guru Guitars. Sometimes the repair load is pretty easy to punch through. I've gotten fairly efficient and comfortable with the quick setups, electronic fixes, and refrets which usually comprise our repair backlog. Every once in a while you get a project which requires some thought. About a month ago a very thought provoking repair came in...the complete restoration of a 1956 Martin D-28. The current owner said it once belonged to Doc Watson. I have no idea if that is true. I also have no way to verify the authenticity of his claim. the only thing I do know is that the guitar was in very bad shape. For a week or two, I kept looking at it on the list. Occasionally, I would take the guitar out if it's case and after turning the instrument over in my hand a few times, I would gently place it back in its musty home. I can't quite explain my unease with this project. Perhap it's the dilapidated state of the instrument. It might also be that Martins from the 50's in good condition often have a five figure price tag. The truth is, I am a procrastinator by nature and have lived with this affliction for some years now....I recognize the signs. In the immortal words of countless movitational desk calendars..."The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." The point is I finally started...this is the chronicle of my adventure thus far: Here's the guitar on day one. Despite having had at least three different pickguards on it at one time, the top is gouged out pretty badly from heavy picking. Yes, that is plaster covering the area where the bridge once was. FYI whatever problem you may encounter with an acoustic guitar top...I can assure you that plaster is not the answer. The good news is, the top is not cracked.

For some unknown reason, somebody "inlyayed" mother of pearl ovals on the peghead (I say that in quotes because they are half inlayed/half stuck on). At any rate they will have to be removed and filled with wood to match the original. My main concern with this operation is that one of them is very close to the logo. If I damage the logo during the filling process, whatever value the guitar has left will be significantly reduced.

The same hap-hazard inlay artist got hold of the fingerboard. I'll need to remove and fill the strange square-ish inlays and the randomly placed dot at the 7th fret

At some point, a previous owner attempted to remove the original finish from this guitar. They used some sort of stripper, which half worked on the back but ran down the sides of the guitar bubbling the finish badly. Usually, refinishing a valuable vintage guitar is a no-no, but the owner wanted it done. Given the state of this guitar it's probably not a bad idea.

Before I got to work stripping the remaining bits of old finish off I needed to fix this some loose binding. This is the worst of it. The binding has shrunk significantly over the years! Luckily, with some warm air and gentle persuasion I was able to stretch it back into shape and glue it down.

Just a photo of the the neck block. It looks like someone tried to change the model Number at some point. Our best guess is that this is a D-28

I was able to dissolve most of the plaster with some water and some gentle scubbing. In the process I uncovered some places where the top badly torn out. They will need to be patched in if the new bridge has any hope of staying glued on!

Here's a photo of the top after I stripped it. Oh yeah, before any of this stripping started I removed the neck. I forgot to take pictures though...sorry! Part of this restoration includes resetting the neck and installing new frets.

With the neck removed, the binding fixed and the finish stripped. I got to work gluing loose braces. Most of the back braces were loose. The top braces seem to be hanging in there. There are some issues with the bridge plate, which is a piece of hardwood (in this case Maple) on the inside of the top underneath the bridge area. It is badly worn and probably should be replaced. Unfortunately, looks as though someone might have tried to repair it with some sort of epoxy. I'm afraid removing it might cause a lot of damage. I'm still pondering plan B. stay tuned!

With the hide glue pot cooking away for Martin project, I felt like it might be a good time to work on my old Parlor guitar. It only took a few minutes to remove the crumbling top. Here is the body with the top removed.

Here is the inside of the old top. Look how lightly it is braced! It's no wonder it self destructed! That long horizontal piece of wood with the six small holes drilled through it is the bridge plate FYI.

The old top next to the new one. The old top is Adirondack Spruce, but I only had Sitka tops in the shop. I briefly contemplated ordering an Adirondack top but in the end I decided to use Sitka instead. It is a little lighter in color, but it should sound nice!

I did my best to match the rosette with the stuff I had on hand. It's pretty close!

Finally, I made a mold to keep the body in check while the top is removed. I'll need to patch in some of the linings where the old braces were notched in. There are also a couple of loose back braces. Next week I'll get to work bracing the new top, If I have time!

Back in the 21st Century...I sprayed the new 504 Jazz Jr. from the last blog post. The finish is curing and it should be a guitar in a couple of weeks. Here are a couple of photos I snapped before finish.

This guitar will be for sale. If you are interested please shoot me an email. connerguitars@gmail.com

As always, Thanks for reading the blog! P.S. We are in the process of updating the website www.clayconnerguitars.com. Some wacky stuff is going on, and the site has been up and down. Sorry! I hope we'll get it sorted out soon! As always if you have any questions feel free to email me.