This is a shot of the original instrument in the state that I acquired it. It was in pretty rough shape as you will note in the following photos:
The headstock was in pretty good shape and the tuners were definitely salvageable. At some point in it's history, an attempt was mad to "refinish" with a coat of stain. Obviously, this would have to be removed.
This is one of the reasons why I decided to pursue this projects. The MOTS (Mother of Toilet Seat) fretboard. It was in fair shape and really needed some attention. The pearloid had yellowed over the years and the stenciling was faded and worn.
Here is a detail shot of the lower fretboard. The MOTS is starting to chip away and the last two frets need to be replaced. The rest of the fretboard is in good shape structurally.
The photo above shows the main body of the guitar. It's not too bad, actually. I will need to find a replacement bridge and tailpiece.
This is where most of the work will be happen. The back of the guitar has several long, substantial cracks and have weakened the structure considerably. It was at this point that I realized that I had to decide between fabricating a new back or rebuilding the original.
As if that weren't enough to deal with, there were also some serious separations and wood shrinkage to deal with along the treble and bass lower bout.So, to recap. I want to list the main repairs that need to be made to this fine, little guitar to at least bring it back to a playable state.
1. new nut
2. replace two lowest frets. Level and finish the remaining frets.
3. repair the cracking MOTS fretboard.
4. repair the major cracks on the back
OR
4. Fashion a replacement back.
5. repair the separations in the lower bout.
6. deal with the wood shrinkage
Issues that should be addressed but are mostly aesthetic:
1. Re-finish the guitar
2. Replace or refurb the tuning pegs.
I decided, perhaps against better judgement, to rebuild the original back. I wasn't sure that I would be able to fashion a new back that would even come close to matching the rest of the guitar so I went in this direction.
Here is the back, separated from the body of the guitar. Most of the braces had already come loose so I would have to re-attach or replace them as the case might be. My method for removing a back: I superheat the blunt side of a thin japanese flush cut saw with a heat gun. This allows me to slide the saw through the old glue without cracking the wood or damaging the finish. It works pretty well in most cases. You just have to be really carefull that you dont "scorch" the wood.
The process continues. Stay Tuned...
