The Scroll Shop (Ed of H's Shop Thread)

[pauldo]

Really like that Man and Dog figurine.

[growlypants]

VERY nice... Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[David Houck]

   Nice work!

When I read "the push-stick is in my mouth", not yet having seen the picture, I thought you were holding the stick in your mouth to push the wood through the band saw; which was a bit difficult to picture in my head.

[lbpesq]

Cool!

Bill, tgo

[cozmik_cowboy]

Way cool!

Peter

[KR]

Nicely done!

[edwardofhuncote]

Thanks fellas... the Ol' Man was pretty tickled with his present, and already made a place for it on his desk. I may make some more sets another time.

I'm back to work on string-ed things this morning. First up; a classical guitar with a chunk missing from the side of the lower bout, and then a mandolin I have to fit a new floating bridge to the top. I need more coffee.

[KR]

Greg, next you need to make a gone fishin' sign. So much for retiring lol

[edwardofhuncote]

I went to the Roanoke County Administration Building yesterday and applied for a business license for the Scroll Shop. The Planning Office (upstairs from Comm. of Revenue) approved it quickly. There wasn't much traffic in there on New Year's Eve. They will file the paperwork tomorrow. I may eventually file with the State Corporation Commission as an LLC, but for now I'm operating my little business as a sole proprietorship. Let's see if I can keep from wrecking the train.

I did stop and pick up some more work from Fret Mill Music... enough to keep me busy into next week. A banjo to install a 5th string tuner on, an Aria 12-string guitar with several issues, and an antique Slingerland tenor banjo for a new head and setup. Aside from work for the store, I already had a 70's Martin D-18 on the bench for frets and setup, an Asian upright bass for minor repair, (looked like a .22 bullet hole... but no exit hole?) and an 'estate' fiddle that I got instructions to "just get it playable". Honestly, I think the case may be more interesting than the fiddle. It's definitely older than the fiddle is. The fiddle is kinda' strange too... it's pretty well-made, post-war German factory. (note the label identifies as Western Germany) At glance, a violin shop notices a one-piece back on a fiddle quickly, because they are typically a bookmatched piece of flamed maple, this one looked like a one-piece, but on a very close inspection of the edges here, you can see it has a laminated back. It's three ply, with maple inside and out. I've seen laminated construction fiddles before, but I just wouldn't have expected that on this quality instrument. [shrug] 

You just never know what's going to walk in here. Hopefully it'll be enough work to keep the lights on.

[pauldo]

Love that case.

[edwardofhuncote]

Here's a project I took in that'll be a real test. The store took it in as-is, and I gotta' get it playable and saleable. She's a pretty sad case right now, but this is a completely restorable guitar. Due to the various damage (and random acts of red-neckery) it has little to no value as a collectors guitar anymore, but it's a guitar player's dream. 1950-51 Gibson, most likely J-45. (remotely possible it was a J-50, but I don't think so) The factory order number is very close to my '51 LG-2, but a bit earlier. I haven't checked the books yet. Everything else checks out, so I'm pretty confident about what she is... or was.

Most of the repairs here are pretty straightforward. As bad as it looks, it really isn't... most importantly, it's all there. Almost every brace in the guitar is either completely loose or sprung. The top has a center seam separation, and a long split down the bass side. Both of these are very clean and should go back together nicely once properly humidified. There's another crack beside the fingerboard running out to the soundhole, typical to Gibson guitars. That'll get fixed too. Additionally, the headstock is cracked behind the nut, but it's very clean and looks fresh... I don't even think it will show once finished. Amazingly, the sides and back are intact and healthy, not a single crack anywhere in them.

Then there's the obvious; the guitar is about 95% stripped. It looks like someone gave up trying to get the chocolate brown off the sides down around the tail-end. So it'll need some finish. I'm pretty sure this one had a dark sunburst going by the overspray on the X-braces at the soundhole. (which is also why I assume this is a 45 and not a 50...) The good news, it doesn't appear to have been sanded, so I think just chemically stripped and scraped. I don't think it's bridge has ever been off.

The first major thing I'll probably do is carefully disassemble this guitar, taking the back off to re-build it's insides. I'll ask my buddy Ward for some coaching, but this project is something I wanted to do... if only to test myself. I only hope I don't get too attached to it once it's done!

For now, it's sealed in a plastic bag with a handful of humidifier boxes. I'll look at it again in a week or so. Here's some before pics.

[edwardofhuncote]

Couple more pics... showing some of the issues to be addressed.

[kilowatt]

Looking forward to seeing this rehabilitation project take shape. Love to see the progress shots, as you break down the damage, and how you'll repair it. It may not end up as a collectable piece, but if it can be made playable, I would think that's more desirable around here. Keep the pictures coming, and enjoy the process!

[cozmik_cowboy]

Gee, a Gibson with a headstock break - now there's a shocker.......
Might I posit a couple of queries?1) What's with the half-circles on the bridge wings?  Are those breaks?2) Is the headplate present?  If not, someone in the builders' subforum on mylespaul.com could no doubt point at a source for one, logo 7 all.
Peter

[David Houck]

That is some project!  I have a couple questions in response to "it has little to no value as a collectors guitar anymore, but it's a guitar player's dream."

1 - what makes this guitar a guitar player's dream?

2 - and (if you don't want to address this question that's completely understandable) given that it has no value as a collector's guitar anymore, will the shop still be able to sell it at a profit with what they will have in it after they've paid you for all that labor?