1940 Washburn Archtop Restoration
Posted: Sat May 11, 2019 9:28 am
The sheriff of one of the counties here in WV contacted me about taking a look at an old Washburn archtop. As it turns out, his grandfather bought it back in 1940. About 20 years ago, it was dropped squarely on the tail pin, causing some pretty bad damage.
The damage was repaired by his brother-in-law. The guitar cracked up both sides from the tail pin, and also broke into pieces in the lower back bout, which were pieced back together. There were 3 cracks extending up the top from the bottom. I found 2 new cracks, which are caused from the fingerboard.
I used an endoscope and took a look at the inside, and I'm glad I did. I found the tailblock cracked clean through from the fall.
Initially, this started out as a finish clean up; his brother-in-law stripped the guitar and did a sort of "burst" with what I assume were locally found wood stains from the local big box store. The sheriff was hoping that I could finish it with the original tobacco sunburst.
I downloaded a couple of reference photos to give me an idea of how it should look. I do not have experience in bursting guitars, a fact I made clear to him. I'm a veteran, and I reach out to other vets, so my name is circulated. I'm also an ex-police officer. So, I'm very happy to help this gentleman, who is also a vet.
My first order of business was dealing with that cracked tailblock. I didn't want to dismantle the guitar. I have a limited amount of time to work, because he and his family are going to Japan for a couple of years, because he's going to be working as a civilian with the Marines.
I decided to glue a piece of 1/8" thick Honduran hog, the same size as the tailblock, with the grain going perpendicular to the tailblock, on the inside. Then I would wick CA glue into the crack from the tail pin hole and exterior crack, using a pipette. The trick was getting a piece of mahogany in just the right position, through an "f" hole.
I guess the tail pin was glued in, because it broke off, so I drilled a very small hole through it. I needed 2 holes in order to ensure that my repair piece be in the exact position that I needed. One of the holes left by the metal trapeze was in about the right position. I had to drill the hole all the way through the tailblock.
I made sure to drill 2 holes that matched up precisely with the 2 holes in the tailblock. I used 2 guitar strings, with the grommets to the inside of the guitar. My problem was finding those 2 holes in the tailblock with only an "f" hole to work with, so I used 2 more strings, which I put through the holes in the tailblock. My endoscope has a small magnetic tip, which I put through the "f" hole to pick up the end of the strings. I twisted the appropriate strings together, which when pulled in unison, pulled the repair mahogany piece into place on the tailblock.
The dry run went off without a hitch. I was able to pull the repair piece precisely into place. It fit perfectly. I did it twice. So, I buttered the face of the repair piece and pulled it into place.
Naturally, it got wedged between 2 braces. I like to have never gotten it loose. I tugged and pushed with the strings and it wouldn't budge. I finally picked up the guitar, turned it neck down, and gave it a good whack. It dislodged. I was able to pull it into place, with the glue still wet. But for some reason, it's not "perfectly" straight with the block. It's a tiny bit crooked. It doesn't affect the repair and the only way you can see it is with an endoscope, but it bugs me.
I did the tobacco burst the best I could to match the original Washburn photos. I used aniline dye. I've pore filled and I'm in the process of finishing. I'm still seeing a lot of pores, so I may need to do more pore filling.⁸
The damage was repaired by his brother-in-law. The guitar cracked up both sides from the tail pin, and also broke into pieces in the lower back bout, which were pieced back together. There were 3 cracks extending up the top from the bottom. I found 2 new cracks, which are caused from the fingerboard.
I used an endoscope and took a look at the inside, and I'm glad I did. I found the tailblock cracked clean through from the fall.
Initially, this started out as a finish clean up; his brother-in-law stripped the guitar and did a sort of "burst" with what I assume were locally found wood stains from the local big box store. The sheriff was hoping that I could finish it with the original tobacco sunburst.
I downloaded a couple of reference photos to give me an idea of how it should look. I do not have experience in bursting guitars, a fact I made clear to him. I'm a veteran, and I reach out to other vets, so my name is circulated. I'm also an ex-police officer. So, I'm very happy to help this gentleman, who is also a vet.
My first order of business was dealing with that cracked tailblock. I didn't want to dismantle the guitar. I have a limited amount of time to work, because he and his family are going to Japan for a couple of years, because he's going to be working as a civilian with the Marines.
I decided to glue a piece of 1/8" thick Honduran hog, the same size as the tailblock, with the grain going perpendicular to the tailblock, on the inside. Then I would wick CA glue into the crack from the tail pin hole and exterior crack, using a pipette. The trick was getting a piece of mahogany in just the right position, through an "f" hole.
I guess the tail pin was glued in, because it broke off, so I drilled a very small hole through it. I needed 2 holes in order to ensure that my repair piece be in the exact position that I needed. One of the holes left by the metal trapeze was in about the right position. I had to drill the hole all the way through the tailblock.
I made sure to drill 2 holes that matched up precisely with the 2 holes in the tailblock. I used 2 guitar strings, with the grommets to the inside of the guitar. My problem was finding those 2 holes in the tailblock with only an "f" hole to work with, so I used 2 more strings, which I put through the holes in the tailblock. My endoscope has a small magnetic tip, which I put through the "f" hole to pick up the end of the strings. I twisted the appropriate strings together, which when pulled in unison, pulled the repair mahogany piece into place on the tailblock.
The dry run went off without a hitch. I was able to pull the repair piece precisely into place. It fit perfectly. I did it twice. So, I buttered the face of the repair piece and pulled it into place.
Naturally, it got wedged between 2 braces. I like to have never gotten it loose. I tugged and pushed with the strings and it wouldn't budge. I finally picked up the guitar, turned it neck down, and gave it a good whack. It dislodged. I was able to pull it into place, with the glue still wet. But for some reason, it's not "perfectly" straight with the block. It's a tiny bit crooked. It doesn't affect the repair and the only way you can see it is with an endoscope, but it bugs me.
I did the tobacco burst the best I could to match the original Washburn photos. I used aniline dye. I've pore filled and I'm in the process of finishing. I'm still seeing a lot of pores, so I may need to do more pore filling.⁸