Old Guitar Restoration

This old parlor guitar came in needing a lot of tlc.. Fortunately the internal bars and bracing were not loose. However, the frets were badly uneven, popping up in places, and totally unsecured. They had to be refitted, leveled, smoothed and evened – all that with old fashioned strip metal wire! The body and neck required various gluing and securing, before being lightly sanded and refinished, and some missing shell decorations were made and inlaid. The varnishing was done with traditional French polish, in keeping with the period – both for the look and the acoustic properties it imparts. Finally, the tuners were reconditioned to be usable, and light tension strings fitted. The resultant instrument played well and sounded as sweet and mellow as would be expected from such an old guitar.