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This came in to the shop this weekend. Customer wants it put back in playing condition. I tried to talk him out of it but he insisted it was a great guitar so who am I to argue! What you see is what I got. I'm pretty sure it's an LG. FON number indicates it's a 1952. Fortunately, I have about 6 months to complete.Attachment 331847Attachment 331848Attachment 331849Attachment 331850
How is the soundboard braced< Simple "ladder" style bracing like on the back?
I once rebuilt a Martin D28 that was backed over by a car. Got it looking very good! Brazilian rosewood is so variegated it can be patched up with stick shellac nearly invisible!
There is no top. What you see in the photos is all I have. I need to research the Gibson LG series to determine bracing pattern, sound hole diameter, rosette, bridge, etc. Some of the LG's had a spruce top,some were all mahogany and some were a red spruce top.
The back, sides and neck are all mahogany.
My preliminary plan is for new top, back and fingerboard. As you will note in the photo the FB tongue is missing and it's highly unlikely I have any rosewood to match well enough but I do have some Brazilian fingerboard blanks.
jim,I used to frequent a music shop in Smithfield,back when I was in the collecting craze. The owner died from cancer and they auctioned everything off. I was not there(probably much to the relief of Jim Merrill(sp?) the guitar maker there. I guess he got all the rosewood they had stored somewhere. Totally illegal now,what a bummer!
Anyway,Gibson used to advertise they used COFFEE WOOD for fingerboards. I never have located any,or found out what it is(haven't bothered to do much research).
I knew Bill Colgan and Jim. I was at the auction and did acquire a lot of parts as well as some rough rosewood but mostly suitable for fingerboards and bridges. Don't know what happened to the good stuff. As for coffee wood the only thing I can tell you is that it is domestic but in limited supply. Reportedly looks like ash or oak and fairly easy to work. Apparently mostly used in furniture.
As for this guitar I am going to try to salvage the back rather than replace. Still trying to find bracing pattern.