Beware ! You're in Kamikazie here. Not many pro luthiers around, more often brave souls experimenting in their kitchen.Silvertone 615 restore project - by George
(At the end of this page, another project, a Silvertone made in Italy (non Harmony).)
George Martin : I'm sending some photos, of a butchered guitar, a Silvertone with a Harmony serial number (4373H615). I attempted to clean up & make presentable/playable.
It was more difficult as someone inexperienced went out of control, with the wrong glues.
Sanded old glues off & continued brace work
Clean up & begin back brace setting
Sub assembly process : Begin gluing & clamping tops & tuners clean up
Continued gluing & clamping, a few inches at a time
Slowly coming together... Inch by inch... matching top & back to side edges
Basic Assembly near finish. Assembled & drying a few days
Touch up finishing and setbacks. Not going so well, but closure is near, this repair was plagued with 5 setbacks for every single forward move...trying to seal/stain, the water damaged crack on the back lower bout
The finish never will look 100%... Finishing is an art in itself, this will never match the manufacturers appearance, but it will have to do, at least that large crack, is closed & water damaged area reinforced
Back from the lost ! I had to make an alternative bridge, to make playable & strung up salvage, took way more time than it's value, i'd imagine, but all this was done, inch by inch, hour by hour, to save a part of the past
Up next, a tortured little Silvertone made in Italy...
Crushed in bridge, caved in top, brace separation, & top literally peeled back...
Italian Silvertone in progress... While the top has been already peeled back, time to reinforce the bridge area & re-glue all separated braces...
final gluing & clamping of the this very nice abused little Italian made guitar :
George Martin, Pennsauken, New Jersey
february 2008
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