My SO and I visit a local flea market frequently and a few months (July 2023) back I saw this beautiful but beat up little 3/4 guitar. I’d be talking about re-learning how to play (I used to when I was a teen) and this one spoke to me.
She was unplayable as is. Her bridge glue must have died, so someone ran a few screws through the bridge to reattach it, and when that inevitably failed they’d screwed something else in of which there is nothing left but more holes, and when that failed had attached a surface bridge…that was now also broken. There were so many holes, and chips, and her head pins were coming out, and, and, and
It was less that she spoke to me, and more that she cried out in pain!
Many many sandings, and experiments with woods to make a bridge (zebra wood though gorgeous is too soft), and failures in gluing…
I chose to leave her finish both matte, and a little (visually) rough (to the touch she’s smooth as butter), in homage to the life she lived. The layered yang is mahogany. The bridge and eye (which holds a pick) is purpleheart. The saddle is bone. All the wood is 1/16". The yang is 2 layers, and the bridge is 4. Did I mention so much sanding?
You did a great job on this! Love that you gave the poor thing a second life! Looking at all the pics, it truly is a work of art. Thanks for sharing this with us.
I got tired of having to move Purpleheart around, and I wanted to keep her close to my desk (where the music lives) so I built one of the Personalized Guitar Hooks that I’d designed for my sister for her I did the same inlayed purpleheart round with a pick w/ my fret on it as the personalization!
She’s now less than 2’ away from me, and yet no longer in the way at all!
Love it! I think it’s kinda funny that you made one for your sister, but not one for yourself! And now you have Purpleheart close at hand and can pick her up when you need to take a break!
I did the same inlayed purpleheart round with a pick w/ my fret on it as the personalization!
