1890 Martin restoration

[Robbie O'Brien]

I recently had an old Martin guitar come into the shop for some work. With John Hall's help we were able to determine that this is a model 2 from 1890. It was strung with steel strings which is way too much tension for this little guy. Maybe that is why the left part of the x brace was completely broken in half. Someone has tried to repair it but improperly. With John's help we determined that to do it right the back needed to be removed so that we could get inside the guitar. The bindings, tuner knobs, heel and end caps and rosette rings are ivory. The bridge pins appear to be plastic, , not original. The back and sides are Brazilian rosewood and the top spruce. On a scale of 1 to 10 the pucker factor was a good solid 12 as I removed the back. It took me at least 2 hours to remove it. Care was taken to keep the ivory bindings and the dark/light back purfling veneers intact. Now that the back is off I can get into the restoration of the braces.

[ozziebluesman]

Thanks Robbie. I almost had a tear in my eye reading this post. It would have been very special to be able to bring back to life such a truly vintage instrument.

Cheers

Alan

[Kamusur]

Great work Robbie, but hell what about the Patina on the inside? ,, its a 12 out of 10 as well.

Steve.

[Crafty Fox]

Beautiful, can I have it?

[n~dl]

Thanks for sharing this! I have a record of American Civil War music played on a model 2 (one that's probably 35 years or so older) and I've always wondered what an x-ray if the thing would reveal. If anyone wants an idea of how this guitar might sound, track this guy down if you can find it:

[Allen]

What sort of strings did you go with now Robbie?

[tippie53]

glad I could be an advisor Robbie and I often help each other. I have a guitar from 1857 that I had to do about the same thing. Robbie did a fine job of displaying the project and his craftsmanship is impeccable .

[ozziebluesman]

bump...

G'day Robbie,

I like to know what strings are you using on the guitar?

Cheers

Alan

[tippie53]

I can't answer for Robbie but I suggest silk and steel unless you can find real gut strings .

[willcall]

Here's a song about Martin

He was born in the woods
Torn from his home.
Well, he was naked,
And destined
To be out on his own.
And he waited in darkness,
Hoping someone might see,
From something so rough,
What a treasure he'd be.

Stronger than steel and wood.
Seen me through the bad and good.
And when I'm hanging by a string,
Every little thing
Is understood
Between Martin and me.

He's hollow in the middle
From the shape that he's in.
He's either filled up with music
Or locked in his shell again.
And it takes some fine tuning
To make him come around,
But he's a huge piece of me
And I'll never put him down.

Stronger than steel and wood.
Seen me through the bad and good.
And when I'm hanging by a string,
Every little thing
Is understood
Between Martin and me.

He is a good friend,
And he has his own voice.
And you get what you give,
Sometimes it's just noise.
But if you treat him well
He will last your life long.
And if you're honest and open
Well, he will write you a song.
(Write you a song, write you a song)

Stronger than steel and wood.
Seen me through the bad and good.
And when I'm hanging by a string,
Every little thing
Is understood
And when I'm hanging by a string,
Every little thing
Is understood
Between Martin and me.

-Zac Brown-