Official Luthiers Forum!

Todd,

You may be aware of this site, here's a link to lots of information on prewar Martins.
http://home.provide.net/~cfh/martin.html

I do a fair amount of this type of reproduction work and duplicating every detail is pretty difficult. It helps to have the originals in hand and that's almost never possible. For a style 28 rosette aka 5-9-5, here's what I use. BWBWB (.050) BWB (.030) .040 ivoroid .020 B .040 ivoroid BWB (.030) BWBWB (.050). The W indicates maple and the B is black dyed maple.This pattern hasn't changed in over 125 years. The only thing that's really changed is the .040 material, that went from ivory to ivoroid, I think sometime in the 1910's or thereabouts. For a time the rosette ivoroid was cut on the bias, but by the 40's, they had stopped doing that.

The tail wedge trim for that era, I'm less sure of. On some earlier style 28's, I've seen .010W.030B with the black against the ivoroid wedge. Later models seem to have BWB with .010/.020/.010. If you look at actual examples, they very often look like thay are dyed light brown and I can't tell if they were actually dyed or just discolored due to age. Little details like that drive me crazy.

You're right about the herringbone. The herringbone used during that era is bolder than the fine and finer than the bold that's available today. To my eye, the bold looks much better.

There are lots of little details, and you just have to resign yourself to doing the best you can do with the information and the materials that are currently available. You can probably find the t-bar stock if you look hard enough. I'd suggest the UMGF (Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum) as a place to get lots of these type questions answered. Lots of really knowledgeable people over there who have access to some of these great old guitars.

Good luck and have fun.

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Jimmy Caldwell
http://www.caldwellguitars.com

sorry, double post

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Jimmy Caldwell
http://www.caldwellguitars.com

I have some of the older bias cut ivroid rosette material

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Martin sells the D-28 rosette on their site- click on kits& parts from the main menu. The also sell ivoroid nitrocellulose binding without the Hazmat fee.

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It's not the miles ahead, it's the stone in your shoe


In Markham,Virginia

Todd: John Arnold at the UMGF if you have not talked to him yet. Very knowledgeable about older Martins.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

what Martin sell is the modern not the vintage. Todd is looking to find old style material for a vintage build. Older Martins had specific specs that are different than todays . Rosettes changed as did the binding . On older herringbone , it was different from todays counterpart.
Those of us the do vintage spec builds will spend a considerable amount of time finding the parts . That is part of the challenge.

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it