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Well I have been asked to " see what I can do" with a vintage 1950 D-28. It belongs to the heir of the last owner from his estate. The new owner does not play but has very strong sentimental attachment. I say this to preface the pictures I am going to show you. The instrument has " been rode hard and put away wet" and it shows. I am requesting advice regarding where to begin and any advice that others might be willing to share on restoration. I have extensive experience in vintage piano restoration (30+ years, PTG registered craftsman). I have been utilizing this experience for the last few years in repairing other stringed instruments and building. I will post pictures and let others evaluate.

The neck and headstock, while worn are in good shape. I found no external structural issues with the sides and back. However you can see from the pictures the top is in great need. The top has positive crown behind the bridge and negative in front. I have yet to get a good look inside to inspect the bracing but suspect glue joint and bridge plate failures. The pick guard is puckered from heat and removal may present its own challenge. As might be expected, and visible from the pictures, the bridge has come loose at some point and the repair attempted was, shall we say, less than stellar.

I welcome advice. This is a long term process as the owner has told me to keep it as long as needed. I have an active bench so this will get work as I am free.

Thank you all so much.

Hi Kenneth,

From what I see in the pictures and what you discribed, it's hard to tell if the guitar needs anything more than a (proper) bridge reglue (and potential brace reglue). Yes, the guitar looks a bit like a beater, but it is more than 60 years old after all. You are talking about "positive crown" and "negative crown", now I'm not sure what that means, but if you are talking about the top bellying behind the bridge and caving in in front, that is normal (to a certain extent). If a brace or two are unglued, then of course you may have extensive top deformation, but regluing those braces should fix the problem.

The main thing you left out of your description: how's the action? Is it playable? If so, just do as little as possible to make it playable.

Oh, and don't try to fix any issue you may see with the finish. That would make it's resale value drop considerably.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Hey Ken,

As you know, I have zero experience with vintage Martin repair so I won't offer any advice there. That said, it doesn't look too bad from the pictures. Have you strung it up to see how high the action is (keep in mind it is not a reso )? It looks well used, most of the damage is what I would call mojo. Hopefully a proper bridge re-glue is all it will need. Worst case, even if it needs brace repair and a neck re-set you will get good advice here. I would bring it to the show in May and let Michael Boggerman look at it in person too.

One thing that might be helpful to those who can offer actual advice, what are the owners expectations? If he is not a player, are his wishes to make it look nice again? Hopefully not. Or, is he wanting it to be playable for someone else? I would try and talk him out of covering up the miles his loved one put on this instrument.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I'm certainly no expert, but maybe a good starting point is to properly glue the bridge, string it up and put it in the case with a humidifier for a couple of weeks. The dip in front of the bridge may disappear.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

Wish I could look at some larger pics. The pick guard could be the cause of the some of the cracks I think I see on the treble side, if not it may well cause the next one. While heat may have helped it warp, they are celluloid and shrink all on their own. They were glued to bare wood and finished over, when they shrink they usually split the top. That should be pulled, the wood sealed underneath and then re-glued. A bridge removal may or may not be needed, if it is sound and you can not improve the job cosmetically maybe you should consider leaving well enough alone.The cracks in the top should be repaired and cleated. One of the shots has me concerned that the lower part of the bass side X brace may be cracked, seems to be a large bubble over it. That would allow a lot of bridge rotation as well. A thorough check inside the box would be in order before I would string it and bring it up to pitch.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I didn't notice the cracks at first. Indeed they should be repaired. And yes, tell us more once you have taken the time to look inside.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Thanks to all of you. I appreciate the input and plan to do thorough internal inspection in the coming weeks. Regarding the - + crown comment, you must forgive my use of piano technical jargon. A piano soundboard is crowned in like manner to a guitar, senza the intricate bracing process. When the board is crowned properly it is positive and when no crown is present it becomes flat and negative. However, a piano is not effected as severely by the string stress as a guitar.

Concerning the action, the neck is definitely in need of a reset. When I played it the sound was good but weak in the bass. I was also concerned with some intonation issues and wonder how much the misaligned bridge is effecting that. It could be that a good reset is all that is needed to help with tuning.

The owner is really unclear what they want done. I have been given permission to get the instrument in playable condition. If there are bracing and crack problems they will likely need to be address for this to happen. I am happy for the advice on the visual condition of the top. In piano restoration, refinishing the sound board would enhance value. In reality, the confirmation that any working of the surface condition might diminish the value was considered and I think the only thing that should be touched is the pick guard. I am quite familiar with plastic shrinkage. Just after the war, a few piano companies experimented with plastic parts. However in there chemical mix the hardener never became inactive. After 30 to 40 years, the process had continued to such an extreme that the part literally imploded leaving a small pile of white dust in the area of the part. I looked like something out of a Star Trek episode I once saw. Interesting and funny at the same time. However not nearly as funny to the customer who had to pay for the replacement.

Thanks again and I will keep you updated as things develop

A lot of the repair issues are covered at http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/pagelist.html.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com