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A patient of mine brought in a guitar to show me. It was her grandfather's guitar. Her dad was born in 1912 and remembers his dad playing it at a very early age. She had told me that she'd like to get it fixed, but that she is concerned about just handing it to someone to fix, as it has great sentimental value to her.

She brought it in yesterday, and the only camera I had was my phone, so I have taken some photos of it, but I need to figure how to get them from there to here. It is a George Washburn Style 102. It is a very small bodied, short scale guitar. The bridge has lifted, and the soundboard is cracked and well as lifting a bit from the side on the lower bout. It is also missing a couple of the bridge pins. Of the strings remaining two are nylon and three are wound steel. A bit of research confirmed that George Washburn was the businessman who gave his name to the guitar company, now known as Washburn.

I myself do not want to do the repairs. I'm confident in my skill to glue the bridge, but the other repairs are out of my comfort zone at this time, on a guitar this old with this much sentimental value. So to you repair guys, how much would these repairs generally cost to do, so I can let her know? That may be a deal breaker. I don't think she really is prepared for how much it may cost, but then again, I may be underestimating the monetary value that her sentiments may be willing to accomodate.

I realize that it would depend on what you see, to give a good estimate, and I am trying to get the pictures up.

Secondly, due to her fear of this guitar being mishandled and or lost, she is leery of sending it away, so do you know of a good, trustworthy repair guy in Northern Calif? We are about 3 hours north of S.F. Bay Area.

Ok...got the picture of the lifted bridge, but for some reason I didnt take pictures of the cracks or the separation of the lower bout from the sides. There is not a lot of separation of the cracks and the edge to edge alignment looks pretty good. The side/top separation has lifted a little, maybe just over a milimeter or so.

Darrin

Darrin,

There would be no way to give an estimate without examining the instrument, but it wouldn't surprise me if it came to $200 or more. Two reputable shops I know of in the BA, though it's been a while since I lived down there. John Mello is in Kensington, just north of Berkeley and there's Gryphon in Palo Alto. Neither will be cheap, but they'll do the instrument justice. I expect there might be a repair person closer, with the concentration of builders in and around Healdsburg.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Seeing what I see in the photo ther is likely some bridge plate damage as well that may need addresing. If the the bridge plate is OK I would charge pretty close to $150 + shipping depending on the finish situation. However I to would not give a quote prior to seeing the instrument.

Thank you guys for your replies. No worries about the ball park numbers. I'm not holding anyone to these estimates, I just want to give her a heads up, kinda put her in the right state of mind to what she may be looking at. With that in mind Michael, would that $150 be just for addressing the bridge? I would imagine so. The quality of work you guys do is incredible and you deserved to be justly compensated.

Thank you again.

Darrin

That price would be for relocating and regluing the bridge, touch up finish around the bridge if needed (likely will need to be touched up) and a set-up check-up. if new saddle or set-up work is needed that is an add on but that not much. this all assumes the bridge is OK. which it appears to be.

I would add a bunch to that estimate for all the various cracks and issues that old guitars are likely to have. If the bridge got to that condition without being addressed, it is likely that there are other problems (besides a tweaked bridge plate) that have not been identified yet. The neck, for instance, is likely to need a reset, and all the little cracks, seam separations and loose braces will add up also.

I say $500 - $1500, the higher end being if the top or back need to come off. It could very well be lower, but i would prepare her for a big bill. Old washburns are nice, and it is probably worth it to fix.

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

Thank you guys for your help. I'll let her know the ranges she's lookin at and give her the info that it likely is going to bea lot more involved than surface appearances. If you have any other recommendations for guys on the west coast of the US...that would be greatly appreciated too. I will hopefully be going to Healdsburg so I may get to meet someone.

Thank you all so much.

Darrin

Frank Ford at Gryphon is your man. He would give you an honest appraisal and does efficient, sound repairs. I'd take a look at it if you are anywhere near Ukiah.

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