All together now

The new pickguard looks good.

The whole guitar looks good.

And it sounds amazing.

It Plays

I've been playing the guitar this weekend, and despite the fact that the nut is sitting on a shim that's too tall, while the original saddle is sitting on a shim that still makes it too low, let me just say this: Holy *&%$^@!#!

This old beast sounds like a canyon. It's got sweetness, depth, tone, range, balance, and that dry woody thing I can never explain, but only recognize when I hear it. This guitar sounds way better than I expected it to, and far better than I can describe.

It plays.

Now for a little set-up work, and then the installation of the pickguard. I kind of like the old one, that came with the guitar, but the concensus around the house is that it looks like an old telephone receiver. I have a new 'guard that looks pretty cool on there. It is a nice one, and looks pretty correct for this vintage of a Martin guitar. I guess I will listen to the critics on this one.

Neck ON

We glued the neck back on today. It's a guitar again. Now, it'll need some set-up work, and the guitar will play music once more.  What will it sound like?

Top patch redux

The top patch that Todd convinced me to re-do, looks really good. Todd helped mightily, with the binding as well as the tinting of the very, very white patch. Thanks Todd. Numerous layers of French Polish have been applied.

Bridge work

Last night the bridge was reattached to the top of the guitar. Chisel made a nice clamping caul and I mixed up a fresh batch of hide glue. It seemed about as perfect as glue can be. I left the bridge clamped overnight, and all today. Overkill perhaps.