Now here's a project. Not a mando but cool anyway.

[Vernon Hughes]

A buddy of mine kept telling me about this old gibson guitar in his barn. He finally brought it to me.It's a wreck but it'll be a good learning experience for me..I can't hurt it!

[Nelson Peddycoart]

Hi,

What year do you think it might be? It has to be a teen or 190x if not earlier.

I really would love to see this project as you go. This sort of restoration work interests me. Do you have a website, or will you post to the Cafe?

Thanks,
Nelson

[Rob Grant]

Bloody beauty! A dedicated restoration "wetdream." Excellent photos.

I think you'll have your work cut out for you, but it looks like an exciting project. Be sure to keep us up to date on your progress.

[Marty Jacobson]

Style Oh Yeah. It actually is possible to make it worse, but hey, you got no skin in the game.

[Vernon Hughes]

It's a 1918 style O from what I can determine from the peghead inlay..I'm going to document it in photos as I go and post here-it will be a lengthy project..As usual,any and all advice is graciously welcomed..I'm undertaking this because my buddy has been a bandmate for more than 30 years off and on and is a really great friend to boot. He seems to think it's too far gone but I disagree..The neck is solid,good and straight,sides are unbroken, though distorted somewhat,and the back parts are all there..The top is the worst part but repairable- I believe..I just want to challenge myself and see if I can get it back to playable shape and finished as close to what it originally was. I have lots of other projects going on along with working for a living plus it's been in the barn for years so time spent isn't a problem.I'm doing it only for my personal satisfaction,no other benefit other than to see it play again.

[cobraman428]

At least it wasn't beat up with a fireplace poker (like Monroe's F5). This should be a nice piece when completed. Keep us up to date on the progress Vernon. Certain you'll put it back good as new.

[Bernie Daniel]

What a great project! Looks like maybe a small piece of the top is missing? But I am betting that you can fix this up just great. The back wood must be birch?

[Michael Lewis]

You might look closely at the neck block for any ink stamped numbers. They often become faded even in a reasonably well cared for instrument, so don't be surprised if you can't see them. Also look at the inside surfaces of the sides, as sometimes FON (factory order numbers) were stamped there. Another possibility is finding a serial number where the label belongs, as they were hand written inside the back and later the label was applied over the number.

Visit the Mandolin Archive for detail pics from instruments of the period, and avail yourself to the Spann's Guide to Gibson for more well researched information to really identify the year, and a whole lot of other stuff.

[j. condino]

You might look closely at the neck block for any ink stamped numbers. They often become faded even in a reasonably well cared for instrument, so don't be surprised if you can't see them. Also look at the inside surfaces of the sides, as sometimes FON (factory order numbers) were stamped there. Another possibility is finding a serial number where the label belongs, as they were hand written inside the back and later the label was applied over the number.

If you can't see these in regular light, look at the instrument under a black light and they'll likely show up. Infrared photography will also pick up details that were long ago lost to the regular spectrum.

You've got a lot of work ahead of you. At first look, I thought it was a Katrina or Nashville flood victim; a lot of those are turning up around here in similar condition.

j.
www.condino.com

[Vernon Hughes]

I've already searched it over for any FON or serial numbers..nothing..The unreadable label is intact but too fragile to try and lift, I know they usually pencil the number under the label most times.Most all the research i've done points it to 1918..

[AlanN]

Good luck with that, Vernon, will be a challenge. Did your pal play on Encore?

[Vernon Hughes]

Nope..it was the band after that..and the band after that..and the band now..

[jim simpson]

Always loved this design, looks like a challenging project (hopefully fun too).

[belbein]

OMG what an incredible mess. The state of that poor thing made me feel better about the junk I've got hanging around my workbench waiting for me to "fix" them.

Good luck. It'll be beautiful when you finish.

[Jim Garber]

Wonderful and good luck, Vernon. Does it say Gibson on the headstock. I did a quick search and there were some that just had the fleur-de-lis and no Gibson inlaid. Sort of odd, but that is Gibson.

[Dobe]

Back's pretty, wonder if that light stripe across the waist was a strap of some sort.

[Vernon Hughes]

No gibson on the peghead,just the fleur-de-lis..the stripe across the back came from vintage black cloth electrical tape that was holding the back on.It is a good looking back piece.

[sprucetop1]

A buddy of mine kept telling me about this old gibson guitar in his barn. He finally brought it to me.It's a wreck but it'll be a good learning experience for me..I can't hurt it!

Any update yet vhughes? Looks like a really fascinating project and I'm looking forward to more pix as the job progresses.......John

[pfox14]

WOW! That's going to be one challenging resto project. I almost got a Style "O" Artist that needed total restoration, but the deal fell through. This is one of those Gibson designs that really stands out from the crowd. Love that guitar. I believe the Style O was Gibson's first 15-fret archtop and possibly the 1st 15-fret archtop guitar ever made.

Best of luck with all the work.

Here's how it appeared in Gibson's 1918 Catalog K

95615

[Vernon Hughes]

I'm just getting some other projects out of the way and finishing setting up my new shop..Hope to start tackling this beast shortly after Christmas..It'll be a slow process but i'll document it in pics and post here as it progresses.

[Jim Garber]

These guitars are cool but the necks are huge. You have to work out in order to play one. :)

[theCOOP]

Nice project. There are other repairs/pics online dealing with missing wood like you seem to have on the top.

Now where is that pesky subscribe button? (found it, subscribed)

[calgary.fiddler]

Sure was a beautiful guitar back in 1918, hopefully it will be again!

[hank]

I hate to be a nay sayer here but how do these busted up reglued shards and pieces realistically produce good tone or is the goal mostly cosmetic with any tone just a lucky plus if it happens. How did Mr. Bills F5 sound after it's assembly of splinters compared to it before it's destruction. Rumor has it sounding great but I'm still skeptical. I really have trouble believing these glued fragments can be made sonically as resonate as unglued whole wood. The glued wood even if the parts fit together well would tend to take on the attributes of glue in the inevitable voids between the glued pieces. My hat is off to you for your effort but will the end results at best will bragging rights for a nice looking, ok sounding instrument with a very diminished value in comparison to other Gibson style O's. I guess I need to play one of these restored like this to over come my negativity toward these noble efforts to bring them back.

[Bill Snyder]

Would you just have them tossed into the fireplace?
Sorry, that sounds a bit argumentative but I think restoration is preferable to the alternative.

[hank]

Sorry Bill, just trying to light a fire under the realistic expectations of these kind of projects with a bit of the devils advocate.