I have an old classical guitar that I'm considering converting to a Tenor. The guitar was one of my parents and has no real value and essentially has sit in a closet untouched for years. I have become more interested in Tenor Guitar lately and thought it might be a fun task to restore this old junker as a tenor, not only to satisfy me desire to try out a TG, but also to take a leap into luthiery, which I've been hoping to do for some time now.
What I foresee doing is:
1. Slimming down the neck. I'm not sure what the exact nut width is, but I know its fat and I'd like it slimmer.
2. Replacing the nut, bridge and saddle. the bridge will probably have to be something custom.
3. Refinish the whole shebang.
My questions are:
1. Any recommendations on how to slim down the neck without butchering it completely? Will I need to remove the frets and end up refretting it too? I would consider replacing the neck, but I am under the impression that Classical Guitar necks are not necessarily removable.
2. What is the best way to remove the old bridge?... I have been watching a lot of YT how to's on making a classical guitar bridge, so I have a good grasp on that (I think).
3. Recommendations on finish? Someone once told me that Waterlox was a decent finish for instruments and I have a fair amount left over from a recent project... thoughts?
As stated, this guitar is not of any real value and is probably upwards of 50-60 yrs old, but I thought this might be a fun project. So while I would like it to be successful, failure would only lose me time and minor expense.
I am in the middle of finishing up a big home improvement project so it may be a little bit yet before I get to this, but I am in the research phase and would appreciate any input you guys have.
Thanks in advance.
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