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1890 Martin restoration
I recently had an old Martin guitar come into the shop for some work. It appears this is a model 2 from 1890. It was strung with steel strings which is way too much tension for this little guy. Maybe...
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more 1890 pics and specs
I have been receiving a lot of emails with questions about the 1890 Martin I am restoring. Here is some more info and pics. The x brace is 6.68mm wide and the highest point at the x is 9.75mm The top...
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French polish
I have been applying a French polish finish to the Brazilian rosewood classical I am building. I work on it when I can between students coming to my shop to build and restoration work on the 1890...
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another one done
A student from Canada showed up on Monday with this guitar partially done. After some cracked knuckles and a few swear words it is ready for strings first thing in the morning.
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another one gets strings
This guitar was being built by a student of mine for one of his friends. It had been on his bench for a long time and when he showed up at my shop on Monday of this week it was only partially complete...
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More finishing
This week has been dedicated to finishing on 5 different guitars, 3 classicals and 2 electrics. I feel like I need to put my arm on ice after all of the French polishing I have been doing! The two...
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High gloss lacquer
This afternoon I leveled and buffed one of my student’s guitar. He built this with me recently and left it for me to finish for him. I think the lacquer finish turned out awesome! Just look at the silk...
View Article1890 Martin Guitar Restored at O’Brien Guitars
For the past several months I have been restoring an 1890 Martin parlor guitar. The stress level has been a bit higher than normal during this project. I have made a small video that explains some...
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Another classical class is finished
For the past 6 days I have had a student in my shop from New Mexico. We built a beautiful classical guitar and this thing is a winner. We put the strings on this morning and Holy cow!! This guitar I...
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Healdsburg Guitar Festival
The Healdsburg Guitar festival is fast approaching. This is an event that happens every other year and attracts a select number of builder from around the world. Once again this year I have been...
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