1937 Martin 0018 with sunken top

[John McDonald]

A friend dropped by with this old Martin wanting to get a fret dress but as soon as he opened the case it was obvious that this old Martin has more pressing issues. I was able to get some pretty good pictures of all the issues I noticed and wanted to see what you all thought.

I believe the only work the owner has had done in the last few years was to have the bridge and bridgeplate replaced.

I checked for loose braces by both tapping and inspecting inside and the only thing I noticed was that there is a small split in part of the x brace. You should be able to see it in one of the photos. I can't imagine that this little split would contribute much if any to the deformed top, but....

There is also a little surface damage on the scalloped part of the x brace, but it appears to be just a little shallow nick on the surface. I think it looks a bit worse in the picture than it is.

I was planning on rehumidifying for a week or two and seeing how well that does to raise the top and hopefully close up the back center seam as well.

[Mark Pollock]

My opinion of the maple should NOT influence your decision. Titebond? Oh dear. This is an ugly problem to have.

The repairman obviously knew SOMETHING about repairing guitars, but not enough.

Yeah, he should go back to the original guy first and see how he proposes to resolve the problem. Then he should consult with you. This is not a repair to be taken lightly, and the guitar is worth quite a bit, even now, I imagine.

[John McDonald]

Sounds like a good plan. Thanks Mark.

[Paul Verticchio]

After viewing the question & responses for the past few days, I offer (read: highly recommend) a completely different path.

These are the kinds of holy grail instruments that DESERVE to be restored. The guitar is in really good cosmetic shape. Given the fact that this is a CLASSIC, COLLECTIBLE & DESIRABLE PRE-WAR MARTIN, it should be sent to an expert for repair/restoration. This guitar could be restored by a recognized expert and it's value could (most likely, WILL) exceed $10,000.  

I understand that this is a working musician's tool, but it's an instrument worth investing some good $$$ towards restoration. Your customer is really looking at two options:

Fix what's wrong with the instrument and take it on tour where it'll likely end up destroyed. It's too lightly built to survive touring unless it receives special handling care and maintenance....

or

Have it restored and hold onto it as an investment and an at home/studio guitar and and get a $350 "working instrument" for performances.

More and more touring/performing guitarists are leaving their valuable vintage instruments at home for survival reasons and are playing good utility instruments of lesser value.

It's just something to think about.

Best of luck to you & your customer (-:

[John McDonald]

Thanks for your thoughts on this Paul.

I've come to find out that I was mistaken about the owner having had the bridge and bridgeplate replaced somewhat recently. Turns out, he's owned the guitar for about 12 years and has had no work done to it in those 12 years. I guess the previous owner had the work done that resulted in the brace damage.

I've recommended that he take it to a couple of reputable luthiers here in town to get some idea of what it will cost to get this great old guitar healthy and stable again and take it from there.

I also agree with you Paul about recommending that this guitar shouldn't necessarily be taken out on the road too much as it is very lightly built. He does have a couple of other guitars that he travels with that aren't as fragile.

As always, I really appreciate everyone's advice, insight, and opinions.

[Ron frazier]

John
I just read about this Martin guitar and was wondering what you did for it as I have a o 18 1947 with about the same pro
bulms and was thinking of taking off the back and retracing

Robron

[Frank Ford]

Gotta love that built-in spell checker.  "Rebracing" becomes retracing, and refretting becomes regretting!

Lately I've been more inclined to remove tops for restoration because I can introduce a bit of a radius to the top and bracing with fewer complications.  Unfortunately, that means resetting neck, and other potential hazards.

[John McDonald]

After hearing how expensive the work would be, the owner decided to just risk it and play it until.......

[Jeff Highland]

I suspect that once the sinking top was fixed, it would be needing a reset too so a really big job;