Vintage Gibson Tal Farlow Just Acquired: Needs Work!

[Scott Memmer]

I'm new here.  Thanks for this great forum.  

Today was an amazing day.  I was able to acquire a vintage Tal Farlow archtop for a very reasonable price.  The guy had it sitting in the corner of his living room for 35 years (!) and never learned to play it!  Very nice married couple, guitar was not hot or stolen.

There was some confusion on a few other forums whether this was a Super 400 or a Farlow, but the consensus seems to be on the Tal Farlow model.  

It has a damaged headstock that will obviously require major surgery.  I came to this forum partly because I was referred over to Frank by George Gruhn.  I live in L.A., so it wouldn't be a horrible drive up to Gryphon in Palo Alto.

I'm going to attempt to imbed some pics directly into post, but in case I fail in that attempt here is a direct link to the 48 pics in a Photobucket album.  (It's called a Super 400 in album, and I can't get Photobucket to change the album name):

Vintage Tal Farlow Photobucket Album

I look forward to comments and suggestions.  I tend to do a lot of research before I move forward in a situation like this.  My goal is to restore this instrument as much as possible to its original factory condition and then find a great home for it.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Ned Knepp]

Hi Scott. This is a very nice find. 

I'm am a  hobbyist with quite a bit of "hobbyist" experience. If this were mine, I don't think I would attempt to make this repair. On a lesser guitar I wouldn't hesitate but insuring that this repair is strong enough to last and, possibly even more difficult, getting the finish touch up right isn't going to be easy. It probably won't be cheap either but the guitar should be worth it.  

Along those lines. I know it's hard to have something like this without using it or doing SOMETHING with it but I wouldn't worry about polishing it until the repair is complete. 

[Scott Memmer]

Ned, thanks very much for your response.  I'm in total agreement with you.  There's no way I would attempt a repair like this.  I'm far too much of a novice.

[Scott Memmer]

To the Moderator:

Can I ask why my images were removed?  Did I violate the board policy in some way?  This certainly was not my intention.  

Thank You. 

[Ned Knepp]

Some of our residents on this forum are in the LA area. I've look at several blogs/ sites that show some very good work. Unfortunately I can't remember which are down here (So. Cal.) so I can't name names, so to speak. I know it's not "done" but maybe one or two will speak up and give you a location so you can take a look at them.

The error that's showing up on your pictures seems to indicate that the issue is that the location of the pictures has changed. Did you link them or did you upload them?

[Scott Memmer]

Ned, thanks, no biggie on the pics.  Being new, I didn't want to violate any policies unintentially.  Maybe they just removed them to save memory.

I've already talked to two pretty good guys here locally.  There's an EXCELLENT operation called Lay's Guitars in Akron, Ohio, near where I grew up.

[Frank Ford]

No, your photos were not removed!   Since they are linked to your Photobucket account, maybe you changed something there.  The Photobucket link you provided still works, so folks can see the photos there.