Advice on rebuild of old Mexican Gitirron

[Frank Piez]

Hi,

New member but old timer. 

I recently acquired and old Mexican guitarron that is labeled Jacinto Lemus Reyes that is in pretty bad shape but I would like to try to restore it if possible to play or just hang on the wall.  I am seeking help in obtaining material for the rebuild. The fabricator has a web site WWW.casalemus.com and I will attempt to correspond with them.  In the meantime if anyone can give me some help or information on obtaining the material or parts for the rebuils of the guitarron that I need  I would appreciate it.  I am mainly looking for: Binding, the inlaid corner trim at the very edges of the instrument body or neck.; Purfling, the decorative inlay around the instrument just "inboard" from the edge.\; Kerfing the lining made with saw cuts for easy installation; Rosette, the decorative inlay around the circular soundhole, and set of Turning Machines. I would also appreciate any advice from anyone out there that would help me.

Thanks

 

Frank

[Paul Verticchio]

http://www.stewmac.com/

http://www.lmii.com/

Start with these two "industry standard" suppliers.  I can only presume that a guitarron is made from the same materials as a standard acoustic guitar. LMII especially will have most of, if not everything, you need. They're both superb and trustworthy suppliers with top quality offerings.

I encourage you to decide early on if you want a playable instrument or a decoration for your wall.  The level of work and $$$ involved to make it playable will most certainly eclipse the effort it'll take to make it "just look good".

We're a curious lot, so, if possible, a picture of the instrument would be great. We too love to expand our knowledge(:

Best of luck Frank & WELCOME to the forum(-:

[Frank Piez]

Hi Paul

Thank you for your response.  I will  post pictures very soon and keep you updated on my decisions and progress. 

Frank

[Paul Hostetter]

Guitarrónes are typically made with a cedro body and neck, and the face is made from tacote. Cedro (AKA Spanish cedar) is easy to find, but tacote is really tough unless you know people in the Mexican instrument-making world. 

Lemus is in Paracho, and will likely be your best source for pretty much everything. They can ship UPS from Paracho now. 

The original tuners are friction pegs, which need to be trued and fitted, which requires special tools. Otherwise, many players use typical R+L Fender bass machines. I've done that conversion many times. 

[Frank Piez]

Hi Paul

Another Paul to offer me advice and help.  Thank you very much for the response.  It is very helpful.  I truly appreciate it.  As I told the other Paul, I will keep the you all informed as I progress. 

Sincerely

Frank