[oldduc]

The early Washburns with the ladder bracing for the top were not made to be used with steel strings. They were strictly gut (nylon) string guitars. The tension of silk and steels is still too much in my experience. I have 1898, 1900, and 1906 models. I took the 1898 apart and replaced the ladder bracing with X bracing, and put a now top on the 1900, so that they would support steel strings. The 1906 had the top replaced before I bought it. There are really two options if you want the guitar to survive steel stings. You can put a tailpiece on the body and use the bridge like a "floating" bridge (glued, or not) or you can replace the bracing inside the body. Replacing the bracing will require that the top, or the back, be removed. They pretty much all require a neck reset, also. On my 1900, the top was trashed so I removed and replaced it. The 1898 had a really nice top, so I removed the cracked backed and repaired and replaced it after X bracing the top. 120 year old wood is difficult to work with and unless you are a somewhat skilled luthier, your best (and cheapest) bet might be to leave it alone and get another guitar.