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  #76  
Old 05-27-2010, 04:52 AM
Fliss Fliss is offline
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Hi MM, I don't know what the angle of the neck is, but thankfully it's fine and doesn't need a reset. Matthew wasn't able to fit me in this week, but I'm hoping to be able to go and see him next week to do the fret crowning and final set up.

Fliss
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  #77  
Old 05-31-2010, 05:08 AM
Haans Haans is offline
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Now that's a nice, old timey lookin' parlor!
Please cut the strings before you poke an eye out!
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  #78  
Old 06-05-2010, 02:35 AM
Fliss Fliss is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Haans View Post
Now that's a nice, old timey lookin' parlor!
Please cut the strings before you poke an eye out!
Don't worry, those strings were only a temporary measure to give me some idea of the set up.

Yesterday, I took the guitar to Matthew's workshop and Matthew crowned and polished the frets for me, cut the nut slots and finished the set up (I did some of the final nut shaping!) and fitted the Thomastik Infield John Pearse Folk strings, so it's now a proper guitar! I've still got the Frensh Polishing to do, but I'm going to live with it for a few weeks and let it settle in before taking the hardware off to do that.

Here are a few pics:







Fliss
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  #79  
Old 06-06-2010, 01:42 PM
Coke_zero Coke_zero is offline
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Going to strip the finish and try French Polishing?
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  #80  
Old 06-07-2010, 07:33 AM
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Kitchen Guitars Kitchen Guitars is offline
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Be careful French Polishing old wood. Cracks happen. I did a bad one on my old Parlor restoration.
Hey! I just scored a solid Mahogany, Spruce topped Bruno'ish Parlor Guitar for $X! All it needs is;
Fix 3 top cracks, pull it apart reattach or make new bracing, fix the crack on the head neck joint, make a new nut and saddle, get the trapeze re-nickled, refret, new tuners are needed, reset the neck..... Easy-peezee

A past owner turned it into a 5 string guitar. They rebuilt the inline tuners. Easy return to 6 string, just interesting. Its had some restoration attempts in the past. I'll post some pictures. I love finding this stuff. By the way, boy does it tap nice. It'll sound great when done.

Last edited by Fliss; 06-07-2010 at 10:53 AM. Reason: AGF rule 2 :)
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  #81  
Old 06-07-2010, 10:54 AM
Fliss Fliss is offline
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Thanks for the tip re French Polishing. I'm not planning to take off the existing finish, I'll just clean it with meths and put a couple of coats of shellac over it, and the same on the top.

Fliss
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  #82  
Old 06-09-2010, 10:05 AM
Megaman Megaman is offline
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Exactly, no need to strip.

Shellac, with some meth, has the ability to fuse or melt into the older top finish...

Good stuff Fliss!

Thomastik Infield John Pearse Folk strings?

I'll have to google that...

I'll be posting some pics soon...

MM
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  #83  
Old 06-09-2010, 01:18 PM
Fliss Fliss is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Megaman View Post
...Thomastik Infield John Pearse Folk strings?

I'll have to google that...
They have the same tension as nylon strings, but a brighter tone, somewhere between nylon and steel strings. At around £10.50 for the set, they're pricier than standard nylon strings, and they're a bit strange at first, because there's very little difference in the thickness of the G and B strings, and the B looks thicker, but they're wound differently. But I'm getting used to them, and I like them on this guitar. I could try silk and steel, but especially after the headstock break, I want to keep the tension as low as possible and these seem like a really good alternative to nylon.

I look forward to seeing pics of your project

Fliss
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  #84  
Old 06-20-2010, 07:09 AM
sam9D sam9D is offline
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Thats a lovely little parlour, in fact it's exactly the type of thing I'm looking for too!

If it's as light as you say it is then that is going to be one noisy, bluesy, twangy little guitar...just as it should be..

Ha.."One Dime Blues" by Blind Lemmon Jefferson would kill on that thing.

Good luck
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  #85  
Old 03-27-2011, 11:36 AM
Fliss Fliss is offline
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I'm reviving this old thread as it's now around nine months since I completed this project - so far as it is complete - but I still haven't done the French polishing, and now I'm wondering whether to do so or just to leave it as it is.

Basically, since stringing it up I've just been playing around with it, enjoying it, lending it to a friend who wanted to have a play on it, and generally giving it time to settle in.

I'm now thinking of taking off the strings and hardware, giving it a clean up (NOT stripping off the finish that's there) and doing the French polishing. However... I kind of like it as it is, warts and all. It's never going to look perfect or like a brand new guitar. I'm concerned that if I polish it, I'll somehow lose the character that it has.

I'd like to ask for your opinions please. What do you think, should I French polish it, or just keep it as is?

Fliss
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  #86  
Old 03-27-2011, 03:39 PM
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Kitchen Guitars Kitchen Guitars is offline
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Hey Fliss! I'd clean it up and spot shellac any open damage and play her. Sanding down and French Polish is a TON of work. As I said before, the pressure I use on a new guitar cracked a nice old one. Likely the result will look nice but not much different. Take those 40 hours of shoulder/chest/hand pain and write a song about it
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  #87  
Old 03-28-2011, 08:31 AM
Corky Long Corky Long is offline
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Default sweet little parlor

I'm far from an expert, and know very little about German guitars, but I'd be surprised if that weren't a lot older than 1950. What makes you think 1950? Are there any labels or makers marks on it?

Last edited by Corky Long; 03-28-2011 at 03:52 PM.
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  #88  
Old 03-29-2011, 01:27 PM
Fliss Fliss is offline
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Thanks guys Corky, the date estimate came from the seller originally, but a couple of other people have backed it up based on the type of finish.

Fliss
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