Need help identifying an old family guitar.

[maxtheaxe]

Just for the heck of it, I Googled "Hayden parlor guitar" and found one that sold on Reverb 4 years ago. Looks like you have a nice little guitar there, worth fixing...

https://reverb.com/item/289942-circa...ilian-rosewood

[Laurael]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to share your knowledge on this guitar! I appreciate rhe insites tou have given me. And I look forward to getting this repaired and playing again.

[Wade Hampton]

A quick glance at the strings shows that the seller has it strung with nylon strings:

˙˙˙

Since that particular guitar is from 1900, it was almost certainly intended for gut strings, not steel. I don't know if the guitar that Laurael has is as old, but if Mr. Hayden started teaching in the 1860's. it seems likely.

Once again, be certain what it's braced for before you string it up.


whm

[Parlorman]

Larsons from that era were usually strung with metal strings.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by ragincajun

Can someone explain to an ignorant person like me as to why the sides seem to have a joint of 2 differing shades of wood? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.

That is the natural colouring of the wood, separated by a dark grain line, characteristic of Brazilian rosewood, often called spider webbing.

Oddly enough, there are few good pictures that a quick internet search revealed. Here is a "not particularly nice" example:



Cocobolo, also a rosewood, can also have similar grain, also not one of the nicer examples:



Ziricote often has a spider web grain and this is a nice example, though I'm not fond of the light-coloured sapwood:

[ragincajun]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

That is the natural colouring of the wood, separated by a dark grain line, characteristic of Brazilian rosewood, often called spider webbing.

That makes sense. Sometimes I forget that guitars are made of organic materials that can vary so much. Thanks for the info!

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by ragincajun

Sometimes I forget that guitars are made of organic materials that can vary so much.

That's the beauty of working with wood, that no two pieces are identical, some of which are quite spectacular.

[Lkristians]

You know, scrolling through this post, it's heartwarming to see all the thoughtful responses and contributions to fellow members. I'm proud to be one. Nicely done, all!
Larry K.