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I friend I had done some work for in the past knows I enjoy projects normally relegated to St. Jude. He sent me a 1950's Regal / National resonator. It had been stored in an attic for many years outside the case. The fingerboard has disintegrated, and it has a few side cracks, which I filled. It looks to be Mahogany veneer over plywood. It has two violin style f-holes with darts mid way up the f-hole. I noticed that both f-holes had the dart pointing towards the top upper bout chipped into a semi-circle. I assumed, that someone over the years had dropped something important in the f-hole, and chipped both out, trying to get the important object out. I was wrong. When I took the cone out I noticed the body was stuffed with insulation (I am hoping it was glass not asbestos), which seemed odd, until I noticed the little rodent pellets. It appears this resonator has done double duty over the years as a mouse condo. I gloved up and disinfected the inside and got back to work. It is a long story, but a cute on, and a first for me.
So, I used a half round file to make the gnawed out areas into semicircle in the f-hole, made a biscuit covered with similarly grained veneer, glued it in place, re-carved the darts, and stained it. I think I can even the finish out, by light sanding the top and then doing a few coats of shellac. It looks okay, but if someone looks, they can see the semi-circles. I have been kicking a few ideas around, with the understanding that the effort will far exceed the value, although, what has more blues power than a mouse eaten '50s resonator.
I was thinking about:
1.) painting faux cream binding on the f-holes like '50s to '70s Regal, Stella, and Harmony (It looked like milk paint to me). This would cover most of the repairs and would put a cream contrast to the dark stained mahogany top (the body has real cream binding), making the repair less visible - or -
2.) actually binding the f-holes, thereby replacing most of the repaired veneer - or -
3.) Putting MOP or Abalone around the f-holes - or -
4.)Putting MOP circles on the top around the area of the darts of each f-hole (bling) - or -
4.) Putting a fingerboard on it, stringing it and playing it
5.) Putting cheese and peanut butter in it, then put it in the attic and see if I can rent it out.
I don't think there is a right answer, just a fun project to work on, on a slow day. Does anyone else have a suggestion for what to do?
Regards,
GS
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