Restoring a broken vintage parlour guitar to a wonderful instrument

[@simonmoore568]

You've saved a guitar from being scrapped. Well done Dave.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@PAUL.72]

very beautiful work,,,Excellent restore !!!!!!!!!!!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@robinleebraun7739]

What a beautiful tone. Old wood can't be duplicated. Parlor guitars are all the rage now. Not just a luthier. A magician. Have a wonderful summer.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@mikemarak2613]

Beautiful job Dave, I like how you created a new fingerboard. What a wonderful sounding player!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@bluesmon1329]

Great Job and video, Thank you!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@metriczeppelin]

I guess I spoke too soon, a lovely sound that surprises me somewhat is a very cheerful way. Excellent restore Dave!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@mitzioden4926]

The guitar looks 100 percent better and has a nice tone. You did a wonderful job on it. Looking forward to the next video.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@chiptait]

Dave, your ingenuity is inspiring, and your DIY ethos is second to none! You do great work, especially when inventing your own tools and jigs. Well played, my friend!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@JoshWard-g5i]

I enjoyed this a lot!!!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@SparrowStockwell]

Very nice!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@AaronBegley]

Well done!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@kelalamusic9258]

Wow! Another lovely job. The person who untrusted you with this guitar will be thoroughly pleased. Well done, Dave. 👍

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@jesusgom0245]

Great job!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@carltonmacksam6956]

Better than new! Nicely done!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@mre456]

Really awesome restoration Dave. Enjoyed watching this video.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@edwardpetersen4309]

Great job! Not sure that guitar deserved it, but you made it better than it was even at its birth.

[@DaveDickens]

And that’s the beauty of doing this work and why I love it so much. Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@laurencehastings7473]

Thank you. Well Dave what do I say? I didn't find you but the algorithm did it for me. Nobody but you would have invested all of that time and effort to restore that guitar.I was surprised up until you decided to put on a new fretboard. Then I was astounded! What a transformation. Obviously a labour of love that no luthier could ever afford to accomplish down to making new bridge pins from scratch. You now have at least one new subscriber. Have to go now and check out your other vids.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you and welcome aboard! You may like the nylon guitar restoration I put out a few weeks ago. I do have a habit of making things complicated 😂 cheers Dave

[@paintbox48]

Another great project Dave...welll done.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@Big.E]

Brilliant video 👍

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@tuskedbeast]

Bert Jansch sound at the end :) Lovely to see this Lazarus-like resurrection.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@russellalfonso2962]

Excellent work, a thousand congrats!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@grantkoeller8911]

beautiful guitar

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers

[@niallwhelan2648]

Beautiful work!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@BewareAudioXperiment]

nice work, well done

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@seanjoynt2605]

Good to see you back in the workshop. Looks very nice.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@ukebox00oftheworld63]

I love your videos Dave, nice chill feeling to them. Love from Sweden ❤

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you for your kind words! Cheers Dave

[@andrewmundenandcadfellmast4624]

Good job Dave, it looks and sounds great😊👍🏼

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@psnaith1]

always enjoy your builds, repairs and all the things you do! Cheers! Really looks great!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@JamesMears76]

It turned out really nice, congratulations

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@steveroberts]

Expect nothing else from you Dave. Fabulous

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@JagStar]

Nice one Dave! Sounds amazing.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@pitchforkcustom]

sounds lovely.. really great work dave 👍

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@matiascalafat]

What a nice work!😊

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@randymatheny8621]

Looks good from here

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@mattomon1045]

great repair Dave

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@MyZxcvb12]

You did a good job on that guitar.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@KeenerGuitars]

U do awesome work, now I've mentioned this in the scrapscaster build but just in case u didn't see that comment, u should build an acoustic guitar from scratch ,I would to see and hear it from start to finish I'm sure it would as u say look absolutely smart and sound just as good as it looks,, thanks for all the great videos

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Acoustic could be on the way. Cheers Dave

[@anthonykelly5]

brilliant work that wee beauty never sounded as good.

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@daleskidmore1685]

Ben is just doing a bridge with back angled bridge pins at the moment. Nice job.

[@DaveDickens]

Yes I have been watching him. Thank you! Cheers Dave

[@metriczeppelin]

I am a bit surprised you did not pull all the top braces since so many were loose and rebrace the entire top with a more modern bracing system? Cheers

[@DaveDickens]

Yes I could have gone to town on those top braces but as you say it worked out pretty well. Cheers Dave

[@robertr4193]

I am wondering sense that Guitar does not seem to have a truss rod would it be better to string it with nylon strings and not steel? Really could not tell from the video if you used steel or nylon. But sound wise it sounded like steel.

[@DaveDickens]

To be honest at the time I thought it would have used steel strings because of the pins. I’ve since learned that they used nylon or silk. I fitted very light steel strings and left them for a couple of months with no issues. In fact it was more likely to be used by a young person who would probably prefer the steel. Thank you for your comment I’m always learning. Cheers Dave

[@MayoSham]

I saw a label on the back, I wonder what it said. Did you identify the timber?

[@DaveDickens]

It said it was a Melodija Mendes and I believe these were made in Slovenia in the 50s and 60s. Not sure what the wood is. There is an extended version of this video that I put out last summer and I think I show the label in that. Cheers Dave

[@MayoSham]

@DaveDickens yes I saw that after watching again Dave, great to hear an old instrument speak again. Nice sound.

[@howardcrane5902]

Another amazing example of combining luthiery with wizardry. One question, did you consider adding a truss rod when you had the neck opened up?

[@DaveDickens]

To be honest I didn’t really think about it because I left some of the old fretboard on the neck. In hindsight I should have fitted nylon strings rather than steel. I did check the guitar over a couple of months and the neck remained stable. If you have seen my Autumn guitar video, the neck is made from a standard fence post with no truss rod and although it goes out of tune after a while, the neck is okay. On the other hand I have an oak neck bass with a truss rod that wobbles all the time 🧐 go figure. Thank you for your comment, sorry for the waffle, cheers Dave

[@howardcrane5902]

@@DaveDickens No waffle there. It would have been more work and cost. As it is the result is elegant and in line with the original instrument.

[@davegibbon456]

Very nice work, I have about 18 guitars in my loft that I need to get around to fixing, but before that I need to get a tee shirt like yours for inspiration. I have a "what a difference a Dave makes" one but I think yours is better. would you mind telling me where you got it? TIA Regards, Dave Gibbon.

[@DaveDickens]

Wow that's a lot of guitars! A friend got me the t-shirt but I'm afraid I don't know where she got it, probably off a market stall. Cheers Dave

[@harryebbeson]

Was it because of the back angle of the bridge pins that you did not add a bridge plate? Certainly would string with silk and steel strings . Great video and enjoyed it very much. Wonderful work!!

[@DaveDickens]

Thank you! To be honest at the time I thought these guitars had steel strings. Since then I’ve discovered they would have probably had nylon or silk as you suggest. I used very light strings which shouldn’t cause a problem but I told my friend I will change them if she wants. Cheers Dave

[@ПашаПашенько]

🤘💙👍

[@DaveDickens]

👍

[@KeenerGuitars]

Hey Dave I have something to add to ur Dave doing Dave things shirt,,u should add "only Dave can do,, so u have " Dave doing Dave things only Dave can do"

[@DaveDickens]

😂 cheers Dave

[@gusy04]

yo hubiera desarmado el clavijero nuevo para usar las partes y reconstruir el viejo y asi no cambiar el espacio entre las clavijas

[@DaveDickens]

I did try to use the old tuners with new tuning pegs but they didn’t fit. Great idea though, thank you. 👍

[@andriesscheper2022]

Why not use a router to take a few milimeters off the fretboard?

[@DaveDickens]

I’m personally not a big fan of the router and prefer the control a hand plane gives me in these situations. I know a lot of builders have great success using the router to thin but it’s not for me. A great suggestion though, thank you! Cheers Dave