A largish project has landed in the workshop recently that I thought might make an interesting thread. It would also help me solicit opinions and advice as I proceed
On the bench is a Martin OMC-28E that suffered partial immersion in some recent flooding we experienced in these parts.
This was out on a stand and, according to the owner, was immersed about 1/3 of the way up the body before it was rescued.
The back binding and purf is off completely. The back is loose from upper bout to tail block on both sides - it’s still attached at tail block and neck block. There’s damage to the kerfing.
Also, the finish on the back is … not great…
There’s also a significant crack at the Center strip. This is because:
The two lower back braces are off altogether, as is some of the center reinforcement. The other two back braces are 85% loose and barely hanging on.
The neck is and fingerboard are in good order, geometrically speaking. The neck finish, however…
The heel cap has also fallen off at some point and was lost. There’s what appears to be mold spores blooming under the peghead finish too.
The soundboard bracing appears to still be well adhered to the soundboard. The soundboard finish is also in ok shape, except in the area of the binding, which is loose.
Finally, due to the loose back and bulging sides, the neck angle has collapsed:
So I’m looking at bracing and crack repair, regluing the back, rebinding, the likelihood of a partial refin and, assuming returning the back/sides to their correct location doesn’t greatly improve neck angle, a neck set and associated fretwork.
This will be a slow, long-term project that I squeeze in around the regular flow of jobs in my shop. I’ll try to post updates as regularly as I can.
To kick things off, since the back binding is toast and the back itself is 80% loose, I’m considering whether I should just remove the back altogether to facilitate repairs inside the box. I welcome your advice and input!
