No longer available Martin S1 Centennial (modified)

[mineymole]

So I bought this Martin S1 Centennial for a good price from a UU member. The bridge had lifted which I knew when I purchased.

I was able to get the bridge off and decided to re-finish the uke since I do not like the modern Mexican made Martin look. The color of the mahogany IMO is too pink and the fretboard too light. And, as any of you know who have purchased one of these Martins, the fret edges are sharp, the fretboard is sharp and the bottom part of the head where the neck meets is also sharp for comfortable playing. I decided to re-finish the uke with a darker, more vintage looking finish, using Transtint and Tru-oil and buffing with steel wool. I also stained the fretboard a darker tone. I worked on the frets, the sides of the fretboard and the neck to head area so that all of it is ultra smooth and wonderful to play.

And lastly, the Grover tuners that came with the uke seemed overly large and plasticky so I replaced them with the amazing Waverly friction tuners with ebony knobs ($80). So much better. Lighter and easier to work with.

I am super happy with the results. The uke IMO looks much swankier than before and is a joy to play.

It comes with the padded Martin case.

 

[EDW]

Looks nice. Good luck with the sale.

Maybe Martin should send all the S1 ukes to you for finishing!

 

[mineymole]

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

Wow! What a difference! This now looks like a 1920’s Martin! I suggest (and maybe you’ve done this but I overlooked it) that you post a “before and after” to emphasize the astounding difference, apart from much- enhanced playability. GLWS!

If you don’t mind my asking, what method did you decide to use to hold the bridge tight while the glue cured?

 

[kerneltime]

Amazing work! Thank you for salvaging this ukulele

 

[rhiggie]

If you don’t mind my asking, what method did you decide to use to hold the bridge tight while the glue cured?

Ditto!

 

[PatP]

100% improvement. I love this.

 

[mineymole]

Amazing work! Thank you for salvaging this ukulele

It's not perfect but I think it's a lot better!

 

[mineymole]

Here are a few photos from before. I bought from Kernal Time who told me about the bridge. I thought basically I had nothing to lose and just wanted to see if I could make it look more like what I want a new Martin to look like sort of.



bridge lifting

Big ugly plastic grovers - so close together because of the size it's hard to tune.

Sharp sharp sharp frets and ugly light color fretboard (lighter in person)

Sharp at the neck and the nut was really sharp.

 

[mineymole]

Looks nice. Good luck with the sale.

Maybe Martin should send all the S1 ukes to you for finishing!

Well the finish isn't perfect but it definitely has a more vintage feel.

 

[gustophersmob]

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Wow, this looks much better! I'm also curious how you clamped the bridge and what glue you went with.

The second pic in this post makes it look like there's a separation from the back and side. Is that just a weird lighting thing?

 

[mineymole]

Wow, this looks much better! I'm also curious how you clamped the bridge and what glue you went with.

The second pic in this post makes it look like there's a separation from the back and side. Is that just a weird lighting thing?

I used Old Brown Glue - I held with my hands for the first level of setting the bridge, then used a heavy weight on top to set it. Worked great. There is no separation. Probably just a weird shadow from the light on the ukulele.

 

[mineymole]

I can also take the Waverly tuners off and put the Grovers back on - then the uke would be $250 + real shipping cost.

 

[kerneltime]

I can also take the Waverly tuners off and put the Grovers back on - then the uke would be $250 + real shipping cost.

FYI this would mean @mineymole is selling this for what he paid not taking his effort put into it into account. This is very generous!

 

[sbcrikey]

I can also take the Waverly tuners off and put the Grovers back on - then the uke would be $250 + real shipping cost.

oh please don't do that...for the love of God...please no

 

[kerneltime]

How is this still available?!?! One of a hundred ukes, made to look and operator even better than what it was, amazing story to share! It sounds great as well!!