What the heck have I been doing all week?

Well, #1, loosing weight.

#2, playing allot of Uke (more than usual. What's up with that?)

#3, hot and heavy into the restoration of an old Gibson Les Paul. I am really happy with how "Hobo Ted" is turning out. This thing is looking SWEET. When I got him, he was a basket case, and looked like he has been on some HARD road tours but strapped to the front bumper of the bus instead of in a case safe inside. I got some before pictures if your interested (but this is a Uke forum after all), but here is Hobo Ted after todays work. Just laid the last of 6 coats of nitro clear lacquer after days of sanding, smoothing, scrubbing, repairing damage etc. Laid some nitro cherry tinted clear over the face of the maple top, leaving the mahogany back clean with the exception of some vintage dark mahogany powder color to bring out some grain. Then. Color sanding, and then 6 coats of clear nitro lacquer. He is looking AWESOME and I can not wait to play him. After the graphics are put back on the repaired headstock (was tricky it being a classic Gibson thing and VERY difficult to get parts being a trade marked thing). Then, all new and upgraded electronics for a deep, warm vintage blues tone, genuine Gibson chrome jewelery and cream colored pick gaurd, pickup bezels and details. But only after a good buff out. A good buff will bring Hobo to a baby butt smooth glass finish. Man, this is gonna be a sweet looking and sounding axe in the next week or so. I'm getting excited, and my daughter is chomping at the bit to get her hands and fingers on Hobo Ted too. He's been a labor of love for sure.

oh wow! that sounds like one fantastic way to spend your time!

Tudorp...are you complaining????? LOL

Not one complaint brother.. Life is good..

Here's Hobo when I first found him stuck in a box of parts from a guy that had it all slated for the dump. The headstock was ruined, and a crack in his neck, and just beat hard, and put up wet. He also had holes drilled in the edge like failed attempts of strap button repairs. Had to find some matching mahogany to plug those holes. Now I can proudly say those are damn near un-detectable. He had what looked like a home depo special finish on him. Botched up, scuffed up and then cheap polly hand brushed on him. It was hell getting him back to where I can bring him back to his former glory. A real bonafide basket case he was. This picture actually looks good compared to what he looked like in person.

WOW that is a big change...I know squat about guitars...I know more about Ukes, but that would still only fill a page..and congrats again on the weight loss...when I'm over this last infection, I'm gonna get on the losing weight wagon!

Aloha Tudorp,
Wow man....You sure brought the Gibson back to his former glory......awesome bro...it sure deserves it..I'd be proud to own that one and say I resurrected it from the dead...
thanks for sharing and pictures....Keep us informed of it's progress...MM Stan..

Thanks.. A couple days ago I was having an internal battle. There are a couple dings, that I could have taken out pretty easy with a soldering iron and wet t-shirt (an old wood working trick to bring dings out). I erased years of abuse, but I have always been an advocate to NOT erase an instrument's history. It was just this thing was not useable in it's condition so after some debate with myself decided to go with a restoration, not a preservation. He was just too far gone to make into a decent guitar. But, me being the hopeless romantic, left a couple dings in the wood to leave a couple marks of it's rough road warrior life past. Each of those dings has a story altho I don't know them specifically. But, he knows them, and some day if I drank enough, maybe he'll tell them to me, hahhah.. But he is looking great, but does have a couple cool "character" scars that I left behind to tell his story. I just couldn't bring myself to erase them all.