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I just won an auction for a basket case '61 Epiphone Cabellero, essentially an LG-0. The neck and sides seem intact. The back looks repairable. The top looks like it will have to be replaced. It's pretty smashed up with pieces missing.















This will be a new adventure (I've built one OM kit and am working on #2 & 3. I used to work in a repair shop repairing cracks, bridge resets.)

The top will certainly have to come off. I won't be able to determine if the back needs to come off for repair until I get inside.


Would you recommend I put the body in a form to maintain its shape if I only take the top off? If I need to take both the top and the back off?

What is the radius of the top?

Although I'm tempted to convert to a spruce x braced top (ala L-00, or LG-2) I think I'll keep it mahogany ladder braced. Any recommendations for best source for a new mahogany top?

Is that a laminate top? I don't mean to sound like a solid-wood snob but I'm not sure if I'd bother with it unless it has sentimental value. If its solid, you'll still need a new top or spend lots of time patching it
Call Stew Mac, LMI or Hibdon Hardwood for a price on a top only.

You won't need a mold if you do a retop like this:

http://www.grevenguitars.com/retopping-demo.html

The back definitely looks repairable. Leave the back on. Repairing basket cases is good practice.

Thanks guys.

I'm doing it entirely for practice/ learning. I'll get to do a neck reset, and a bunch of other stuff in the process. That Greven tutorial is fantastic. Perhaps that is the route I'll take.

I'm pretty sure it's a solid mahogany top. It's a Kalamazoo Gibson plant Epi, the same as a '61 LG-O.

You'll probably be able to avoid a neck removal. Just slip the top slightly when it's retopped. FB needs to come off though, obviously.

If it were mine, I'd rebrace it X pattern and use a mahogany top. Depends on your playing style and preference though.

Have you played an LG0 from that era? It's a matter of taste,I guess, but to my ear, it's a lifeless, restricted sound. Yet, the sound of all-mahogany guitars that are X-braced can be really good. If you replace the top, what collector value the guitar has (currently, not a lot) would be compromised anyway. I'm with Greg; if it were mine, I'd re-top with mahogany but X-brace. You'd have the original look with a much better sound. This approach is restoring it not to what it was, but to what it should have been.

_________________
Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."