Already in great shape before any work was done -- just a couple small holes from a past pickup installation, a couple sections of loose binding, and a healthy amount of finish checking.

Neck was pulled cleanly, but took a lot of patience. The joint wasn't very tight, but the glue did not want to let go.

The original top bracing (solid Spruce top)

And the original back bracing. The back & sides on this one are Mahogany/Maple/Mahogany laminate, and you can see a few small sections where the inner Mahogany layer was delaminating a bit. These will be patched with some Honduran Mahogany.

Filling the holes that were made during the past pickup installation. These will be touched up with a like-colored lacquer later on.

Upper bout braces installed, and test-fitting the X-brace and bridgeplate. The bracing for this was based on a vintage Gibson J-200.

Meticulous adherence to the centerline by some Silvertone factory worker 60+ years ago.

All top braces installed, but not yet voiced.

Another shot of the pre-voiced bracing.

Top & back bracing done -- ready to close the box!

Box closed, and back binding installed and scraped flush.

Dovetail all cleaned up and ready for a neck reset. Surprisingly, the neck angle on this was already almost perfect. The dovetail required quite a bit of shimming though.

Neck reset glued and clamped!

A new straight bridge was made from Indian Rosewood. Here is the first string-up after gluing, before working on the saddle, nut, and fret dressing (didn't get a photo of the refret).

And here we are, essentially all finished up! Now just to compensate the saddle and oil the bridge & fingerboard.

All done! Plays beautifully AND looks good.

A shot of the back + the new Gotoh tuners.

1958/1959 Silvertone 620