c.1920 Oscar Schmidt Taropatch Part Two

Update 2014: I used to think this was koa wood when I first posted but it's obvious that it's mahogany!

Well, here's part two: this taropatch is not quite finished yet, but I've done a lot so far: closed the big side crack, removed all of the spray paint splatter that was everywhere, removed loads of scuffs, reslotted the broken bridge slots so the uke can be restrung, reshaped the nut and saddle (both bone I believe), polished up the frets and reseated a few, conditioned the fretboard, and installed new Grover tuners. This has two sets of Martin fluorocarbons on it at the moment, in unison tuning, which gives a mandolinish-mixed-with-uke flavor to the tone.

Back is looking better, too. I'm letting the uke warm up to being under tension again, and after a few days, if all looks good and if it seems I will not need to reglue the bridge, I'll take the strings and tuners off, do a final cleaning, and then apply a very thin coat or two of varnish to spruce the uke up and seal some hairline dryness cracks that are here and there on the top and back.

This taro feels almost like you're holding a baritone or tenor uke considering the extra-wide body and lengthy headstock. The heavier-than-uke bracing also adds to the overall heftiness.

Headstock with new tuners.

Rosewood fretboard and nickel-silver frets are looking nicer!

Here's my rather inelegant (but far better than bridge replacement) solution to the broken bridge string slots. I've simply cut slots a little farther back and hollowed out holes under them for the knots on the strings to reside in.

Here's where the crack was worst, with a missing section of mahogany: this fill repair is simply over the splintered mahogany that remains, so it's perfectly stable, and when it has some luster with a new coat of varnish, will blend much more nicely.

And here's the crack on the lower bout. I've stabilized this crack inside as well, and the taro's solidly strong once again.