Basically a 000-17 clone, this all mahogany Harmony needed a complete restoration. We removed the neck, bridge, and fretboard to begin the process. The loose fitting steel truss bar was removed and replaced with a 1/4" X 1/2" carbon fiber bar to reduce weight and add greater stiffness.
The neck pocket was in nice shape. Obvious in this picture is the poor job done at the factory in removing the finish under the fretboard extension. This was corrected during the reset.
The neck dovetail was obviously a loose fit to begin with as evidenced by the excess glue, however the wood itself was quite sound.
The original steel bar reinforcement was structurally useless. The mortise was perfect, after a cleaning, to mount two 1/4" X 1/4" stacked carbon fiber bars, set in epoxy. 1000 times stiffer and a fraction of the weight. The Brazilian rosewood fretboard was treated to a trueing, refret, and oiling.
Neck reset and cleaning up the black headplate.
So much character in this old box.
Finished guitar after making the new bridge and adding a new waterslide decal to the headstock. Had an amazingly sweet tone for a ladder braced guitar. Likely thanks to some very old wood.