Model 50
RESONATOR TENOR GUITAR
WORKPAGE
11-12
Info on Dobro Guitars
http://www.vintageguitar.com/1799/vintage-dobros/
http://home.provide.net/~cfh/dobro.html
From what I can glean from other sites on the web, the Model 50 is shrouded in the same mysteries of the rest of Dobro wooden body guitars of this era.
My friend Mike Cass, an authority on the subject stated this:
the 1929 to 1937 serial number info is not very accurate.
It applies mostly to wooden body resonator Dobro guitars
There are very few references that I have found so far on the Tenor Guitar by Dobro.
National , that is another story and it was manufactured in fairly large numbers as a metal body .
But when you get into their wooden body tenors you find that they are very rare, but I think not as rare as this Dobro brand TG.
Anyone is welcome to chime in and help properly describe this instrument
ARRIVAL PICS
By 1933 Dobro moved the screws positioning to
aid
Luthiers by opening a coverplate without removing the
tailpiece.
Double bound body
Bound fingerboard
Dual Screen style
Notice it is 21 fret, and marked in an old way after 12
16 - 18 and 20
Celluloid overlay long gone
I can recreate this in some manner and try to obtain a decal
from
Dobro
Home made top plate, no spider and cone
NOTE:
The Tenors are regular
guitar
sized bodies with Mandolin sized resonator parts so to
understand its coverplate,
one must go to the Dobro Resonator Mandolins for that
pattern, this threw
me off for a few minutes.
To me the pic below leaves little doubt as to is claim
of
it being an actual Dobro brand Tenor Guitar
EXAMPLE Mandolin
FROM WEB
ARRIVAL - REPAIRS
Removing the non original friction tuners.
I will go back with period Grover 2:1 geared tuners like it
originally
had on it.
The only designation is
a "J"
and no number in the proper area
Mike Cass says this
designates"Canada
Export" and the USA version would have a number after the
letter.
Thanks Mike
All is tight on the inside
I will need all of the "Guts" for it
Spider bridge and cone and any hardware it may require
I will work on the body, seal a crack up and go from there
while
the parts are on order.
After sealing the finish with Tung oil, it was machine buffed
and
waxed
What is nice is that Dobro had a radiused board, unlike
National
Board is oiled and polished and frets are polished
All metal polished, body triple waxed
I need a little celluloid for the peghead, Im almost out :)
This is from a 30s Dining table, nice tight color pattern
After trimout, I mounted it back to the peghead and drilled
for
the Grovers
Filling and dyeing old Grover holes for this pattern hole
Ready to go
Now to wait on parts while I study up on the setup procedure,
I'll
need some tricks others have already found.
Now when my DOBRO water slide decal
comes
in, I'll install it and it will look spiffy
Matching Heel cap installed
It will be a really nice little guitar, Im glad I took it on
Cone-Spider
Allen Guitars
#14 Spider
Quarterman cone
Also since these are made for high action slide Dobros, the
saddle
channel is way too tall, I will reduce its topside to a level
I feel will
work
Final adjustments on spider
Maple bridge with ebony insert created and radiused
A little more load on the cone and I'll put on the coverplate
TRUSS ROD
Since the heat press was ineffectual, I have taken the high
road
and will add a carbon fiber truss
Fingerboard removal went well
The fingerboard extension is held to the body in a similar way
to National
They have 4 screws that are under 4 dot inlays on the
fingerboard
But the center inlay doesn't have a screw but you don't know
until
you look so I replaced it
Truss cavity cut, carbon fiber rod embedded and sealed into
place
Sanded smooth, ready to install fingerboard
Glued and clamped under heat, 48 hours
Ready to shave heel to get some neck angle, and lower the
action
Thats after the cutback, ever so slight but not its good to
go on
action
Rubbing some Tung in to hide the edge
That's alot better, now
it is
slick and low with the radius fingerboard actually working
4/32, and easy to go higher now if wanted but it plays
great
here too.
Winner
Now I will get it into the hands of a man
that can
get some recordings of it playing in all styles
This is much sweeter in tone than any metal
body resonator
and better than my old wooden bodied national tenor.
Thanks for looking,Vinnie
2014
YOUTUBE of this instrument