Historic Nunes Soprano Ukulele.
This little guy was in rough shape, but the potential was stunning!
Multiple cracks throughout the top. Non original bridge removed, revealing more damage.
Father and son together again.
The process of cleaning many years of debris begins.
There was early speculation that this might have been the first Hawaiian uke to use a superficial fingerboard.
An inquiry to the side of the neck offered up some curious details. Clearly a second piece of Koa beneath the top fingerboard.
Then I noticed these two very small indentations below the second layer of Koa. Could they be old fret slots?
Indeed!
The real restoration begins. The person that added the fingerboard, likely in the 30s or 40s had scored the top when preparing for glue, this would be a challenge to make disappear.
Overview of the damage.
Lining up the plates in preparation for glueing.