Kay Classic K7010 Relic

[erikzen]

Last night I pulled out some old guitars out of the attic from my grandfather's "collection". Grandpa liked to tinker and build things and built at least 2 guitars. He also had this guitar which is marked as a Kay Classic Model K7010. Given Grandpa's propensity to tinker I'm not 100% sure if this is original or some kind of Frankentar.


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Obviously this needs to be restrung and cleaned up. I'm not sure what else can be done although tone and intonation don't seem to be too bad.

Here are some more photos:


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I'd like to try my hand at restoring this guitar. What do you think?

[auriemma]

Wow... now thats a RELIC!

When I got my beat up old ~50s Old Kraftsman, I asked my tech (who is a great vintage restorer) that same question. He said clean it up, make it playable and enjoy it. His advice was based or reselling it. There is some resale value, but not much. So thats what I'm doing. I am making some minor cosmetic repairs, but not very much.

That being said... if you are solid at woodworking and refinishing, have at it! Otherwise, make her playable and enjoy!

[VintAxe]

Hi erikzen.

Actually your 7010 isn't as old as it looks, they were built between 1960-65. I'm afraid the heat and cold of the attic has aged the finish on your guitar beyond it's years.

It was sold as the Maestro model and was a step above the budget model in the line of three classical guitars offered by Kay in this period. Original selling price was $65.

[erikzen]

I have no intention of reselling this guitar and don't think it has any significant resale value. I've seen a couple of K7010s online in much better condition that barely fetched $100.

My initial thought is to work on the neck if only because the checked and flaked off finish doesn't feel good in the hand. I was thinking of sanding off the remaining finish or use some kind of solvent and then refinish it and possibly replace the machine heads. Would I need to remove the neck?

My interest is in learning more about guitars and finishes. I don't put any significant sentimental value on this guitar either so I'm not afraid of screwing up. I think this could be an interesting project and if I don't screw it up too badly I'll have a neat old guitar. If I do screw it up, at least I will have learned something.

[erikzen]

Thanks for the additional info VintAxe. I figured it was early '60s.

Notice the finger board. Do you see how the wood for the first 5 frets is lighter than the rest? It looks like someone took a rough file and scraped it for some reason. Are finger boards generally stained? Any recommendations on how to "restore" at least the look? I imagine the best way would be to sand the whole thing and apply a stain to the raw wood.

This will definitely take some research. If anyone has any books or links related to guitar refinishing, feel free to post.

[VintAxe]

Hi erikzen.

I agree with you that no harm can occur here. If you want to practice your skills I say go for it. Sanding to bare wood and starting over again sounds like a reasonable strategy to me. Fingerboards on " decent" guitars are made of rosewood or better yet ebony. I have a hunch the fretboard on this Kay was made of softer wood and then stained to resemble rosewood. This would explain the file marks. The softer wood would have worn in the "cowboy chord" positions and someone may have attempted to file out the divots. There is lots of good restoration advise on the internet so if you are looking for direction I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding it.

good luck with the project,

sb