I went to an estate sale today. The now deceased home owner was an inlay specialist for Gibson when they were in Kalamazoo. I was not able to go on the first day yesterday, but made it today. Lots of fretboard, and acoustic tops. The one picture is the stack of tops that the estate company had not matched up yet. Tons of equipment, pin router, duplicator, sanders. None of the equipment was for sale yet. Tons of Gibson memorabilia. I bought a nice slotted and radiused black Ebony fretboard for $10. I will take pics of my purchases tomorrow.
Estate Sale
- Thread starter 1bad914
- Start date
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SnidelyWhiplash
Poster Extraordinaire
One can find great deals at estate auctions. Someone who's spent a lifetime accumulating a ton of stuff. Can be a pain for those left behind. 
Somehow my father got his hands on some rejects or scraps from the Gibson plant here in Nashville and made this hearth out of them for his gas log fireplace.
There are quite a few of these hidden treasures around Kalamazoo. Why she would have brought home that many tops boggles my mind. The estate guy said she used them for backing for inlays. Glued the inkay material to a chunk of Sitka and ran it through a thickness sander. She did not make guitars, just did inlays. I guess she did it for Heritage guitars also.
jondoesmith
TDPRI Member
All this Michigan talk reminds me of the good ole days when I lived in Battle Creek. Saw SRV play in Comstock two days before he died and I used to buy my homebrewing supplies from a dude in Comstock, MI named Larry Bell, who also had a small brewery he had just started.
Southern Michigan is way cool. "watcha doin' this weekend? Goin' upnorth?"
Southern Michigan is way cool. "watcha doin' this weekend? Goin' upnorth?"
I was born in Battle Creek. Lol
I am in the same situation. My kids will just sell it all.
Here is the $10 fretboard. It has no brown streaking at all. Just about solid black. The tops look rough, but are both very stiff and have decent grain. I paid $7.50 for one and $10 for the other. I may go back tomorrow for more. It is an addiction. These items are all from the 90’s. Old stuff.
erix
Tele-Holic
If I still lived in Kalamazoo I would have been there with a fat wallet and an empty trunk! So bummed I missed this!
ElvisNixon
Tele-Afflicted
Estate sales are fantastic. My friend was an estate sale stalker and called me in the mid nineties from an estate sale near Bakersfield and told me that he found 2 Fender guitars that looked new.
After talking with the old gentleman who owned them and was getting ready to go into the old folks home, I made a deal with him and his kids.
He only played them in church on Sundays. A 1952 Tele and a 1955 Strat. My buddy paid the nice folks and sent them to me in DC. Still have them…
After talking with the old gentleman who owned them and was getting ready to go into the old folks home, I made a deal with him and his kids.
He only played them in church on Sundays. A 1952 Tele and a 1955 Strat. My buddy paid the nice folks and sent them to me in DC. Still have them…
archtop_fjk
Tele-Afflicted
Wow! I could never buy a vintage guitar at a yard/estate sale knowing what it’s worth but paying well under the market price. But if I ever come across an old Gretsch in disrepair…
