1930's May Bell Archtop Guitar Rebuild

This old May Bell archtop was headed for the trash. Someone found it at a garage sale, dragged it into the shop, and there it sat—beat up, dried out, and forgotten. I eventually took it on as a personal project just to see what I could make of it. No rules, no deadlines—just a chance to learn something and turn a junker into something fun.

The bracing on the back had come completely unglued, so first step was cutting off the back and re-gluing everything properly. That led to a neck reset, new binding, and a full refret with an experimental 7 ¼” to 14” compound radius—because hey, why not? Now it plays cowboy chords at the nut and shreds like a beast up high.

I finished it in a rockabilly-style relic job, added a Bigsby for that classic wobble, and wired it up with a single TV Jones pickup and one volume pot—simple and mean. Tossed in a custom pickguard, capped the headstock, and for good measure, slapped on an old Gibson waterslide decal I had lying around (yeah, probably not legal, but it’s not for sale, so calm down).

This May Bell Archtop Guitar Rebuild turned into one of those weird builds that somehow ends up becoming a shop favorite. It’s loud, vibey, and totally unique. Still hanging around the shop—and probably will be for years.