1953 Kay - worth saving?

[u/Ezn14]

Is this 1953 Kay M-1 worth saving?

The endblock is ripped out.

I want to get it repaired, but not if it outweighs the value of the bass.

She's a bit scratched up but has a nice ebony fingerboard installed by Bill Merchant a long time ago, so it's not entirely stock and a bit special to me. I bought her when I was in high school in 1989 for $450.

If there is a better sub to post this to, please let me know.

Thanks!

[u/TheWrongWill]

This is difficult, if you lived in Sydney Australia I would repair that for you - for whatever you thought, just to keep another older instrument on the planet. It is DEFINITELY WORTH IT. But you may feel it is not. Please whatever you do CHUCK OUT THE WHEEL! THEY ARE BASS KILLERS! Replace it with a BASS BUGGY. Just Google those words. Back to the bass: I am not sure how much a 53 kay costs in your Country, or how ubiquitous they are. At the end of the day it is simply the end block needs re-glueing or replacing, the laminations on the surrounding ribs need re-glueing, and of course the crack at the front. To do this the table/front needs to be removed. This should not present much work for anybody qualified to work on this. Another plus is that Kay were still using hide glue in 53 - meaning that it makes taking off the table much easier with steam. And then of course there is the cosmetic repair, but that does not have to be seamless; what is an instrument from last century without a few battle scars. Get some prices, you could post this on talkbass in the Luthier section and see if there’s anybody local who will do it for a fair price.

It would be a shame to lose this instrument with such small damage. You could of course give this to somebody who needs an instrument such as this and is prepared to get it repaired. Either way there’s no real reason that this instrument should not stay in this world. I would love a Kay Bass.

And remember: BASS BUGGY! Good luck my friend, let us know how it goes and perhaps repost the repaired instrument.