I've been interested in making a simple hurdy-gurdy for a long time. (See http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/ if you're interested.)

I've been collecting parts, but I'm stumped as to what to use for the top. I thought the back of a ruined guitar might work, so I asked my brother, the sophisticated and worldly musician in the family, where wrecked guitars wind up. His response follows:
------------------
Located on the shores of Lake Micelbidder in Western Belgium, the Peter Townsend Home for Wrecked Guitars is one the the world's outstanding centers for guitar rehabilitation.

Abused, neglected and abandoned guitars from all over the world come here to take advantage of the top-flight facility and expert care offered by PTHFWG"s full-time, in-residence staff of guitar technicians, refinishers and rebuilders.

They provide rejuvenation and restoration of the physical guitar, as well as psychological and spiritual counseling and therapy for those guitars exposed to especially cruel and unusual trauma (R&R, Bluegrass, etc.), all at no cost to the guitars themselves.

The center's goal is complete healing, not just for the body of the guitar, but for the neck and head as well, resulting in a complete, fully self-realized guitar, refreshed and ready to re-enter the creative mainstream.

Funding for the center is provided by the Peter Townsend International Protocol for Guitar Rehabilitation (PTIPFGR). Ratified in 2005 by 182 countries, it mandates that a portion of every dollar spent on gas station burritos worldwide go to support the work of PTHFWG.

Of course if they are too far gone they simply throw them away.
--------
Now we know.