Guitar crack

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Guitar crack

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vigrond

Posts: 161
Joined: Nov. 30 2010

Guitar crack

I dropped my 55FCE guitar yesterday, and today there is a crack appearing underneath where the neck connects to the body.

It is apparent from feeling it that the string tension is pulling the crack open.

:(

This is for sure going to get worse over time.

Is there anything I personally can do or a luthier could do to fix it?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 4 2012 21:29:21

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Guitar crack (in reply to vigrond)

first of all, detune the guitar. If there,s something open, glue can enter. If its a cedar neck, I think that Hot hide Glue will be the best. Very thin cyano
penetrates better, but I,ve been told that there,s an issue with cyano and cedar

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 4 2012 22:03:11

vigrond

Posts: 161
Joined: Nov. 30 2010

RE: Guitar crack (in reply to vigrond)

Thanks Anders

It is Spanish cedar. I'll order some hide glue. Should I just paint it over , let it settle / dry and then rub excess off with alcohol? And what would be a good method of heating up and applying it?

Seems to come in bottles
http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-International-Titebond-8-Ounces-5013/dp/B0002YXE7K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354665021&sr=8-1&keywords=hide+glue

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 4 2012 22:59:16

Flamingrae

Posts: 220
Joined: May 19 2009

RE: Guitar crack (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

quote:

If there,s something open, glue can enter.

This interesting for me as I have something similar with my No1......which I took to Utrera a few months after building. Extreme heat and a flaw in the wood have caused the neck angle to change and now I notice a crack.......so this gives me an avenue to walk down. Sorry, did'nt want to hijack the thread, but it's a good starting point for a fix.
Best of luck with this Vigrond and to you Anders for the tip.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 5 2012 0:32:03

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Guitar crack (in reply to vigrond)

Vigrond

I wrote HOT hide glue. The kind you mix yourself and heat. The ready to use cold stuff wont make a good repair.

The best would be to leave it with a pro. This is a serious place to have a crack and the pro will know how thin to make the glue. The thinner, the better it penetrates but a thicker mix will make a stronger bond, so its a compromise, and experience helps a lot in these issues.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 5 2012 8:25:07

Andy Culpepper

Posts: 3023
Joined: Mar. 30 2009
From: NY, USA

RE: Guitar crack (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

quote:

This is a serious place to have a crack

x1000

Don't mess around with this, take it to a pro. It's a very dangerous place to have a crack. It might be less likely with that type of cutaway but this is the kind of crack that can go straight through the heel block and crack the sides as well. Definitely detune and go to a luthier, it shouldn't be too difficult at this point.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 5 2012 22:27:18

vigrond

Posts: 161
Joined: Nov. 30 2010

RE: Guitar crack (in reply to vigrond)

Thanks. I've detuned it and contacted a luthier here in town. Waitin to hear back.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 6 2012 3:37:01

constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1677
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: Guitar crack (in reply to vigrond)

I recently repaired a fine Spanish classical guitar for a woman who uses it at an elementary school. She left it leaning against a wall and some kids knocked it over. It split like this one, right through the heel--but also through the foot and through the upper bouts of the sides! Best to keep them in the case when not being played.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2012 17:49:14

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Guitar crack (in reply to vigrond)

How much time (more or less) did it take you to repair that disaster?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 12 2012 19:51:41

constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1677
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: Guitar crack (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

My repair? It was an early Antonio Marin Montero of Brazillian rosewood. At first I thought I would have to drill a hole through the heel so I could inject glue with a syringe, but when I got the strings off I found that the crack went all the way through and the pieces of the heel/foot separated easily. So I put yellow glue in there and clamped it. Then I used many small cleats to repair the sides. All this took just a couple of hours. After I french polished the sides a little the customer couldn't tell the repair was there, but this was a pretty battered guitar. A shame. It had a very nice sound. I was a little disgruntled that someone would treat a good guitar so carelessly.

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www.edluthier.com
www.facebook.com/ethandeutschguitars
www.youtube.com/marioamayaflamenco
I always have flamenco guitars available for sale.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 13 2012 0:35:44

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Guitar crack (in reply to vigrond)

Thanks for the explanation. Repairing is such a different world than building and its always nice to get some insight.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 13 2012 7:49:26