You've heard of surgical tools left inside the patient?

[Arthur Blake]

Happened to look deep inside the lower bout with a flashlight holding the top at a very shallow angle and saw the outline of a bird.
Wondered if it might be an unusual label.
Turned out to be the logo on a piece of 4 inch square P800 sandpaper that was coated with a thick layer of finish.
Apparently used to cover the sound hole then somehow became wedged in the lower bout off to the side.
Carefully removed it fearing if it were stuck to the kerfing and tore, I would create a new buzzing problem that could be awkward to remedy, but it slipped right out.

[arie]

Originally Posted by Arthur Blake

Happened to look deep inside the lower bout with a flashlight holding the top at a very shallow angle and saw the outline of a bird.
Wondered if it might be an unusual label.
Turned out to be the logo on a piece of 4 inch square P800 sandpaper that was coated with a thick layer of finish.
Apparently used to cover the sound hole then somehow became wedged in the lower bout off to the side.
Carefully removed it fearing if it were stuck to the kerfing and tore, I would create a new buzzing problem that could be awkward to remedy, but it slipped right out.

i'm sure the patient felt better after the removal of the sand paper.

i've actually had a piece of a broken surgical tool stuck in one of my kidneys. the infection nearly killed me. i can relate.

what kind of guitar was it?

[Arthur Blake]

The guitar is identified in my signature line.

Would imagine this kind of occurrence is rare. Must have just slipped during the finishing process and happened to be the exact right size to become wedged in place.

[dhalbert]

If remember right, there's a story on AGF about a guitar that didn't sound that great. (I searched for it but can't find it.) When the tech looked inside, he found a wooden caul left over from some gluing operation stuck to the underside of the top. Removing it improved the sound considerably.

[Alan Carruth]

One maker I knew told about taking back a guitar he'd made that just never sounded quite as good as the customer expected. When he looked inside to make sure there were no cracked braces or other problems, he found out why: the bridge clamping caul was still taped to the inside of the top. He took off that big piece of plywood and the guitar sounded much better. It had been there for more than a year, and I imagine the tape residue was a pain to get off.

[dhalbert]

Originally Posted by Alan Carruth

the bridge clamping caul

I think that's the story I was trying to remember, but I haven't found the original post