Repairing brace on old Guild Mark II

[Earwitness]

I picked up an interesting guitar off CL--a kind of beat-up 1963 Guild Mark II. It's a classical guitar. I believe that a good one is considered a quite nice mid/low end classical. This one has some problems, so I got it for a very low price through some estate connection.

I'm considering two approaches--me just fooling with it to learn something about guitars, or maybe having a proper repairman work on it. Which of these can be repaired, feasibly for reasonable cost or by me, and generally how?

1. The main thing is that the top between the bridge and soundhole is concave in maybe 3/4"--and that is because of two reasons, I think.The brace under it has become unattached. The guitar has one main side-to-side brace there--just a 1/2" from the soundhole. Below that, in the lower bout, are fan braces, all in good shape. That main brace is not broken. It is attached from the bass side to just past the strings, at which point it is completely unattached, sloping away from the top more than a half inch by the end. You can press it up against the top, which restores most of the top deformation, but there is pretty much spring-back force to push it away again from the top.

2. Then, the bridge is lifting off the top on the lower side. It is maybe the width of a Wrigley's gum stick off the top. So, the bridge has twisted toward the fretboard.

3. There are two cracks in the top, both of which are easily repairable from my experience in having people work on other guitars of mine, but I'll mention because they may be relevant in diagnosing what has happened. One is just near the treble side of the top--i.e., over the location where the brace would terminate if still against the top. Mainly just a crack, not looking like major trauma. Then, one crack completely through the wood (you can move it) straight down the center from the soundhole through the lower bout


So, the questions are, as to causation: more likely the bridge twisted the top down until the brace gave way, or more likely the brace gave way and the bridge had no choice but to rotate? Does it matter?

Is regluing the brace back easy or hard (whether amateur or professional), and how troublesome is that spring-back pressure?

Thanks!

[mirwa]

Its all repairable, braces or tops with too much internal tension need to be clamped wet and allowed to dry, hopefully this will alleviate the internal stresses,

In a repair shop we tend to use steam to prep the areas, as it cleans / heats and softens in one process

Steve

[B. Howard]

Originally Posted by Earwitness

So, the questions are, as to causation: more likely the bridge twisted the top down until the brace gave way, or more likely the brace gave way and the bridge had no choice but to rotate? Does it matter?

Causes could be guitar was left in a hot area like an attic or car trunk. Could be the string balls pulled up through the bridgeplate. Could have been stepped on. These are the more common causes of problems like this.

Does it matter?Yes. Each scenario has different other things that need checked. Excessive heat can lead to other parts shifting like the neck joint or head block. Bridgeplate damage must be fixed or the bridge will just pull up again. A good repair plan depends on a thorough examination of the entire instrument inside and out before deciding what to repair or what order to do so.

[Earwitness]

Thank you both for your comments.