Spruce top cracks - Page 2

redir · #16 01-02-2018, 10:10 AM

This time of year and with this special cold snap coming I expect to have quite a few jobs in the repair shop fixing cracks, already got one today. But anyway, no you cannot just inject glue and humidify. First you would humidify to close the cracks and then glue them shut. But you have a particular problem there because those cracks were already once 'repaired.' Depending on what glue was used it will either be a problem or not so much of a problem. I'd suggest you take this one to a pro to have fixed

Earl49 · #17 01-02-2018, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hurricane Bob

Last night I glued the cracks and now its re-hydrating in a case, hope i didn't wreck it--

I suggest that this its the wrong order. Humidify first to close the cracks as much as possible, then glue AND CLEAT. But what's done is done.
Even though I am handy guy and an amateur woodworker, I would still have gone in to a pro for this repair.

Hurricane Bob · #18 01-02-2018, 10:20 AM

I used Elmer's carpenters wood glue, first I scraped the old glue out with a piece of paper corner. Don't know what the previous glue was, will take it to the repair shop tomorrow---not starting off the new year very well

Hurricane Bob · #19 01-02-2018, 03:47 PM

should I try and scrape the new glue out with a razor blade? this sucks.....

fazool · #20 01-02-2018, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hurricane Bob

should I try and scrape the new glue out with a razor blade? this sucks.....

No - at this point you want things stable and tight while the glue dries. So, keep the body clamped and humidify with clamps in place. Then the wood will expand back to normal and the glue should hold.

#21 01-02-2018, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hurricane Bob

should I try and scrape the new glue out with a razor blade? this sucks.....

If you're taking it to a repairman, don't mess with it any more. He'll know how to deal with correctly. If you're not taking it to a repairman, don't mess with it any more. You're unlikely to make it better. Lots of guitars have been played for lots of years with un-repaired cracks.

charles Tauber · #22 01-02-2018, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hurricane Bob

should I try and scrape the new glue out with a razor blade? this sucks.....

Leave it be.

By filling an open crack with glue, the glue fills the void and hardens. Humidifying the guitar will not close the gap since it is now filled with hardened glue.

Upon inspection, the repair person will decide whether or not to just cleat the crack - now, likely, with a hardened glue line on the interior of the crack preventing the cleat from seating until the now-hard glue is removed from the interior - or to reopen - with a saw or knife - the crack, typically widening the crack/gap. If he or she decides to re-open the crack, one option is to fill the gap with a thin splint of wood. That will then require some form of finish be applied on top of the naked splint, then levelled and, perhaps, buffed.

All in all, having "squeezed a little glue in the crack" makes the repair person's job much more difficult. Often, failed do-it-yourself repairs cost twice as much to repair as if the do-it-yourselfer didn't.

"Know thy limitations."

DenverSteve · #23 01-02-2018, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazool

... So, keep the body clamped and humidify ..

What makes you think clamps are involved??? He said he glued it and put it in its case to humidify it..............

Wade Hampton · #24 01-02-2018, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todd Yates

If you're taking it to a repairman, don't mess with it any more. He'll know how to deal with correctly. If you're not taking it to a repairman, don't mess with it any more. You're unlikely to make it better. Lots of guitars have been played for lots of years with un-repaired cracks.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to tell you, too, Bob. More guitars have been seriously boogered up by home "repairs" than just about anything else.

I relaxed when you wrote that you were taking the guitar to your repair tech. Had I realized that you were going to attempt to "fix it" first I wouldn't have been so sanguine.

Sigh....

whm

Hurricane Bob · #25 01-02-2018, 05:27 PM

OK, I screwed it up and will stop making it worse, to the shop she goes tomorrow. Humb bug

Earl49 · #26 01-02-2018, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Leave it be.......All in all, having "squeezed a little glue in the crack" makes the repair person's job much more difficult. Often, failed do-it-yourself repairs cost twice as much to repair as if the do-it-yourselfer didn't.

"Know thy limitations."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hurricane Bob

OK, I screwed it up and will stop making it worse, to the shop she goes tomorrow. Humb bug

Have patience, Grasshopper. Let the repair tech do his / her job, and hope that it only costs 2X what a straight unmolested repair would have been.

Scallywag · #27 01-02-2018, 07:11 PM

I fixed a cracked top (after re-humidifying the guitar) using one of these cleats/strips from Stewmac and a bunch of strong magnets to act as clamps. Worked great, super easy fix.

Tommy_G · #28 01-02-2018, 07:13 PM

I had a top crack. Not coincidently from a guitar bought by mail out of Wisconsin...

Since reclosing the crack just means the same stresses are going to be there the next time it dries out, my strategy was to not even bother to fix it, tbere was no change in tonal properties.. If anything it sounded better haha.

If I did fix it.. I would fill the crack with glue while the guitar was dried out so dehumidifaction wouldnt open it up again.

I think the guitar builders could do us favors if they built the guitars under dehumified conditions and then humidified them to spec after being built. Might make for some soggy sounding guitars tho...

Hurricane Bob · #29 01-03-2018, 06:43 PM

That was my thoughts- glue it and let the humidity close it up, but I am no Luthier, did not use any clamps by the way. The cracks now look pretty uneven, but the guitar still sounds the same. Gonna have to wait till this weather breaks to take it in and see..........

charles Tauber · #30 01-03-2018, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tommy_G

I think the guitar builders could do us favors if they built the guitars under dehumified conditions and then humidified them to spec after being built.

They already do. Most build in the 35% to 45% range of relative humidity. That isn't great for those who live in deserts and isn't great for those who live in tropical weather. It's a middle-of-the-road environment.