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#1
04-16-2021, 04:47 AM
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Cracked X Brace and Bridge Bulge
Hello All. I picked up a cheap Ibanez AC240 recently to keep as a beater guitar at our family cottage. After cleaning up the guitar and giving it some TLC, I thought I had a scored a gem, but after putting on a set of 12-53 strings I noticed that the slight bulge behind the bridge seemed to grow quite a bit. The guitar was previously strung with lighter strings and the small belly behind the bridge was not concerning.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/yW2CuSJ8HtYDppid6 http://https://photos.app.goo.gl/RbinxX2VSWn1gSYWA The bridge is definitely rotating a bit, but the action is good and the fretboard lines up with the front of the bridge quite well. After some further inspection, it is clear that X Brace on the base side has a few cracks in it. My experience with thin cracks like this that can't be opened up is that glue penetration isn't good enough for a structural repair. These pictures are under full string tension, so I don't think I'll be able to get these cracks open enough to get good glue contact. https://photos.app.goo.gl/6bbvigAisJALb79V7 How would you all go about repairing this? I do some wood working, so my diy approach would be to create some thin 1/8" braces/splints to glue on each side of the brace. I can't seem to find pictures of people repairing a brace this way. If this is a good idea, what would you recommend for the splint material? I have plywood, lots of hardwood species, douglas fir, or pine. Could this extra thick brace kill the sound on this little hog top? If this guitar was worth more money I'd certainly bring it to a luthier, but I have quite a bit of woodworking experience and think I could get a cheap repair done at home. Last edited by CJMURRAY8; 04-16-2021 at 05:06 AM. 
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#2
04-16-2021, 05:42 AM
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Are you sure they are cracks, under tension I would expect any failed x brace that allows excessive top rotation to actually be broken, to me from the photos it could be a darker grain line or even pencil mark out lines from assembly
Steve
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#3
04-16-2021, 06:15 AM
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Yes I believe it's cracked. On one of the pictures you can see that where the curving crack meets the face of the wood on the bridge plate side, it appears the face of the brace may be broken. Also none of the other supports have dark grain lines like this. I do plan to borrow a better camera that may allow me to try and probe the cracks with a feeler gauge. One of them seems to close up a bit when string tension is off, so that should also confirm they are cracked. I'll post back if I can get a feeler gauge in any of the dark lines.
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#4
04-16-2021, 07:03 AM
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I think what you're seeing is sap in the grain line. They obviously didn't use high quality wood with vertical grain for the critical X brace. Your pictures are quite good and I don't see any evidence of a crack, nor anything to fix.
More importantly, the braces are all firmly glued to the top with no gaps. The increase of bellying is due to the increased string tension, not to brace failure. I would set up the guitar for your preferred strings and enjoy it without worrying about structural issues. Of course, if I'm wrong, one of the highly experienced luthiers on this forum will correct me in short order.
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#5
04-16-2021, 07:18 AM
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Well, I hope you guys are right. The bulge behind the bridge can not be complete explained by this crack. It is asymmetric to the bass side which is what led me down this path, but the majority of the belly occurs in the area between the x bracing. In fact it kind of dips back down below the outer edge of the guitar in the area the x brace is glued. My Taylor DN3 is is so solid, that maybe I don't have a good reference for a lightly made guitar.
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#6
04-16-2021, 07:54 AM
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If you click on the images to expand them it does definitely look cracked. But that is quite a bulge too! If those cracks are under string tension in the photo's I would expect them to have been a lot more opened up with a bulge like that. Can you get a thin feeler gauge or a thin spatula and prod under the glue line of the brace?
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#8
04-16-2021, 08:18 AM
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Quote:
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#9
04-16-2021, 08:49 AM
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My interpretation of the photos you posted is that it is not a cracked or repaired brace: it is a dark line in the wood. From what could be seen in the photo, I don't see any loose braces.
I'd check all of the braces in the lower bout for parts that have separated from the top. Failing loose braces, and ensuring that the bridge is fully adhered to the top, I'd conclude that it was under-braced for what it is.
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#10
04-16-2021, 09:50 AM
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Well, I think you guys have me nearly convinced. Hoping to take a look during my lunch break at the area on the brace in the upper right hand corner of this picture.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/P2XpMbcvHexBssYh6 The side of the brace where the dark line exits the top looks odd to me. It may be a natural defect of the sap line/dark wood, but it looks like the tone of the wood changes and it's a bit rough. This was the area that convinced me originally that it was cracked. I'll see if I can get a better photo.
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#11
04-16-2021, 10:47 AM
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https://photos.app.goo.gl/jv9pKarpEo6nZXxC9
Well the grain changes here but it doesn't appear cracked. Getting my fat hand and phone in there was not easy! Looks like I'm making a big deal about nothing. So I guess maybe I just drop to lighter string gauge and live with it? Plays and sounds nice. Action is good. Bridge is glued on well.
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#12
04-16-2021, 02:13 PM
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Quote:
Now that I have my glasses on and looked over the pics again I can see what others are saying, that it looks like a grain line.
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