Bad glue job on Spruce Top

[kmckenna45]

I just bought a 1992 Gibson J-45 that has a bad glue job on the spruce top.

I've seen these splits before - where the two spruce pieces separate at the seam, due to being too dry.

Unfortunately, it looks like someone forced wood glue into the split opening while the guitar was dry - leaving an ugly yellow glue line from the bottom of the saddle to the base of the guitar top.

I'd like to remove the wood glue that's in there and do the job right. Any suggestions on how to soften and remove the wood glue in the top seam???? or should I just leave it?

I'd rather do it right if possible.

Thanks.

[charles Tauber]

That ship has sailed.

Perhaps others have some tricks that might work, but I'm not aware of any.

[redir]

Rout out and splint.

[phavriluk]

(1) enjoy your new guitar or (2) if a refund is possible, do that. A refund lets OP to start over.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by redir

Rout out and splint.

A traditional approach is to use a razor saw and saw along the glue line. Doing so removes glue and wood, creating a gap of uniform width - the width of the saw kerf - requiring that a thin sliver (splint) of matching wood be inserted and glued into the gap created. The splint would then be levelled to the height of the surrounding wood and then the finish would be touched-up.

In very skilled hands, and a few hundred dollars later, the repair might be invisible. If not, it might not be cosmetically all that much different than the existing glue-filled gap.

If it had been originally repaired professionally, properly, it would have been an easy, relatively inexpensive repair. That is often the case, that fixing a botched repair job is much more involved - and expensive - than if it had not been "fixed" first.

[redir]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

A traditional approach is to use a razor saw and saw along the glue line. Doing so removes glue and wood, creating a gap of uniform width - the width of the saw kerf - requiring that a thin sliver (splint) of matching wood be inserted and glued into the gap created. The splint would then be levelled to the height of the surrounding wood and then the finish would be touched-up.

In very skilled hands, and a few hundred dollars later, the repair might be invisible. If not, it might not be cosmetically all that much different than the existing glue-filled gap.

If it had been originally repaired professionally, properly, it would have been an easy, relatively inexpensive repair. That is often the case, that fixing a botched repair job is much more involved - and expensive - than if it had not been "fixed" first.

I still do that repair with a razor saw sometimes too but I also set up a Dremel with a dental burr and fix a straight edge to the top of the guitar and run the router down the length of the crack but not all the way through the top. Then inlay a spruce patch and level and refinish.