Larrivee OM crack repair.. and more

[Redeemed]

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting in this section, and I'm actually very excited to do so. I'm eager to hear back from all the experts on my situation here.

I've got an old "player's" guitar that needs some repairs. Actually, a little background of this guitar.. I bought it used from Jim @ trinityguitars.com for a steal! and it came to me virtually untouched. Here's how she looked when I first got her..



This was back in February of 2006. Since then, this guitar served faithfully as a true workhorse. I used this guitar every friday and sunday, serving as a praise leader at my church for 7 years, and she's definitely got the battle wounds to show for it.

Here's how she looks today..


Well, a few years ago, a few students at my church were playing around with my guitar (I let them), and they accidentally dropped it onto a hard table top. The drop was approximately 3 feet, and it left a nasty foot and a half long crack along the treble side of the guitar. I was shocked.. but I really couldn't say anything to them. Well, since then, I just put some duct tape on the wound and she just kept on trucking along.

The wound..


So today, this guitar has been more or less retired, and I'd love to fix her up a bit. I have to admit that I'm no guitar tech or luthier, but I do like doing hands on type of things.. and I'm really not too afraid to "screw up" this guitar, as it really is a player's guitar.

Now, on to the repair.. I've been doing some research, and I have a general idea of what it may take. I've got some home made spool clamps, and spare guitar tuners to make those really cool tuner clamps. I've also got some pieces of east indian rosewood that I got during a visit to the Martin guitar factory that I'm thinking of using as cleats.

So with all that said, do you guys have any tips or pointers? what glue to use, clamping ideas, etc. Anything to really help this repair go as smooth as possible. At the moment, I'm really only focusing on the structural aspect of the repair. The cosmetics (i.e. the finish) I can worry about later.

Since this post has already become so long, I'll talk about the "and more" part later.

Thanks everyone!

-dan

[Ben-Had]

Can you remove the duct tape and show the crack. It's severity wil most likely determine the appropriate approach.

[Neil K Walk]

Wow. That's a nasty key crack. Is there any splintering or loose fibers?

My OM-03R is about the same age, has a few scars enough for me to call it my "battle axe" under my breath but truth be told I think it's too much of a nice guitar to be mucking around with.

That one really needs to be looked at by a pro. Why not just send it back up to Jim? I'm sure he'll remember you. Besides, once the structural issues are taken care of you're going to have to have the polyester finish touched up too.

[Ned Milburn]

Most guitar injuries can be repaired.

Here is one that came into my workshop. The only thing keeping the back from completely separating from the front was the tail block.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

I had another that I couldn't find photos for (thousands of photos, and without indexing & search it is tough to find). The other had been dropped onto its side where the jack output was located and splintered into 18 or more distinct portions the size of nickels and quarters. I painstakingly reglued each of these and the injury is not visible unless viewed within arms length.

With your injury, you may have as much trouble removing the gum from the duct tape as you have repairing the injury. It can be glued together with vertical bars of mahogany glued to the side for extra support.

As another poster mentioned, it will be tough to give accurate advice unless we can see the actual injury.

[Redeemed]

Thanks for the replies so far.

As for the tape, I'll try to get to removing it and snapping some pictures later this evening. Yeah, I am a little concerned about the gummy residue.. but we'll see.

@kwakatak, I wouldn't mind sending my guitar back to Jim to have him take a look at it, but honestly.. at this point, this guitar is really no collectors item.. and so I'm not too concerned about the cosmetics of it. This guitar has served as a nice little diy guitar for me (nothing major, just bone saddle, slotting/ramping pin slots, several different pickguards, several different tuners, buffing, etc), and I'd love to continue working on it myself to learn from.

Now, as for the "and more" part.. I was thinking about replacing the ivoroid fingerboard binding with either ebony or rosewood binding. Now, this to me, seems like a pretty involved job. I know it's really not necessary, functionally, but I've never really liked the plastic binding on an otherwise all wood guitar. So anyone have any insight on what something like this would take?

Thanks again.

-dan

[Neil K Walk]

I could see that mindset of an old laminated Takamine (which I also own and need to repair) but this is a solid wood guitar. My rule of thumb is if the repair is more than the value of the instrument if it were in good condition, then I'd try it as a DIY experiment. A mahogany OM-03 will got for around $500 on the used market. I had a friend get a similar repair done on his Martin 000-15S which is in the same class though IIRC it was covered somehow under warranty. At least get a quote.

BTW, I wouldn't mess with the fretboard binding but I happen to like it. From what I hear such a project is inadvisable at least if you're unwilling to have a complete refret done.

[Ned Milburn]

Originally Posted by Redeemed

Now, as for the "and more" part.. I was thinking about replacing the ivoroid fingerboard binding with either ebony or rosewood binding. Now, this to me, seems like a pretty involved job. I know it's really not necessary, functionally, but I've never really liked the plastic binding on an otherwise all wood guitar. So anyone have any insight on what something like this would take?

Thanks again.

-dan

It will be more of a challenge to remove and rebind the fingerboard when it is on the guitar. Not impossible, but more challenges, include routing carefully enough that the edge of the neck is not damaged and the top is not damaged. Frets will have to be removed to do this, meaning a full re-fret (a day's work in itself).

Then, you'll have to clean up glue squeeze out and make the new binding flush with the neck edge. Then you'll have to refinish to match the finish on top and neck. All in all, it is a big job and IMHO it is not very practical. I would never recommend it to a client unless the binding was already damaged beyond repair. I am not trying to turn you away from the job, however, if you want to DIY it. Just be it known that it has its challenges and may take away from the aesthetic of the instrument.

I can only guess-timate the damage underneath the duct tape, but I expect if it was repaired well that the instrument would still hold decent resale value. Unless you do a spot on job on the f-board rebinding, you'll likely lose value.

[Neil K Walk]

*zombie bump*

It turns out my OM-03R which has played a similar role as a church workhorse shared a similar misfortune last October so I've found myself in this very situation.

Redeemed, if you're out there what did you end up doing with your Larrivee?