"Originally Posted on:Sun Aug 29, 2010"
I'm getting more and more people calling me up asking if I'll do repairs, and it's getting pretty difficult to put them all off. So when I was presented this one I was doing my absolute best not to get involved, but the fellow was bound and determined to salvage something out of it. He's already bought a replacement to this one, and at only $600 new you can't do much, but he liked the guitar and hoped to turn it into a campfire guitar that he wouldn't feel bad about getting a few dings in.
Solutions were discussed, budget set, expectations set very low and a time frame of one week agreed upon.
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Another crack below the soundhole. This one isn't too bad.
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I tackled each crack one at a time, starting from the outside and working my way in using hot hide glue. This first one was particularly nasty as it was directly along the linnings. I had to do just the spot at the waist first, then put some blocks under that spot. Then tackle the rest of that crack on either side of the waist.
Once they were all glued up I levelled out the finish and then routed out some of the tip over the very worse of the cracks and glued in some spruce patches. Then levelled them out to the the existing top.
Tapping on the top after all the cracks were repaired revealed something not quite right inside, so I got out the inspection mirror and some good light and had another look inside. Found some cracked braces that were easily fixed with some more hot hide glue and a few clamps.
Finally I made some scratch plates from some figured Jarrah that I had on the shelf. Trying to hide as much of the damage as possible while still making them not look too hideous.
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Not that it's ever going to be considered a pretty guitar, but at least it is putting it back in service for the owner on a budget the both he and more importantly I could agree upon.
