Gibson B-45 top crack...

[Brian Stewart]

Hello folks,

I'm about to repair a crack in the top of an old Gibson B-45 12 string.  It looks to me like the crack was created by the pick guard shrinking and curling.  All the bracing inside the guitar is intact.

Right now my plan is to remove the pick guard and flatten it, then make some cauls to flatten the top where it has warped (at the edge of the soundhole...hard to see in the pic), and then glue the crack shut.

My questions are what is the best way to remove the pickguard, and then what would be the best way to reattach it?  If this is like the old Epiphone I have, the guard is glued directly to the wood...no finish underneath.

I've thought maybe I'd spray a coat of lacquer or shellac over the bare wood and then use some kind of double stick tape to reattach.

Any insight would be appreciated.  Thanks.

Brian

[Greg Mirken]

No, from that picture I'd say it has a loose neck block. If the edge of the soundhole is misaligned as it appears in the pic that clinches it. That's not where I expect a pickguard crack- they are usually below the soundhole where the guard is the widest, thus shinks the most.

[Brian Stewart]

I'm 99.9995% certain that the neck block is fine.  When the crack is pressed together, everything lines up.  The other side of the fingerboard shows no signs of buckling, either.  All internal braces and glue joints are in perfect condition, and the neck angle is good, too.  All in all, the guitar is in great shape.

The picture doesn't show it, but the wood just to the right of the crack is "bubbled" up...like it is being pulled up by the pick guard.  If I can flatten that bubble, everything will come together, but I think the guard stiffens everything up too much.

I realize this probably isn't a "standard" pickguard crack, but I'm still pretty certain that is what it is.

[Mark Pollock]

Huh - that's a pretty standard pickguard crack for a Guild guitar, so I can believe this, but man, that is really ugly. If you think the pickguard is curling, it makes sense to pull it anyways. Then you can see what the wood does next.

I would, however, spend a bunch of extra time very carefully probing that brace with a palette knife from both sides, making sure there is not a single loose spot anywhere. It might be a good idea to try to flex the neck laterally and see if the top crack moves at all - just in case. It looks EXACTLY like the classic loose neck block crack, but I've done three cracks likes this on Guild guitars, all caused by the stupid pickguard.

Has the neck been reset on this guitar? Maybe some damage to the top happened when the fretboard was pulled off? Just grasping at straws here.

[Frank Ford]

Yup, standard shrinkage crack exacerbated, if not caused by the shrinking pick guard.  Obviously the brace is loose under that area for at least a short distance, otherwise the vertical displacement would not be possible.  It IS serious and needs to be addressed, because, as Greg mentioned, the stability of the neck block is in jeopardy.  Releasing and regluing the guard would be my first action.  FRETS.COM has articles on both that and the fingerboard top crack repair.   

[Brian Stewart]

I will review the frets.com site.  Thanks all for the insight.  I will post again after the job is done.

Brian

[Brian Stewart]

Well, job is not done yet, but I wanted to post another pic before I continue.

-There is another crack that revealed itself after the guard was partially pried up.  It's not bad and should glue up easily.

-If I was out here all alone, without this resource, at this point I would continue to peel the guard off;  reglue the inlay that came out; make cauls to flatten the top where it has "bubbled" around the soundhole; glue the cracks; add reinforcements around the soundhole and under the cracks; reglue the flattened pickguard, per instructions on the .com site.

Again, any insight appreciated.  Also, just an FYI to reassure all the pros out there:  I graduated from luthiery school 17 years ago and have been building folk harps for the past 16 years.  I have always done some guitar repair in that time, but have really stepped up my business over the past couple years.  The obvious issue is that I have no mentor for these more complicated jobs that come through.  I am in a small town and most jobs I do are basic set ups, fretwork, and relatively easy crack repairs.  So, thanks to all the more experienced pros here for the help. 

[Dave Richard]

Brian, what is your method for removing the pick guard?

[Brian Stewart]

I am following Mr. Ford's instruction from his .com website:  Pickguard reglue

Basically working a palate knife underneath the edges and carefully getting it up.  So far it is going smoothly...other than that one ring of the rosette staying with the pickguard.

The thing that is worrying me the most is getting the edge of the soundhole to flatten out.

[Brian Stewart]

Update:  Finished the job and delivered the instrument to a happy customer.  Thanks to Mr. Ford & his website, and to the others who offered advice here.

Here's some pics: