Old Side Repair

[George Roberts]

This is the University of Michigan guitar, now identified as Bay State.  The back is off...it was 3/4 off when I bought it.  The end block was split through the endpin hole.  This had also split the sides.  The sides had been glued together before I got it, some 15 to 20 years ago.  Unfortunately the sides don't line up very well.  I thought I would take care of this while the back was off.  The brownish glue is not water soluble, and when I tried acetone on the glue that was inside, that didn't touch it either.  It seems to be a very solid repair, even if not terribly cosmetic.  What do you think?  Should I just leave well enough alone?

[Ned Knepp]

If it's that solid, at this point, I'd leave it alone. If you are really bugged by it I think it might be easier to fill on the outside than try to pry everything apart again. In that, I'm assuming that the sides are painted AND fairly easy to touch up. Other wise, I think that the chances of causing more/ greater damage so I'd leave it alone. The guitar is old and this is part of it's history.

If the side isn't reinforced with some vertical splints you probably should do that before you button it up again.

[Eric Steven Johansen]

I know from your previous post on this guitar that you're dealing with Brazilian sides, but I must say some photos of the inside of the repair might help in evaluating your dilemma. You may find it safer to do a cosmetic repair with a spline, and if the existing repair was done nicely enough, it's acceptable to let it be. Nice picture of the inside would be welcome.

[George Roberts]

Ned and Eric,

Thanks for your help.  I've tried to take some pictures of the inside, but I'm not sure how helpful they are.  The split is like an elongated figure 8.  The section nearest the endpin and the top is proud by about .020.  Near the center of the split the edges are pretty close together, that is, no bulging in or out.  Farther to the waist, it is the part of the split nearest the back that is proud.

Eric, thought the neck on the 1941 Super 400 was absolutely superlative.

[Eric Steven Johansen]

George, thanks for the excellent interior shots, they're very helpful. The previous repair, although solid as you say, was not done correctly. There should be cleats spanning the crack or at least some kind of reinforcement and I see nothing. Is that light I see through part of the crack? My approach to this would be to clamp the damaged area between two shaped cauls after moistening the side throughout the entire area ( I use moist paper towels heated in the microwave till the are really hot for this purpose) and leave it for several days. I slowly bring the clamps up tight and stop at any sign of refusal. You'll probably need to repeat this several times, but in the end you should see alignment. At that point cleats can be added and open cracks can be splined to complete the repair.

[George Roberts]

Eric, what looks like light shining through the crack is actually light reflecting off the hard surface of the glue.  I don't think there is much, if any, wood missing from the crack.  Its just that the sides of the crack are misaligned.

The glue is so hard that I think I'm going to have to get rid of it before anything is going to move.  I'll try some other solvents, or maybe even a little paint remover on the inside part of the crack.

Thanks again for the help.