Amateur repair to Guitar top

[Paul Said]

Hi,

     was hoping someone could provide me with some guidance as to the correct/best/proven process of raising a sunken acoustic guitar top. I've watched numerous you tube videos and I believe the root cause of the problem is the following.

The pick guard has shrunk due to it being glued to bare timber

A split brace between the sound hole and bridge.

Guitar internals possible too dry and require hydrating.

This is what I have done to date.

Removed pick guard and commence hydrating the inside of the guitar.

I am unsure as to how long I should maintain the hydration process. It's been about a week.  I believe the dip in the guitar top is not as pronounced. How long do I continue to hydrate the inside? Should I have repaired the split brace prior to hydrating.

Regards

Paul.

[David Farmer]

There is not really enough information to help out here. A few pictures would help.

In general, there is no point in hydrating a guitar past the ambient humidity the instrument was built in. Usually 40-50%

High humidity can speed the process but after intensive re- hydrating, I would give it 5-7 days just sitting in the right ambient humidity to let everything equalize. That way there are no extreme moisture gradients left in the wood. 

Wood does not always return to it's original size, so It's best to know what your dealing with before doing many structural repairs.