Needing Guidance

[Lex]

Hi, I’m new to the forum. I’ll try to make this short. I’m not a Luthier. However I am leaning. Presently building a Stewmac ES335. I just purchased a project Gibson LG1. It appears it had dried out to the point that the string tension caused the neck to collapse forward collapsing into the sound hole. I did remove the pick guard while humidifying. I have a room I keep at about 45%. I felt removing the guard would allow better expansion of the wood. I would like help in this process restoring it myself. I hope you all are okay with this as I’m very handy and learn by doing. I’m sure there will be mistakes made along the way due to inexperience. I’m willing to take the chance. I will send pics if I can figure the process on the forum.
Thanks for the input and help
Lex

[Lex]

Thanks Taff, You gave me an idea that may make this easy. I will post pictures of what I'm thinking about.

If it works

Thanks

Lex

[Lex]

I knew there were braces loose, but after looking things over closer all of them were seperated somewhat or very loose. I wanted to go through sound hole but quickly realized it would be too hard and not done well.

so as you can see I removed the back. Not too bad for my first go at it. I did cause a couple splits but all in all not bad. I was able to get the binding off in one piece. I believe I can put it back.

So where to go from here? The top braces are bowed can those be flattened? Does any one know if the back is supposed to have a slight bow. I know the top should be flat.

Thanks for the help

Lex

[Cal Maier]

Lex, nice job removing the back plate. Just so you know, the top bracing does have a slight bow. Contrary to popular belief, these flat tops actually have a convex radius of around 25 feet, so they are not flat at all. Do not attempt to straighten the braces!  
You will need to remove any old dry glue from both the top and the bracing before you glue and clamp them back into place for both the top and back plates. The best way to remove the old hide glue is to use a cabinet scraper but 180 grit sandpaper on a block will work also. Tight bond original glue works for these repairs as was suggested earlier. 
Any cracks in the plates should be glued, clamped and cleated before the braces are applied to the plates. 
The binding can be reused but it normally shrinks a bit after it has been removed, so be aware that it may not fit perfectly. One thing you can try is to heat the binding with a hair dryer as you are glueing it back on and this may allow you to stretch it enough that it will fit again. This job should be done with caution as the old cellulose binding can be very brittle and also is very flammable 

You’ve  taken on a fairly big job here and I wish you luck with it, you can also go to Mr Fords repair site and do some searching for a few ideas for clamping and getting the body back together again. 

Cheers,

Cal

[Lex]

Thank you Cal, I was preparing to take the bow out. Would you recommend getting the go bar deck or just clamps. The pic shows a pretty wide crack that is not coming together. How should I deal with that? Thanks for the other tips. I’m sure I’ll be asking more later. 
Lex

[Cal Maier]

I agree with Taffy, fill cracks like that with wood of the same species and grain run as the original or as close as you can get. A V-gouge can work to get the crack cleaned out and ready for the splint. 
If you don’t have clamps you should get some, they would probably serve you better than a go-bar deck, unless you plan on building a few guitars. If that’s the case then a deck would work but you would need a radius dish to match the top and back radius. These plates do not have the same radius on that guitar. Top= 25’ Back= 15’. Those are normal For this make and model of instrument. You should check the radius of the bracing to know this for sure. 
Rare earth magnets work well for clamping the cleats while the glue drys. Regular C or F clamps work too, providing they have the reach you need. 

Cheers,

Cal

[Taffy Evans]

Hi, cracks like that I would fill with spruce or the same species as the top with same grain orientation, with cleats on the inside. If using a go bar deck you may need a radius dish or forms to maintain radius. Clamps may be better.

Taff

[Lex]

Thank you. That was my thinking. 
Lex

[Lex]

what shape and size should the cleats be? the lower bout crack is about 5in long. Diamond shaped or the long thin type you can get from SM.

Thanks

Lex