Best way to repair a hairline crack in an acoustic guitar?

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mrbowes

mrbowes

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My Tacoma Roadking recently developed a 3" hairline crack on the top of the guitar.

I'm basically looking for something to apply to the crack so that it won't grow or promote warping.

Are there any glue-ish type polymers that are easy/safe to apply to guitars?

Suggestions much appreciated.
 
Take it to a professional, and do it NOW.

Cracks pose very serious structural concerns, and if left alone they will get worse. You also need to get it taken care of before dirt works into the crack, which will make it impossible to fix satisfactorily.

They are also not a DIY project. First of all, it would cost you more to buy the right tools than to get it fixed right in the first place, and second, you do not have the skill to do it.

As for HOW we do it, first we humidify the guitar very heavily for a while (a week or two, at least) to get the crack to close up. We then work some glue into the crack, and put some cleats inside the guitar with their grain orientation situated to strengthen the joint. This sounds a lot easier than it actually is, and it is very easy to screw up. Take to someone who has done a bunch of these. It is WELL worth the money.

After you have had your guitar fixed, ask your repair guy about humidifying your guitar, and do what he tells you to do. But if he tells you to use a Planet Waves humidifier, ignore that, as they are a hard plastic which can damage your gutiar, they are difficult to fill, and their sponges are too small. My advise is to get a Kyser Lifeguard and to make a soap dish humidifier, use both, and keep your guitar in the case when you are not playing it.

Again, do NOT try and fix this yourself. This is a serious repair which can damage your guitar. If it is done right it will have no effect on the sound of the guitar, and minimal effect on the value of the guitar. If you do it wrong (and you will, if you do it yourself), your guitar will not sound right, and you will have permenantly damaged the value of the guitar. Also, when you take it to a shop to fix your mistake, it will cost twice as much to fix as the original repair, and it won't be as good of a job. Skip the PITA, and just take it to the profesionals in the first place.


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"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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