Help Fixing an acoustic Guitar?!?!

WAter Damage

I just found my acoustic guitar has suffered water damage! A shower was leaking moisture into my closet for who knows how long. I found out and opened the case to find my 1960's harmony classical had been damaged. There is a 2 inch area on the bottom back portion where the back of the guitar and the bottom of the guitar meet. The wood has warped and there is a 2 inch long 1/2 inch deep gap where the wood has come apart at the joint.

WHAT SHOULD I DO?????
 
Repair

raab said:
I just found my acoustic guitar has suffered water damage! A shower was leaking moisture into my closet for who knows how long. I found out and opened the case to find my 1960's harmony classical had been damaged. There is a 2 inch area on the bottom back portion where the back of the guitar and the bottom of the guitar meet. The wood has warped and there is a 2 inch long 1/2 inch deep gap where the wood has come apart at the joint.

WHAT SHOULD I DO?????
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Hi Raab,

That sounds nasty, and while I'm not completely sure of the cost of such a repair (probably pricy), I think it would involve disassembly of the box and either heating/steaming the back/sides/top to their proper shape - or the removal of side/top material for re-fit. It most likely would require the removal and replacement of some, if not all of the bracing (at least the back). Once re-assembled, I would think it would require refinishing.

There's a great site called frets.com - operated by Frank Ford of Gryphon Instruments (I believe that's his name). Not only has a great archive of repair work, but he has also been known to personally answer questons.

http://www.frets.com/

Best of luck,
Jim
 
One thing to keep in mind when you have "serious "repairs like these is to take it to a LUTHIER. Don't just take it to a "good" music store. I got burned twice by trusting some pretty big music stores with some pretty simple repairs. They could say...."Oh yeah..no problem." Then proceed to do a shitty job. Every numbskull at these places that can adjust a truss rod thinks he's a repair pro.

A luthier is properly trained to do these repairs...most of them either go to school for it or intern at a shop and learn the right way. If they can build it...they would be better to handle a repair like this.
 
Hey Dracon, looking at your photo, I'd expect a good repair person can fit and clamp up that fracture since all the pieces are still attached. Don't try to do it yourself.

There's a type of clamp that uses a guitar tuning machine mounted on a wooden base that pulls a block of wood that's put inside the guitar, attached to the tuning machine clamp with a wire running through the center of the fracture. Cleats or braces can be added afterwards inside if needed. Then after it dries the finish is sealed to protect from moisture. The good news is that the side at the lower bout isn't a critical area for either tone or stress. So if you had to pick a place to have a guitar be damaged, that's not a bad one.

Tim
 
goldtopchas said:
One thing to keep in mind when you have "serious "repairs like these is to take it to a LUTHIER. Don't just take it to a "good" music store. I got burned twice by trusting some pretty big music stores with some pretty simple repairs. They could say...."Oh yeah..no problem." Then proceed to do a shitty job. Every numbskull at these places that can adjust a truss rod thinks he's a repair pro.

A luthier is properly trained to do these repairs...most of them either go to school for it or intern at a shop and learn the right way. If they can build it...they would be better to handle a repair like this.
Click to expand...

That's some good advice.
 
Timothy Lawler said:
Hey Dracon, looking at your photo, I'd expect a good repair person can fit and clamp up that fracture since all the pieces are still attached. Don't try to do it yourself.

There's a type of clamp that uses a guitar tuning machine mounted on a wooden base that pulls a block of wood that's put inside the guitar, attached to the tuning machine clamp with a wire running through the center of the fracture. Cleats or braces can be added afterwards inside if needed. Then after it dries the finish is sealed to protect from moisture. The good news is that the side at the lower bout isn't a critical area for either tone or stress. So if you had to pick a place to have a guitar be damaged, that's not a bad one.

Tim
Click to expand...
Thanks Tim!
I contacted a person who may be able to fix it. I'll have to take the guitar to him on Thursday and see what he says. However, what gold.. said about a music store has me a little concerned. This guy works with Ted Brown Music Store (A Chain of Music Stores in WA), and perhaps I need to find a luthier like he says.
 
If I were you...

I would take a piece of very thin veneer, micro-lite birch would be the best and glue that to the inside after pushing the broken piece back through. A little wood glue and some stain and you will be good to go. That repair will be noticeable, but it will stop further cracking and damage.

IMO a $600 guitar is not worth a $200 repair, unless it has sentimental value. If it were a $4,000 vintage acoustic, that would be differnt.

Good luck...
 
gvarko said:
I would take a piece of very thin veneer, micro-lite birch would be the best and glue that to the inside after pushing the broken piece back through. A little wood glue and some stain and you will be good to go. That repair will be noticeable, but it will stop further cracking and damage.

IMO a $600 guitar is not worth a $200 repair, unless it has sentimental value. If it were a $4,000 vintage acoustic, that would be differnt.

Good luck...
Click to expand...
I don't know what the repair is going to cost, but I'll let you know when I find out. I agree that $200 is a bit much to pay for fixing a guitar which originally cost $600, but cost is not always the defining line. Although it is only a $600 it sounds nicer than some $1,200 that I've tested and I'm not saying this because I own it, because I did own a cheap guitar and it sounded cheap.

The cost of the repair may be less if I put in an on-board pre-amp (I actually don't know this for a fact) and if so, it might be worth it to me to spend say perhaps $300 and get an on-board preamp on the guitar instead of just repairing the guitar.
 
gvarko said:
IMO a $600 guitar is not worth a $200 repair, unless it has sentimental value. If it were a $4,000 vintage acoustic, that would be differnt.

Good luck...
Click to expand...


Different people approach economics differently. If a $600 guitar sounds and plays just right, fix it. The number to focus on is the money (and time) you would spend on the replacement for the $600 guitar. When my Simon and Patrick was in the shop, I was hanging around the Goodall and Collings side of the store. Spending $280 to fix my $450 guitar saved me a few thousand!
 
Really up to you...

Dracon said:
I don't know what the repair is going to cost, but I'll let you know when I find out.
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I have not seen any pickups that would mount through the bottom. There are 9 volt battery packs that can fit in square holes. If you need a batt to power your pickup maybe you can install one of those.

BTW - I sent you a PM about some micro-lite birch if you decide you want to try the repair yourself. Let me know and I will send you some..
 
onlyfingers said:
Different people approach economics differently.
Click to expand...
Right - if it were mine I'd put a piece of duct tape over it, and spend my money on something else. It would sound as good, and would last me the rest of my life. But that's just me. :)
 
I contacted a person who may be able to fix it. I'll have to take the guitar to him on Thursday and see what he says. However, what gold.. said about a music store has me a little concerned. This guy works with Ted Brown Music Store (A Chain of Music Stores in WA), and perhaps I need to find a luthier like he says.
Click to expand...

Here's what I'd do. Call ahead and ask for a couple of names of customers with similar (structural) repairs he's done. Call them. I'd guess a reasonable fee would be around $100, if you don't have them try to make it invisible, just structurally sound and sealed. A smart repairman will appreciate your being selective because you'll end up being a loyal customer and good word-of-mouth advertising.

Tim
 
gvarko said:
I have not seen any pickups that would mount through the bottom.
Click to expand...
I don't think it matters where you put the pre-amp, and it's rectagular in shape as well as a great deal bigger than the hole on the guitar.
Yes, it's usually mounted on the top near the player but it doesn't have to be located there as long as the microphone is located near the sound hole.
 
I'm leaving right now to go see a couple of guys about fixing my guitar.
I'll let you know how much it would cost to fix it, just in the event anyone else has the same problem.
 
From the damage it sure looks to me as if your guitar has laminated rosewood sides. Solid woods rarely split across the grain like that without incredible force. If you have laminated sides, the break is unlikely to split any further, although it can continue to delaminate and begin to buzz.

If the piece is is loose, affix it from the inside with tape - masking tape is OK, and just use it until you can find someone to do a cheap repair. If there are slivers, use masking tape on both the inside and the outside until someone can see it. With a laminated side, this is a stabilizing and cosmetic fix, not a structural issue.

Sometimes the best thing to do is to patch it and replace a large portion of the side veneer with something chosen to match, except that your guitar has figured sides and a match would be difficult.

Maybe the best thing to do is to "make lemonade": put a black rectangular jack plate in there and start thinking about a pickup.
 
Treeline said:
Maybe the best thing to do is to "make lemonade": put a black rectangular jack plate in there and start thinking about a pickup.
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Well, I talked to this guy Lynn (great old fart- really really nice guy) and he told me that he could fix it for $40. I said great!

He told me that if I wanted to put a pick-up with an on-board pre-amp he can put it in and everything for $200. So, I told him to go ahead and put the pick-up with the on-board pre-amp on there.

Anyway, this guys builds his own pick-ups and his own guitars. They are nice, really good work. I was looking at a resonator guitar he built and gave it a solid body look to it, but with a retro look. Man the pick-ups would last for ever sustaining the sound of the string. It was just really, nice. Anyway, I'll get my guitar next week.
 
Treeline said:
Cool!!

Post a pic when you can. :)
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You Bet. The cool thing is that I had called the GAL (Guild of American Luthiers) and they gave me the name of a guy in Olympia. I called the guy to ask him a couple of questions and he was not even interested in talking to me.

Lynn's number I got from the local music store (Ted Brown). He is a Retired Air Force Technician (cool since I was in the AF for a stint) and does good work. He showed me how he machines the copper fitting for the electric guitar pick-ups, and builds the pick-ups for each string, from scratch using some permanent magnet and what he called magnet wire.

Great Guy. I sat there for an hour 1/2 talking about the AF and all kinds of stuff.
 
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