gavinh Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Hi all, Today I noticed a split in the lower bout of my 6-years-old OM acoustic. The split runs parallel to and about 1" to the right of the center seam of the soundboard, from the bottom of the bridge to about 3/8" from the binding. I've linked to a photo at the bottom of the post. I am not sure how or when this happened, as I am not aware of the guitar suffering any trauma recently (although it has been through many moves, flights, etc.). This was the first guitar I built, and has sentimental value for other reasons. It is built imperfectly, but I had assumed that the top bracing errs on the side of caution. Does anyone have any recommendations for repair, and what should I do in the meantime? Reduce string tension? Should I play it? Thanks, Gavin https://docs.google.com/document/d/1asQdOwfkVWUdHQY3wzX_jlAyGWu_GRNvOAnvUKQtqS8/edit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Gavin, It looks like a fine guitar, and the the top looks close grained too. I would suggest you post this over at OLF (http://luthiersforum.com/forum/). I could give you some suggestions, and there are a few people here with extensive experience with this sort of work, but you'll not only get advice on how to fix it, but someone might be able to help you figure out what happened. Of course, if you wave a capacitor at them, most of they'll tremble in fear. Look at this as another great learning experience with this guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 It is possible that you have a typical winter crack from dryness. If so, I would leave it alone until you have more humid weather. it may close on its own. Than you can wick some hide glue or CA into the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavinh Posted February 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 Thanks for the tips. Upon closer inspection I've noticed that the top geometry is badly deformed, probably from dryness. I've put the guitar in a case with several humidifiers. I'll try to close the crack with some hide glue once it hopefully shrinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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