HansReissaar Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 Hello Im startring with my first guitar and i think i have an issue, There is a tiny crack on my maple body piece. Can i still use the boards for a body and what should i do with the crack (epoxy etc.), or should i find some new pieces? Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gogzs Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 Looks tiny enough, when you glue it up all together, and rout the cavities etc... it should be pretty much invisible. As for filling it, I will leave that to the experts, but could be that superglue + sanding dust from that maple will fill it really awesome. Also, welcome to the forums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 Hi and welcome! Yes - as @Gogzs says, that will not be a problem. You may even find out it is where one of your pickup cavities goes! Main thing is that you don't want it to spread or ping off so yes, I would use thin superglue. With the thin type (that is, not the gel type), the crack will act like a candle wick and the capillary action will suck the glue deep into the crack and stabilise it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 30, 2021 Report Share Posted January 30, 2021 Welcome to the addiction! You can almost always fix issues like that. As the two previous have said, filling with dust and glue is a valid option. Bear in mind, though, that mixing super glue and maple dust creates so much heat that the patch is much darker. You may even see smoke! Standard wood glue like Titebond will result to a lighter hue. If you use wood glue applying a drop of water with a small brush into the crack can make the glue + dust mix stick better. The water would create a capillary effect to suck the paste into the pores. If the boards are wide enough you can cut both a bit narrower along the seam. For saving the bookmatch you should then take an equal amount off both. Structural integrity should not be an issue at all as it's 'only' a top. When you glue it on a thicker solid piece of wood it shouldn't crack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 31, 2021 Report Share Posted January 31, 2021 WELCOME!! my guess is it would probably be totally fine... and hate to be a debbie downer... but what if it's not? at the end of x hours of guitar building I'd hate to have something like that ruin me. top doesn't have a lot of heavy lifting to do but I would have all kinds of concerns about hiding it after there is some filler in there as bizman alluded to above. If it were me... I'd measure to see if I can cut out that area - looks like you'd only loose 1/2". I don't know what kind of tools you have... but I'd draw a diagonal line on both sides, chop that off with a bandsaw or jig saw, then use a router and straight edge to clean them up/ join them. You may also draw out your templates/design on it and see if you can get it to sit in a pickup route or at least under the bridge. hope something there is usefull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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