Crack Repair / Stabilization

[thabesh]

I've wondered how this is done for a while now so, I thought that I'd ask.

 

When a guitar gets or develops a crack, what is used for cleats and how does the process of doing the repair work?

 

Are cleats like staples that dig into the wood, or, are they just small wooden "braces" that lap over the crack? If they are just wood that is glued into place, are they shaped in any particular way? Are many used depending on the particular length of the crack or is there some predetermined method like, one every quarter or half inch or something?

 

To close the crack before cleating, is the guitar clamped in some way to close it up, or, is humidity used over a period of time to close one up and then the cleats are applied? It the crack itself glued before closing? I guess that would eliminate using humidity to close one up wouldn't it?

 

Finally, after the repair is done, is the guitar more susceptible to developing cracks along a position outside the edges of the cleats? Seems to me the stress that created a crack in the first place, whatever that might have been, has now been transferred and maybe even enhanced at the edges of the cleats?

 

Lot of questions, I know. I'm just curious about how this works. I've seen many a guitar advertised as having cracks repaired and that they are stable but, I always seems to shy away from them due to these repairs.

[KL]

Well . . . that's quite a big question. There are many different ways to repair cracks and the method used will depend on where the crack is, how big it is and what caused it. Some cracks are stable, others are not. Also different luthiers adopt different techniques.

 

Cleats are little pieces of wood. Again the type of wood used will vary. Spruce is a common choice. Different luthiers make cleats in different ways and different shapes.

 

The guitar is not always clamped, but may well be. For example, if the crack is wide and due to humidity the luthier may clamp it and properly humidify the guitar, then glue it as the edges of the crack come closer together.

 

I am no expert on any of this, I just know what I have picked up over time. Someone may post a detailed reply, or a link to a site. The main thing is that I would not ignore a guitar with an expertly repaired crack (or a crack that can be repaired) as cracks are a common occurrence and they can be repaired and the guitar will give many more years of service. Just about anything can be repaired expertise, time and money!!

 

I haven't answered all your questions as it would take a long time. There are books you can get on guitar repairs too that will give a lot more detail.

[jgwoods]

Like said above - it's a broad question.

As a specific example I had a 1975 Guild D50 with several cracks on the top, one wide enough to see into the guitar, another less than that but still split, and another few that were just visible but not parted.

The luthier who fixed them used sitka spruce cleats- same as the top, grain oriented opposite, but first he humidified the guitar for 3 weeks to get everything to a not dry/not saturated, stable point.

On the big crack he filled it with West System Epoxy as it was never going to close and clamping it shut would have produced more cracks elsewhere. He put a cleat under it too, but you don't want too many big cleats or you lose sound from the top.

Overall it came out ready for another 30 years and the top was pretty level- no big dips either side of the bridge. Combined with a refret it was a great old Guild.

Silly me I was convinced I could only play wider necks so I sold it. Then I worked a lot more at polishing up my picking and found I like the skinny necks better...too late!

Overall I spent $400 for a bunch of repairs and a full refret done really right with different width tangs on the frets to make for best neck relief and center the truss rod for plenty of adjustment for years to come, and a nice high bridge.

[thabesh]

Thanks guys. Yeah, time and money . . . a couple of things that there could always be more of. Appreciate the info.

[suburude63]

A good luthier is worth his weight in Gold !

[KL]

A good luthier is worth his weight in Gold !

 

Or HERS in the case of my luthier!!!!

[milod]

I sent my nylon string EA back to the factory with a top crack. Looks to me almost as if they just pressed stuff together and put in a fabric "patch" on the inside. ???

 

Ovation, so maybe it's a different thing. I was almost surprised they considered it warranty work 'cuz it was about 30 years old by that time. But boy, was the shipping a bear. Were there a good luthier around here it would have been cheaper, I think, than "free" warranty work.

 

It seems the thing "lost" a little resonance somehow, making me almost wonder if there's no structural danger the degree to which one may be better off leaving a crack alone and just being "nicer" somehow to the guitar.

 

????

 

Oddly the steel EA Ovation that "matches" the nylon had no crack over the same 30 years in a similar case right next to the nylon.

 

For what it's worth, I got the two roughly at the same time, mid 1970s; they were the first EAs I'd seen and I was overcome with GAS. They're actually pretty nice in that I like the necks and they amp up decently. The weakness is that with this design, the battery for the preamp is waaaaaaay inside the guitar and you've gotta mess through the soundhole to get at it.

 

m

[ksdaddy]

There are two types of Ovations. Ones that are cracked and ones that will crack.