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GCXT with a crack... Opinions? Options?
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Old Man Arthur |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777 Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I got a good deal on a Beater GCXT. Well, it really ain't that much of a Beater, but I will be taking it out and it has a crack. First the Brag part of this post... The red one is the GCXT (117 of 200) Over at the Ning I have eBay photos of this where you can see the crack... It doesn't go all the way to the bridge, nor all the way to the binding... But here is the crack (ouch) So? Do y'all think that that is red glue or red paint from the top? I wish that I had a better camera for a close-up of the actual crack. I need to moisturize this a bunch. The fret-ends are sticking out a little, and the top ripples a bit by the bridge. Y'know, the ripples follow the Quintad bracing. When I got it the OP-30 Preamp was stuck in there wrong... So I had to say a Prayer and give it a Push. Regardless, I am gonna play this outside. I was just looking for anybody's recommendations of anything that I should do about that crack... if anything. Plus I wanted to Brag! | ||
Old Man Arthur |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777 Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | To late to EDIT--- What I am trying to ask is, Should I support the crack with a sliver of wood? Y'know? Brace it underneath with a piece of veneer or something. (there is a correct word for this, but I cannot think of it right now) | ||
SOBeach |
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Joined: April 2010 Posts: 823 Location: sitting at my computer | Brag, brag, brag... ya lucky son-of-a-gun. I'm guessing a PO tried covering up the crack with some red nail polish (or whatever) and some bled through. I'm no luthier, but how about running a line of quality wood glue along the crack on the inside? Just enough to seep into the crack and then smooth it out across the sides.
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Mark in Boise |
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Joined: March 2005 Posts: 12750 Location: Boise, Idaho | Hydrate it first, if it hasn't been already in the Portland weather. There's a YouTube video from Taylor showing how it's done with Dampits. Then maybe you could try some glue after the crack is closed as much as possible. If you glue it too early, the crack won't close when it's hydrated. | ||
Old Man Arthur |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777 Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Thanks Folks. I have some skinny (violin) Damp-its in the holes. Meanwhile it is about 40+% humidity around here. I will give it time to re-hydrate. The crack doesn't buzz or anything. (which is good) I know nothing of this one's history, but I think that someone was saving it but let it dry-out. I didn't chat with previous owner, but I bet that they are pissed. I bought it from a "web-store" so it wasn't really theirs. No fret-wear, no pick tracks... there are some stray scratches and polish swirls. This was perfect before that crack. I like it! It sounds good. | ||
seesquare |
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Joined: November 2002 Posts: 3603 Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | "What I am trying to ask is, Should I support the crack with a sliver of wood? Y'know? Brace it underneath with a piece of veneer or something. (there is a correct word for this, but I cannot think of it right now)" It's called a "cleat". As for the crack itself, mighty suspicious. There is paint on the bottom-side? Like, there was a crack, when it was originally painted! I'd hydrate, cleat the crack, at each end, and the middle (probably 1/32x3/8x1-inch spruce strips), using some real strong magnets for clamping pressure. I got a couple of welding magnets that work well for that kind of thing. Iron plate under, magnet on the top. Drip some cyanocrylate into the fissure, reapply until the crack is filled, lightly sand, buff, & Bob's-yer-uncle. Consult with MWoody on the Superglue-filling protocol. | ||
Damon67 |
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Joined: December 2006 Posts: 6992 Location: Jet City | OMA, this should answer all of your questions...
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DaveKell |
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Joined: November 2011 Posts: 741 Location: Fort Worth, TX | It's a simple process to fix a crack like that. Get a small plastic medicine measure cup, the kind that is often included on top of bottles of cough syrup. Get some Titebond Molding and Trim wood glue. Fill the medicine cup one fourth of the way and put a few drops of white vinegar in it, being careful to make sure it's just a few drops. Stir it up good. Take a small piece of damp cloth and use it to spread the glue into the crack with strokes perpendicular (crossways) to the crack. Clean off the excess with a clean piece of damp cloth. Have a hot iron ready. Put a strip of damp cloth across the crack and run the iron over it a few times, holding it down about 15 seconds each time. Be sure the cloth covers the area on the top the iron will contact. I was told the vinegar dilutes the glue enough to make it soak into the surrounding wood and helps evaporate moisture out when ironing. Check it in a half hour to see if another application is warranted (if the first glue application didn't settle even with the top). In your case, if that is nail polish used to try and cover the crack I'd try carefully scraping it off with a single edge razor blade. It CAN be done without getting into the finish. Then I'd do the crack repair procedure. I would then probably use a fine tip airbrush to feather in a spot paint repair, but you would probably have to live with the visible crack repair. The Glen Campbell model I recently bought with a cracked top, repaired and then flipped looked just fine with nothing else done to try and hide the repair. YMMV. Have fun. | ||
MWoody |
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Joined: December 2003 Posts: 13984 Location: Upper Left USA | Hydrate Cleat Cyano fill Smooth it down, buff it up Play the hell out of it Trade it to me | ||
dwg preacher |
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Joined: October 2012 Posts: 349 Location: Denver, CO | MWoody - 2013-03-15 5:05 PM Hydrate Cleat Cyano fill Smooth it down, buff it up Play the hell out of it Trade it to me Forget all that! Just send it to me! I'll handle the rest. | ||
Old Man Arthur |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777 Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Y'all realize that I have had this guitar over a year, right? I originally hydrated it... A while later I put a couple of drops of crazy glue on the inside. Meanwhile, I have been taking this guitar out on the street corner for over a year. And it is performing quite nicely. | ||
TAFKAR |
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Joined: April 2008 Posts: 2985 Location: Sydney, Australia | I thought this story sounded familiar. | ||
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