Official Luthiers Forum!

I have a gorgeous set of brazilian rosewood, really old and nice, but im looking for some advice. There are some cracks/checks in the lower bout and id like to know what you guys think about them in terms of stability. My initial thought was CA, but now im leaning more and more towards filling with epoxy. The thin stuff I use for laminating sides penetrates really well. Would you think it would work, or is it a no go with this set? Id really like to save it... Or other suggestions?

Lars I did not see the cracks, I saw very open pores but maybe I missed them. None the less you can fix any crack with hide glue and the rest take care of with pore filling,

hi lars the best glue for this is to use hide glue thinned slightly and work it into the crack and use masking tape....stretched over the the crack to apply pressure......when you have thicknessed the plate use cleats or studs made of spruce cedar or even the brazilian r wood offcuts....the crack looks quite tight but use warm water before applying glue ...this will help close the crack and aid the glue up.......ps....i have just doe the same thing with a crackatillo back and side set.....joe

Oh, hideglue would work!? Thats great! Thanks for the advise!

Yep .. that sets DEFINITELY a NO GO .. better send it to me

BTW, I use CA and dust .. works just fine. My Dragonfly guitar (see avatar) had wormholes in the back plates big enough to push a pencil thru (not kidding) - I packed them with dust and CAd them till full. They are still fine 5 years now.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Like Tony, I would use thin CA.
Lars, that's what Carry used to do at Pantheon, no?
OTOH for capricious sets I now flood them with thin CA on both faces before final sanding. Like this I am sure the CA will wick in and seal any crack my eyes would have missed. It's cheap insurance and the method was recommended to me by Mike Baranik after a nice ziricote guitar I brought developed hairlines cracks in LA last year (must have been 20% RH…).

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Tony:
Thanks for mentioning the wormhole solution. I have some #2 EIR with 1/16" dia wormholes and was unsure what to do. My thoughts were to fill them with titebond and sand the area well. Now if I can figure out how to enhance the colour of washed out EIR.

Bob