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Got this picture from a customer, apparently his neighbor sat, or fell, on it... That's the story, anyways. I don't really enjoy doing repairs in the first place, especially on my own stuff. It was a good sounding dread, too. Sigh...

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

That's a shame Arnt. Are the ribs OK?
Retops aren't too bad...

That is a real shame Arnt, hopefully it only needs a new top.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

The ribs are OK I'm told, at least there is no missing wood, so I think its mainly a retop. Boring work, none the less

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I was afraid that the title of your thread was word play

I would recommend stainless steel bracing for the next one. And let your customer know that drinking and guitar playing don't necessarily go well together

But hey it's all in a day's work right? I mean that aint covered by warranty.

The repair coming out of the neighbor's pocket for sure. I'm going to suggest that they switch to telecasters (or banjos) for their get-togethers...

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Arnt, I was expecting to see a link to a sound sample. Then.....OUCH! That has to be discouraging, frustrating, maddening, or all of the above. But I'd like to make a request. As you repair and re-top the instrument, please document your process and post it when it's convenient for you. Your construction threads are always so well documented and explained. I am sure a repair thread from you would be just as informative, and many readers could learn from it.
Good luck and best regards,
Patrick

Sad to see. I'm sure the owner and neighbor were not happy.
I wouldn't think of it as boring work. To me, making and bracing the top is one of the most interesting parts of building the guitar. Better that you retop it than some repairman who will let his work wear your tag. I'm sure it is depressing to rebuild a guitar you were happy with the sound of originally.

Egads! As a huge fan of your beautiful work that picture makes me feel a bit nauseated. The neighbor must be absolutely mortified.

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George :-)

Oh man, not good. I don't think I could get excited by the thought of repairing it either, especially when you were already happy with the initial result.

So will the neighbor pay for the repair, or will his widow?

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

"Could have been the whiskey, might have been the gin" Ouch!!

There was a thread recently on the cost to retop. I would be interested when you are all done to know how much you charge for the repair as compared to the cost of a new guitar.

Who was it that said mistakes are opportunities?

Sorry to see one of your guitars come back like that but it gives you a chance to do some serious repair work.

I am sure it will be better than new when you are done with it.

Bob

You really should have included a "not safe for work" or "do not open if you have a weak stomach" warning in the title.

Truthfully, the second I read the title I had an idea as to what was up

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Some of you guys are wussies.... if this bothers you to see..... Please note smiley face....

Sorry this happened Arnt but it's infinately repairable and knowing how you build it should not be a tough job because you build superb stuff in a servicable manner.

We see Martins that have been shot with OO buck shot, thrown at the departing owner, you name it..... Keeps it interesting. We also see lots of guitars that someone sat on..... too. Be sure to check the back braces they typically come loose too with guitars suffering from being sat on.

Feel free to charge what the job is worth. In the US quality work from a quality shop can be in the $2K US range.

You know too on the jobs that we see that were sat on the steward is always keen to blame the offender and usually comments on the size of the offending arse as well.... But.... no pun intended my mind always goes to the idea that if one did not leave the guitar in a sittable (is that a word...) place maybe it would not attract someone's arse.... Go figure....

Hang in there my friend.

Unlike everyone else, I was totally taken by surprise. I'm sure that everybody is feeling pretty low about this accident. Your instruments are always beautiful, Arnt, so your customer must be devastated.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Well....That's one way to lower the action

+1, taken by suprise. I got the punch in the gut feeling when I saw that.

jeez... that one must have felt sour, to say the least. boring work indeed.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Better tell him to loosen the strings before some really serious damage is done. Was there alcohol involved?

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Same here.

Such a beautiful guitar, too. How does someone sit down on a guitar? They're not the most inconspicuous things.

That'll buff out!







(Not my line, but I had to laugh when I first saw it used.)

Seriously, that must be "disappointing". Given the damage I can see (and likely more that I can't see), that is getting close to an economic write-off, in that clean-up and repair time by you, to your standards, will be approaching what it takes to build a new one.

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au