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Last words his neighbor said, "Hey guys, watch this!"

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Kurt Thomas

"There's a first time for everything even if you do it by mistake."

Coming back to this thread later in the evening, and I REALLY like Tevor's response. Arnt, you've just GOT to tell your customer: "Oh, yeah, it'll buff out.... and the buffing charge will be........."

Now, all kidding aside, I once took a flat top to a back yard party at the host's request. When I finished playing for a while, I put it safely in its case, but I did NOT take it inside the house. I put it well back under a table that was being used as a buffet. It was at least 18 inches back under the table on all sides. Then I sat back and watched a drunk walking across the yard, and I watched in horror--as if the whole thing happened in slow motion--as the guy managed to kick my guitar case a couple of feet without ever touching the table! The guitar emerged unscathed, but I never made that mistake again. I still have no idea how a drunk can manage to get his foot that far under a table without upsetting the whole thing, but I swear he didn't even ruffle the table cloth. He only managed to kick my guitar case. So...let my stupidity be a lesson to everyone who takes a guitar to a party! I stayed lucky that time. That was about 40 years ago. I have never tempted fate in the same way since, and I never will. YIKES!

Perhaps lighter gauge strings will help? That really was a shock to see and I feel your pain.

Yes, I once left a guitar on the floor of my bedroom, and my brother came running through the room and stood on it.
And I had the cheek to blame him!
Still played, but was borrowed and then the borrowee then went back to the states.
Anyone see someone with an early Yamaha FG 140, got a cracked soundboard let me know!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

"I once took a flat top to a back yard party at the host's request."

This is always the beginning of a horror story, and the reason to keep a cheap old beater in hand.
From the title, Arnt obviously has a good sense of humor, even at his own (or the owner's) expense. No one likes to see their own handiwork come to a bad end, but at least he can find a little black humor in it.

I make sure there are no vulnerable guitars lying around whenever my [rather clumsy] brother comes over. He once sent my old Baby Taylor flying across a room with one drunken stumble and a flailing leg! Thankfully, it was only a Baby Taylor. (Fairplay to Taylor actually: It may not sound great... But it can take a flying lesson with only minor battle damage!)

Forty years ago my son's violin teacher would leave his Gunarius on the couch. I was scared that m son would sit on it, but he didn't.

According to the owner, he had put the guitar on top of the closed guitar case on the living room floor while he went into another room for a minute, the neighbor then somehow had managed to trip and "sit" down on top of it. I'm sure it could have been an amusing, if not pretty, thing to see. I don't know it there was alcohol involved, but it wouldn't surprise me, I have heard that it is sometimes consumed while performing music... Anyways, these things happen, c'est la vie and all that.

As far as cost of the repair, I told the owner it would amount to about a half guitar, so about what Hesh said I guess. Hopefully I can get it done in a timely manner and not loose money on it, but you never know. I'll try to remember to take some pictures when I do the repair, but I don't imagine it will be all that different from a "partial" build thread.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

My guitars deserve that kind of treatment but yours, Arnt, do not.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

That will buff out. Trevor is right.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Yeah OUCH .... one of mine is in transit .. it has "opened up" as well .. but its more a puncture thru the top behind the bridge .... still, going to retop it .. add an armrest and some shell to the new rosette ... fun wow !!!!

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

I retopped a Santa Cruz once, that had a great puncture behind the bridge. The story on that one was that a heavy cast iron gate with a spike of some sort on the bottom had been dropped on top of the case, the spike went straight through the case lid and the guitar top! I have no idea how they managed do this, but it happened during his band's load-out as I recall, and the offender was part of the local crew. Uh-oh...

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Will be interesting to see the repair photos. Thanks for sharing.

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久保
美智え