Official Luthiers Forum!

I know this beginner luthier that asked me this question.
How do you determine if some slip ups with the chisel while carving braces is too deep/long? He bought a new chisel, brought it home, and made it real sharp. He was so proud. But this chisel was larger and heavier than he was used too. It worked great on the braces, but caught the top a few times too. What do I tell him? Can the top be repaired or should he start over?SteveS38754.0920486111

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

if the gouges are deep...toss the top and do it right.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

I'd say it depends upon whether the gouges are merely cosmetic, or deep enough to affect structural integrety. Anything around the braces of the top are never going to be seen, unless the top is removed sometime in the future. If only cosmetic, I'd ignore them, and move on. The back is different, as it can be seen through the soundhole.

Crowduck

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Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.

How deep is too deep? 1/4 or 1/2 of the thickness?
Do you guys put something down to protect the top, or is this just never a problem for you?

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

I generally take some duct tape and put against my clothes a few times to pick up some cloth fibers and generally make ti less sticky then put it along side the braces I am working on. Then I put several more layers of sticky stuff on top of that one.

It protects the top from an occassional nick, or bump from the sand paper. (I am kind of a klutz, but a real freak about neatness inside the box)

That works for me. You just have to be careful that the tape isn't too sticky or it will lift fibers up from the top.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Duct tape makes good sense - thanks Brock.

The sides of the chisel do not need to be sharp. Is it a good idea to round off the sides?

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

If this is your first and you are just learning, I would move on. You learn from your mistakes...

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Guitars...One's too many...Twenty is not enough.

Rounded corners is a good idea, personally it would drive me nuts. How about a few layers of duct tape on the chisel corners just for brace shaping if you don't want a dedicated rounded-off chisel?

Also, I wouldn't worry about a gouge in the top unless it was large and deep, in a high-stress area, like near the bridge or cross-grain near the trailing edge of the bridge plate.

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

If you are concerned, a drop of CA &/or a little patch sanded down thin might help.
With little nicks, just blend them out with sandpaper.

Daniel, my precise thoughts. Why toss a top that grew for 75 to 150 years to create a guitar for a simple cosmetic cut. Pics are always a good idea. Remember, we are all blind and are just talking through our hats until you put up a good picture.

If you ran it through, that's another story, but it will have use as scrap then. Good luck, we all knick a top here and there.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

[QUOTE=Bruce Dickey] Pics are always a good idea. Remember, we are all blind and are just talking through our hats until you put up a good picture.[/QUOTE] Great point. I'll post some pics soon.



[QUOTE=Daniel M] If you are concerned, a drop of CA &/or a little patch sanded down thin might help.
With little nicks, just blend them out with sandpaper.[/QUOTE] I thought about this. Has anyone done this and have good long term results?

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.