Official Luthiers Forum!

Greg,

How much of an arch did you put in your top braces? Reason why I ask is, as soon as that guitar is exposed to a dry environment for any length if time, this is likely to happen again.

A couple years ago, I bought a very nice Spanish-built classical from a fellow who had installed a splint in the top along the glue line because the top had completely separated. He did a magnificent job -- you could barely tell the splint was there -- it was the width of a single grain line, about 0.040" or so -- but after about a year, the top began to separate again. I live in Houston -- a city known for its humidity -- which caused me to wonder a bit. But then, our house, with central air, rarely gets above 50% humidity, and is drier than that during the winter.

I realized, after seeing the top come apart again, that the original builder had not installed enough of an arch to handle even moderate humidity levels. It was shortly after that that I went from using a 28' dish to a 25' dish for shaping and installing my braces. I figured the added insurance wouldn't hurt.

As the folks above mentioned, having a humidifier for when it gets dry is a good idea, but you also need a dehumidifier for controlling humidity when it gets too high. But a dehumidifier will also raise the temp of your shop. In my small shop it will raise the temperature to 10 degrees or more above ambient, which requires me to run an air conditioner out there, even before the scorching summer heat sets in. Usually I find that the A/C alone is enough to keep the humidity levels down on a hot, muggy day, but sometimes I have to run both. Plays hell with the electricity bill, but oh well. Better than the alternative.

Best,

Michael

_________________
Live to Play, Play to Live

Greg, as others have stated from -their- learning experiences, rest assured we've all had them. Nobody gets into this and doesn't have a reminder hanging on the wall, some place.

It may seem discouraging, today, but it's the price of sucess. If we don't mess up, we become too sure of ourselves, and then we mess up <g> Ain't no avoiding it. the longer we go without messing up, the bigger the mess when it does strike. The person who tells you he/she never had a guitar come back to haunt them is lying, or simply hasn't been at it long enough to have one come back. And it will, come back.

Best to have the come-backs early, to learn from them, to change the way you do things, to keep improving! Be proud of this one, don't hide it under the bed. Like a young soldier's first minor scar, it will heal, you will learn from it, and soon, it will be a badge of honor.

Merry Christmas, Sir.

Gruff, maybe, but not really grumpy (around here) - good advice, Mario!

Greg, I can only offer my condolences & wonder what will happen to my first
build. I think you are showing true maturity here - I hope I can display as
much fortitude when my time comes!

This thread really underscores for me the wisdom of creating a controlled
environment to work in, and the importance of developing the will to undo
and redo at need.

Update...I humidified the guitar, the seperation closed completely, I re-glued and clamped, it looks pretty good, not as good as new but fine for my couch guitar. I will just keep this one humidified for the rest of it's life. The guitar still sings like crazy, beautiful sound from this guitar, I am amazed that it turned out so nice....sound-wise. I have learned a great deal and will watch my humidification levels from now on. I am very excited about the next few guitars as I am tooling up to make these much more professional looking. I already have several people looking to purchase guitars from me after playing the first, I just want to make sure they hold together, feeling confident that it wasn't my technique just my lack of knowledge relative to the building environment. Onward and upward!

_________________
Gwaltney Guitars

Greg, i'm a first timer also and i should have listened to Mario when i visited him last spring when he gave me all his good advices.

As an unexperienced guitar builder, it's the outrageous price to pay, but when i look at my first build with all the mistakes on it, i see my guitar as my school, my lesson book and it gets me going for a hopeful, ten times better build for the second and third! i do feel for you and it reminds me that my first neck is crooked but i'm still proud of me because i put all my heart into it as i'm sure you did. Those mistakes i think are there to keep us all humble.

Good luck for the next build buddy
and happy new year!

I used a 25' dish for the top and a 15' dish for the back. After the top split I took a close look at the rest of the guitar, no more injuries but, the arches in both the top and back were flat as pancakes...disaster was not far away.

_________________
Gwaltney Guitars