Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi, Occasional lurker and now... a new member, I registered as I had a; personally, very important question that is quite appropriate here... So, thanks in advance for any responses.
Oh, btw... you guys don't believe in emoticons? LOL!

Okay... So, here's the situation. I have a Westerly, Guild F212XL. It was sitting in a stand in the Living Room. I picked it up a few days ago to discover that there was a crack in the finish(at least) that runs from a point at the base of the rear center point of the bridge straight along the center of the soundboard down to the inside edge of the binding above the end block. As close as I can tell it appears that the crack is in the finish only. I haven't inspected it from the inside yet, but even if the top is cracked, I doubt very seriously that it is cracked all the way through.
I believe someone may have walked by it and bounced something they were carrying off the front of the soundboard between the bridge and end block. I say this because I seem to remember my girlfriend doing that! LOL! At any rate, my question is how likely is a crack like this to be "Finish only" damage, and how can I tell for sure if it is or not?

Thanks a lot...
Tracy

Welcome to the forum.
It could be finish only. Sometimes you will get shrinkage of the finish along the center seam. You can also see it along the backs seam at times. Do you have a mirror to look at that from the inside? A flashlight helps too.

Also, take some photos and post them. There are a lot of repair experts on this site

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

one thing - try not to touch it too much - its hard but it'll get grease etc into it and break down the minute feather edge of the crack, which makes a good repair much harder.

secondly take the strings off and try to get your arm inside and press up v gently to see if it opens up. Get it glued up quickly and you'll have your best chance.

impossible to say if its finish only, hopefully it is but even if it is right through it sounds very fix-able,
good luck with it!

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www.theguitarrepairworkshop.com

A bit of naptha on the outside is a great trick to evaluate tight cracks. It won't swell wood, won't react with finishes, and won't interfere with future gluing. I run a small bead on the outside with a pipette, then with a mirror and light check the inside. It will wick through even the tightest cracks, and if the inside is dark, it's open.

Of course loosening the strings and reaching inside to push will usually tell you pretty clearly as well. And of course, control your inexplicable and irresistible urge to touch and rub it whenever you look at it. I don't know why, but there must be some genetic predisposition people have to doing that.

If it's simply a stress crack or crazing with age, it could be just the finish. If it indeed came from pressure, impact, or dryness (not too likely this time of year in most areas), then it's unlikely it would be only in the finish, and could often be accompanied by loose or cracked braces as well.

If you're not sure, or not that experienced in evaluation, it could pay to get a professional opinion. If evaluation does not require in-depth disassembly, most shops will offer this for no charge. Can't hurt to ask. If we know where you're located and you don't have an existing tech, perhaps someone here could offer a referral.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Finish cracks rarely run in straight lines, and cracks in the top can hardly avoid going all the way through. That's the bad news. The good news is that at this point, it can easily be glued and backed up so that it won't be a problem or affect sound. Take it to a good acoustic repair person. Descriptions and even photos won't be conclusive.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Thank you all very much... Not too dry these days... I'm in Southeastern North Carolina!
Any suggestions for a repair technician in this area? I'm 70 Miles from the City in all directions; South to Wilmington; North to Raleigh; East to Jacksonville; West to Fayetteville...
My 12 string's mate; a Westerly, DV52HG is just sick over this...
Thanks Again!

Ugh, there's no one I know that immediately comes to mind around there. We do have a member here who in Fayetteville (he plays some nice guitars too ).

I'll PM him and see if he can stop by here and offer some referrals to trustworthy shops in the region.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Yes! I live in Fayetteville. I want you to go see Ben Runkle at his Guitar Workshop in Raleigh. He's off Powell Drive near the State Fairgrounds. There are only two men I would let work on my instruments (not withstanding those who built them)-- both of them are in NC, and Ben is *THE* number one guy. His shop number, I know by heart, is (919) 851-8611. When you get there, please tell him John Creech said hello. Ben is an unparalleled luthier/repairman, a great friend, and a genuinely honest person. I've known him since I was in my sophomore year of college, so that's about ten years now. I think so highly of his work that I actually carry his business cards (and Lance's) around in my wallet for just this kind of occasion. I would trust him completely with any instrument and all of my own. You can quote me on that.

I'd like to than you all once again for being so helpful, and thank you, John... I'll certainly contact Ben, and tell him you sent me!
As an aside, I'd like to mention that I hang out quite a bit over at the TDPRI forum. Thre's a great bunch of people over there and the atmosphere is really quite a bit fresher, we'll say , than that of most Internet Forums... The point being... that It appears I know of TWO great places with fine folks now!

Thanks to all again!
Tracy

What's TDPRI?

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Hi Todd, That would be Telecaster Discussion Page Re-Issue. It's the re-birthed site of an older site; The Telecaster Discussion Page...; hence the "Re-issue" like a Fender model... cute, huh?

It's located @: http://www.tdpri.com/index.php and it's populated by some really nice folks... There are lots of "Build Threads" posted there by hobbyist builders. I really enjoy those and suspect that there are some folks here that would also... Y'all come and see us sometime, ya' hear?