Official Luthiers Forum!

Need your expert opinion!

Would you think the crack below is structural or just a long "nick" to the finish? The wood is brasilian rosewood, solid (I am told), classical guitar manufactured in 1965, never restored or fixed.

Opinions would be most appreciated.

Kind regards,
Joseph

Likely it is a scratch in the finish. Cracks mostly follow the grain. In person I would poke and flex a bit. But it really looks like a scratch.Howard Klepper39094.8929166667

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I'll second Howards opinion on this. Looks like a scratch too me too.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

That is certainly a scratch. As was said before, a crack would follow the grain of the wood. If you have any doubt, reach inside the guitar and see if you can feel it from within.

It certainly doesn't look like a big deal to me. A good trick is to put a few
drops of naptha on the outside of the suspected crack and get inside with a
light and mirror. Even if the crack is closed up tight it will be visible as a
dark line on the inside. Naptha won't swell wood or react with your finish so
it makes a better choice than things like water or alcohol.

If it's only a scratch in the finish you may still see naptha seeping through
pores on very porous woods, but if there's a crack it will show up clear as
day.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Many thanks for the opinions and suggestions. The "nafta" trick sounds like an excellent way of testing what otherwise would have been very difficult to ascertain.

Kind regards,
Joseph

[QUOTE=ILoveBR] The "nafta" trick sounds like an excellent way of testing
what otherwise would have been very difficult to ascertain.[/QUOTE]

No, the "naptha" (petroleum derived solvent) trick. The "NAFTA trick" is the
trick where we export heavily subsidized agricultural products to Mexico,
and they still can't impose any duties or tariffs .

Sorry to dip in to politics folks, but I just couldn't pass that one up.
David Collins39095.6499768519

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.