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Well, things were going pretty well. I'm working along on my Adi top inlaying a maple burl rosette and got everything glued up this morning. Went to sand the sides to thickness and the little clip on my Delta 18/36 broke and the belt came flying off. I managed to get it working again by wrapping tape around the belt and going slowly. The sides are now sanded down nicely.

Then it happened, I was leveling off the top after finishing the rosette (almost finishing, the abalone hasn't been put in yet) and the belt broke and tore a gouge in the top. Man, I was soooo close to getting this ready for some braces. Here's some pics.

First, a pic of the almost completed 4 piece maple burl rosette. There was also to be an abalone ring in the center of the burl (glad it wasn't there already).



Here is a pic of the gouge that was left after the belt snapped.



And here is a shot of some imbedded pieces from the sanding belt. These are now all over the lower bout of the top.



Just when I thought I was having a good day.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Bummer! Hope you can salvage the situation.
Good Luck!!!

Dave,

Sorry to hear about your day today

Looks like it's time for a new sander...sorry

There must be some great ideas about how to take care of the imbedded pieces and gouges....gang???

[QUOTE=Jeanne] There must be some great ideas about how to take care of the imbedded pieces and gouges....gang???[/QUOTE]

There is, I just placed a call to Steve @ Colonial. This one is too far gone to salvage. Ya win some, ya lose some....

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

It depends on how thick your top is...have you tried scraping those sections and seeing how deep the gouge really is? If you have have enough thickness and have not braced it yet you may still be able to clean it up with a sharp plane or scraper.

If you can get the imbedded grit out you can also try wetting the top by spritzing it with a spray bottle and then putting a towel or wash cloth over a section and use an iron to try to raise the wood that was dented by the grit. It wont get all of it out but that and then scraping and/or planing (by hand) you may still be able to resurrect the top.

Worse come to worse there is always "sunburst" or of you were Gibson could call it a vintage series

Unless it is really bad it may be worth trying to save it...

When life gives you lemons, build ukes!

I hope you have a better day tomorrow...vpelleri38953.793125

Better a uke than a b**j*

Shawn, thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, the top is just about .110 thick and the gouge is at least .018 deep. I am not comfortable going with a .090 top on a 12 string, even though the adi is pretty stiff. And it might be even thinner than .090 by the time the entire gouge is sanded out.

This one is a custom build and I want the customer to get what he paid for. I'll hang this one on the wall as a reminder.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Dave, you may gain some room by steaming out the dents before finish sanding them. You will need to let the top sit a bit again after that to let the moisture come back out but it may make the top usuable on a future build. A clothes iron and damp cloth!

Good luck!

Shane

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Canada

Dave,

Any chance of flipping it over, installing a new rosette and saving it?
Even if you don't want it to go to the customer, maybe a future project.
Who knows, maybe you could bill it as the first double rosette instrument, tout all the increased tonal properties, and charge an extra $500.00 for it.

Seriously, that stinks!!!

Tomorrow's a better day!

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Paul Bordeaux
http://www.bordeauxinlay.com

Rout it out and inlay a strip of a left over piece. If you match the edge with a grain line if should not be visible.
OR
Fill it with HHG and do a sunburst or solid color top
Alain Lambert38953.881712963

Alain beat me to the solid color suggestion. Use a really boring B&S set, paint the entire body, top and all, with matte black paint. When dry, carefully flick some tiny dots of white paint on it. Behold the birth of your "deep space" series.

Seriously, I shouldn't give my secrets away. I plan to do that sometime...

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

[QUOTE=Jeanne] Better a uke than a b**j* [/QUOTE]






Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Tough break, Dave. At least you can get a lot of back splines out of it.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

A creative inlay and some back cleats..... ohhh my, we feel your pain. It was going great.

Imagine if that was a back of Brazilian back going through there...... things could be worse.

I was visiting with a new OLFer today, he's facing back surgery tomorrow... You know what he told me? He's looking forward to it. Ready to be done with the pain I guess.

Doesn't help I know... I guarantee not one of us looking at those pics would wish it on anyone. Ouch.

Dave, here's my solution:





I much prefer Paul's solution, but this particular guitar was nearly finished. I was fitting the bridge when I pulled up a huge sliver of soft wood.
This was the only save, short of disassembling the instrument.

But it's like they say: you'll have great stories to tell after it's all over.
Still, we feel your pain all the way down here. So sorry!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Dave,

Those things happening have only a sole purpose, force us to be more creative i guess, very sad, i feel your pain too and i wish you the best solution on how to fix this.

I'd sand it out as best as you can, drop a blonde shellac on it, then french polish with alternating layers of blone and garnet. Gives it a nice aged buttery look, dents and all. I'd put money on it looking sweet and a little vintage. My neck and top have the french polish and the back and sides are a high gloss. I love the way it looks and plays. There's a little too much emphasis on things looking so clean and perfect sometimes, anyway.
I've got some "character marks" in mine already after only a few shows with it and it really takes NOTHING away from the beauty of it. It actually adds to it. Use it to your advantage.
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

Wow, I really DO feel for you!!

I have used powertools for years (tables, door jambs, my kid's playcastle I never got to complete), and when it came to the guitar build, could not reconcile myself to using a powertool on such a delicate operation.

All I can say is that really I admire all those who are brave enough to use powertools on guitar. I am too chicken...

I hope that your top is salvagable. Sometimes the shock of a bodge is greater than the damage itself.

Thanks for all your condolences guys (and girls).

Paul, flipping it over is a great suggestion. Problem is, it's a cutaway and it has already ben rough trimmed to the cutaway shape.

Inlaying it is another great suggestion but I would have to inlay most of the lower bout. Don't think I'm up for that, even if the client did afree to it.

Bursting it or painting it is out. This one is a custom build and the customer wants it all light colored, hence his choice of maple and spruce.

Brock, thanks for the PM. I am going to go ahead and sand it down and see what's left after the gouge is gone. Then I can make a final decision as to what to do with it.

Hmmm, I think I just wrote the first line for a new blues tune. "After the gouge is gone", might be my fiest hit.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Well, I sandes the top down until the gouge was completely gone and it was only .075 thick. I think I'm gonna shelve this one and use it on a smaller guitar that I'm planning to build.

Thanks to everyone for all the great ideas for salvaging it. I already had a call in to Steve for a replacement before I even started this post. He says it'll be here next week. Great guy huh!

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Dave -make a double top with it!
Always use a coated paper for machine sanding!The abrasives stay put with them.
A 12 string needs at least a .130 top so laminate another stiff piece(of spruce) to the inside of the top and brace it as you usually would.

Mike Collins
www.collinsguitars.com

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Mike Collins

Great idea Mike! I think I'll do just that. I will save it for one of my spec builds though.

I think the abrasives on this belt would have been okay if the end hadn't come loose and beat the belt half to death.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

OUCH!

Sorry about that gouge, Dave. But it sounds like you already have a great save planned for the board! Can do!

Keep on keepin' on,

Chris