Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello all,

I'm new around here and I am having a bit of a problem, so I was hoping someone out there could help.  I recently finished an OM style acoustic.  It has been finished for about three weeks.  It has moved locations and I am noticing the arch in the back has begun to flatten out and even cave into the soundbox.  I was thinking that maybe the humidity at its new home is too high?  I would greatly appreciate any advice on the cause of this and potential solutions.

THANKS,

Nate

i would say its way too low .... more humidity causes things to swell up. What was the RH when you braced it ??? How about when you put the back/top on ?? What is it now - if you know these things, your problem most likely wil be solved. My guess is that you braced it at a much higher RH than it is currently living in. IMO if you build over 50% (I like 40-42 personally), you are pretty much asking for troubles like you have if you live in north america.

I know that lots of hobby builders cant make it happen, but I prefer to shape the braces and then glue the top or back on right away the same day.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I agree with Tony, I think it's in a low humidity environment. If it's living in a house in a colder climate then there is a good possibility forced air heat is being used. This dries the air out and drops the humidity very low in some cases.

Try putting a humidifier in the case for a while and see if that doesn't help. If you don't have a humidifier use one of those soap dish things for travelers with a damp sponge inside it.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Yup. The same thing happened to me one time when I braced with the RH too high. I always learn faster from my own mistakes. Mine not only flattened when it got dry, but it also cracked. (Ziricote)

AlA Peebels39112.8196412037

[QUOTE=A Peebels]Mine not only flattened when it got dry, but it also cracked. (Ziricote)[/QUOTE]

Ouch!

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Thanks everyone. I will get a humidifier in it.  I just wanted to nail the problem down before went and made it worse.