Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm sharing something really stupid that I did in hopes of saving a new luthier the misery. I regraduated a guitar I built 25 years ago, and it was sounding good. I grabbed my shop vac to suck out the dust inside. In doing this, the edge of my hand mostly sealed the opening in the sound hole, and the resulting vacuum collapsed the top. So, now I am trying to repair it. I fixed the crack but I cannot locate the sources of the buzzes from whatever is cracked inside.

Wow.....

thats a first! and a shame....

do you have any pics?

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Pics are of no value. The only problem visible from the exterior was a crack in the top near the waist, which I sealed with CA and sanded out. It was displaced a little vertically near a braced area, so I know a brace must have been affected. Sometimes when I tap the top, it buzzes--sometimes not. So, I will be on the hunt for loose and cracked braces, but I haven't located them yet.

Bill, have you tryed tapping the top along the braces and listen for a loose brace? the sound should be substantially different tapping over a broken brace...

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Peter, I tried that. When it buzzes, it buzzes no matter where I tap it. Then it stops buzzing for a while, probably from temperature or humidity changes. When I repaired the crack, I also ran CA along the braces inside near the crack. I think some other areas are loose. If I cannot locate them, I might just run CA along all the braces.

have you tried probing with a thin feeler gauge? over the years i have found it the most useful way of locating loose braces.

You might also try running a tuning fork over the top where the braces are. The volume should drop or buzz where the brace isn't making good contact with the top. I don't know if this would work or not, but it might be worth a shot.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

I'll try these methods. Right now, I am just sort of letting it lay.

Bill, that's really a drag man. I never even considered something like that happening. Sorry I don't have any advice on fixing it, but thanks for the warning that this can happen.

I usually just use compressed air and blow the dust and debris out of mine. Short quick blasts and all the junk finds its way to the soundhole.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Sorry to hear about the top but very glad you posted for us who would also learned the hard way.

thanks

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Thank You and Best To All

Man oh man, Bill! Thanks for the warning. I keep picturing old cartoons where people and anthropomorphised critters get sucked into vacuums, and of course live to tell about it. Who knew it could happen in real life!

I have an old Electrolux that I use for this. I take it out of the regular end and put it on the back, where it blows instead of sucks. Hmmm, come to think of it, if the soundhole got blocked it might pop like a baloon? Yikes....







Edited by 5 Ticklish Dachsunds, 16 February 2007 at 9:38pm

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Jeeze Bill I am very sorry that this happened to you.

[/QUOTE]


Fess up, Hesh, who did you want it to happen to? Huh?








Edited by Peewee Herman, 16 February 2007 at 9:54pm

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

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

Man I feel for that guitar..imagine having your guts sucked out

This would be a good reason to leave the strap pin in the tail end to be the last thing to do on the guitar.

Sorry for your mishap Bill

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

    I would of never thought that could happen but after you experienced it, now it seems obvious!

     Man! I'm sure glad you brought this out, anyone of us could of done this! Thanks and sorry to hear it!!

     Have you checked the back braces they may of suffered some from the old suckeroo too! Thanks again Bill!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Just when you think you have heard it all...

Sorry about the accident, but thanks for sharing your experience; I guess it is just one of those things you don't see coming, so it's good to keep this in mind for all of us.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Gee Bill, that sucks. Uh, no pun intended.
I second the use of some feeler guages to find loose braces. Works good.
Thanks for the tip on that potential problem.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Gee, I guess that's a pretty good reason to leave all those little tone balls well alone in a vintage guitar!

My shop vac is my dust collector it's almost sucks me up the pipe if I put my hand near the nozzle, I think I'll keep it well away from my guitars! Thanks for the warning.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Slightly off topic maybe but my wife who's a nurse tells me that a disproportionate number of patients turn up to hospital A and E departments with injuries involving vacumn cleaners. I wont go into which part of the body bears the injury

Don't rule out the back braces! I once worked on a guitar with a pesky buzz, and I could NOT find it...then I checked the BACK braces and sure enough one of them was loose. They can fool you into thinking it's the top that's buzzing!

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Mark Swanson
Swanson Guitars
http://www.MarkSwansonMusic.com