Official Luthiers Forum!

I had my guitar on its side and it fell over onto a sharp corner of a wooden block. It dented the top to nearly an 1/8".

I steamed some of it out, but I am still left with about 3/64" to 1/16". I am stuck here....brand new guitar top and I have a dent .

What are my options for fixing this?

Thanks

_________________
Guitars...One's too many...Twenty is not enough.

I jsut measured......The dent is actually 1/64" to 1/32 and about 3/16" long.

Thanks

_________________
Guitars...One's too many...Twenty is not enough.

Doug-
Is the top finished or raw wood?
How much steaming (method?) and how many 'cycles' of steaming and drying have you done?

John

Doug, have you only steamed it once? You might want to try steaming it a couple more times. Sometimes this will get a stubborn dent to finally level out.

Otherwise it will probably be time to patch it or sand it out.

_________________
Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Hi guys. I am close to finishing my second classical.

The wood is raw (unfinished).

Here is what I did yesterday. I put a few drops of water in the dent. Then, I placed a wringed out towel over the dent and placed an iron on it for about 2-3 seconds. I did this 5 times.

Shall I give it this method another go? Some of the fibers are ripped/broken. It is nasty.

Thanks

_________________
Guitars...One's too many...Twenty is not enough.

Ok. I just steamed it again. It looks a little better, but the "line" where the fibers are ripped don't seem to want to rise. This, however, is the deepest point. How many times do you think I should repeat this?

Thanks

_________________
Guitars...One's too many...Twenty is not enough.

Hey Hesh. Yeah....I don't like working with this stuff. It is way too soft....if you sneeze, it dings. I was extra careful this time and I have a few spots....like you, I have no idea how they go there.....probably the "ding fairy".

Thanks

_________________
Guitars...One's too many...Twenty is not enough.

Doug,
Steaming is mostly helpful when the wood has been compressed, but unfortunately will not resurrect severed wood fibers. If you cannot sand the defect out, your only other choice is to fill it in. If you are planning to finish with lacquer, you could drop-fill the area with the same finish. Epoxy or superglue would be other options. Some very talented individuals (Dan Erlewine) are able to re-create grain lines with paint and a miniscule brush and effect a near-invisible repair but I have never tried this (I can barely paint a wall).
Some lutherie books suggest a mixture of wood dust and glue and while this works well on ebony, will leave a nasty dark spot on WRC (ask me how I know)
Hope it turns out OK for you.

_________________
It's not the miles ahead, it's the stone in your shoe


In Markham,Virginia

Great advise guys. This is only my second. I am making more mistakes on this one than my first. This guitar has been very frustrating, but from what I read, it is natural to make mistakes and perfection doesn't exist. I need to realize this. With everyone's help, I am amazed at how many corners I have gotten myself out of....some really bad situations! I think getting out of these really bad situations is just as rewarding as building the guitar itself....it really is a whole different aspect of building, and is very close to repairing!

Anyway, I made the mistake of drum sanding my top to a hair over final thickness......another rookie mistake. I realized it just after I did it. I have no "wiggle" room at all.

My usual cure is to put some glue in the area and sand over it. I agree Jon, this will look nasty. If I can't get this out, I will practice drop filling the area on scrap.....one that I put a dig on intentionally.

Thanks

_________________
Guitars...One's too many...Twenty is not enough.

How about covering the dent with an inlay??

Ray

Good idea Ray..I think that's how Larry Robinson got started..if I'm not mistaken he was working on a bass, while working for Rick Turner, dinged it and Rick just told him to put an inlay on it..the rest is history..of course it would depend where the ding is..

Doug-
Your idea to deliberately ding a scrap, then try repair, is a good one.
As others have suggested, keep at it. I would even try keeping the area damp (small wad of wet paper towel, then plastic or similar) overnight and then try steaming again. If you have something else to work on, you could keep at this for a few days.
It will not be invisible, but better than trying to fill with anything except clear finish- even that will tend to be absorbed by the broken fibers and leave a mark.
Good luck- we've all been there- and not just with WRC too.
John

There was thread a couple of weeks ago that showed an awesome repair job on a dented WRC top. No time to search for you but it is worth tracking down.

_________________
Thank You and Best To All