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Are you saying this baby doesn't have any lining in it? And it looks like rats was chewin' on the headstock...

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Baby Taylors are very mediocre in terms of structural integrity. I had a buddy that dropped one, and it had damage similar to the one in this thread. Top split, and several braces broke loose from the top in the process. No linings; braces weren't tucked, feathered, or anything else to keep them from pulling away from the outer perimeter of the top in a crash like it suffered. He asked if we could fix it; I convinced him that it wasn't worth the effort, and he was better off building a new one done right. So he did. Now he has a very nice properly-made guitar, and he couldn't be happier.

I'm a Bob Taylor fan, but I was very disappointed in the build quality of the baby Taylor line.

Sorry, that last Guest post was from me, Kelby. For some reason, when I log in on this computer, I don't stay logged in, so I'm just "Guest."

Kelby, I felt the same way when I looked at this guitar in person.

The durability factor is really low, in other words: it's destined for the scrap pile if one has to make dollars and cents of it. I dropped a smooth hundred dollar bill on this little guitar, another twenty for shipping. So I'm out $120 if I fix it or not.

At the same time I purchased this Taylor repair guitar there was an identical Baby Taylor neck, it sold for $105 plus $8 shipping. I have a whopping seven bucks more than that neck alone brought. I'll post here when I make a decision as to what to do. Routing off the top is a good choice giving access to those pesky linings that don't exist...... it's a beater and will always be a beater...

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

You know, when I bought this I was thinking campfire guitar.

Now, after this thread, I'm thinking campfire.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Come on Bruce, don't murder her. She still wants to sing. Lay those loving hands of yours on her and gently caress those sap lines to the place they once were. Have your Moment of Fun which you started out to have and don't let these jelous OLF'ers shame you into defeat. Your Baby is pleading with you as she hangs in the balance of steamed sweet life, dripping with the waters of eternity or a slow fiery death at the hands of a man gone mad. Driven to the edge by his comrades of the OLF. I say let her live to see tomorrow and the everlasting light of eternity!

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Thanks Chuck, hey, we have an opening for an inspirational speaker. I think you are our man!

CYA, I'm taking my babe and heading for the shop.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Neck removed, fret ends filed, headstock overlay damage delamination super glued, fretboard treated with my secret mix of oils. That ebony board is nice, even the orange/black streak on one end. My wife says: "Are those sheetrock screws holding the ncek on?" "Is it supposed to be screwed through the fingerboard like that?" Mmmmhmmm, yep.

I decided to do a quick job on the top, so LMI white was handy and clamps were a step away. The biggest gap is yet to come. All I can say is, this guitar should have linings, and more braces. It will have cleats over all damaged top splits when I"m done. I don't know about trying to install linings through the soundhole? Still thinking 'bout that. So far I have thirty minutes on the repair. and ten cents worth of glue.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

I'm guessing that it was left in a very dry hot location for too long. That said did the peghead damage happen at the same time? I see heat damage there but looks also like some impact damage as well.

Michael, Right on both counts.

The headstock is now repaired, frets filed flush and it's ready to go back on.

I'll admit, once I repaired half the top, it got tougher to figure out what to do on the heavy-open spruce crack. There just wasn't enough wood it seemed.

Here is what I did, I expanded the existing wood with a damp paper towel inside the guitar. It took about fifteen to twenty minutes wiping and keeping the inner surface damp, until the fibers expanded nearly closed. Whew!

Then, with outside cauls and a clamp, I pulled the top together. Once as tight as I dared, I prepared an inner top brace. It is actually a regular scalloped tonebar of adirondack spruce. I sanded the radius off it, making it flat like the Baby top. I had plotted and taped atop the guitar, the outline of the xbrace. I trimmed and dry-fitted the brace cutting the x-angles on both ends.

The cool thing is it crossed the main broken area perfectly, sort of a ladder brace on an xbraced top, or a low tone-enhancer. I switched to my white Titebond for this brace, why I don't know. My longer Klemmsia's wouldn't go through the hole, my shorts weren't long enough. Darn. What now, take a break.

I thought and thought and returned to the shop in search of just the right thing. Mini-gobars, made of walnut binding strips, cut just shy of the full box height, plus a few 1/8th longer. I glued in the brace, held it by hand until the glue took hold.

Quickly, I placed the center gobar in place against the brace, it was fast and worked nicely. Then, I placed a Klemmsia over the spot, back to front, held perfectly. I quickly added two more, one at each end of the tone brace. Right over the cracked area on the left, I lightly clamped a second Klemmsia to help level and close the gap even more.

I was interrupted, but managed to install an adirondack patch over the large top crack on the right lower bout. Again, I used the little walnut mini-gobars inside the guitar. Little props, sprung into place, just right, a little pressure but not too much. Reminded me of putting a sound post in a violin which I've done many times. Only with a fiddle you don't have a hole big enough for your hand. The Baby Taylor hole causes me some contorted/trapped feeling for my big old grub.

Stay tuned, I should get all the cracks taken care of by tomorrow.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Yep, got two more cleats inside today to close up the top completely. Only thing left is to glue the repaired top to the rim from the tailblock to the left lower bout.

Gonna be out and about tomorrow, but still should have time to install the K and K pure western pickups, reinstall the neck, and glue the top back to the rim. Whoever said that is a lot of work to go to for the result was right. But it's turning out great.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Done. Total investment. $100 for the repairable Baby, $20 shipping from Connecticut, $2 D'addario lights, Giraffe Bone saddle - gift from Scott Kolar, skipped the K and K, so I'll plug the hole and add a Martin end pin takeout. $122, oh, and a couple hours of my time plus ten cents worth of glue and some scrap spruce cleats. Fun project.

Would I recommend a Baby Taylor to a friend? Not until I find out they are putting linings in them front and back. That alone was an education, and I'm guessing that linings might have actually saved this guitar some embarassing cracks, it either got very dry, or very dry and hot, as evidenced by all I saw.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Good job, Bruce!

So, now are you testing it in front of the fireplace to see if it cracks apart again from heat and drying?

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

You took the words right out of my mouth, Pat. I'm waiting for him to drive a nail, in the chimney over the fireplace, with the headstock, so he can hang it there and see if he can duplicate the previous damage.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Pat and Waddy, the fireplace setting was because of the earlier reference to a campfire guitar or a campfire? As you can see, I didn't let anyone talk me out of wasting my time or money. I think the baby's are really close to being the GLO's we all hear about. It was a fun project. If they'd only made the top out of plywood and put some linings in there, it'd be a pretty good hundred dollar guitar.

Now where was I? Oh yeah, I forgot to bill the ebony bridge pins, so there is another five bucks.... of fun.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

The 1/2 inch hold was easy to fix in the tail. As I searched my stash, there it was: A taylor end pin complete with screw, furniture nut, and vinyl ferrule on the nut. It was one I took out of my first Taylor when installing a Fishman.

The last part of the setup, was intonating the nut and getting the action down to perfect. That really does make a guitar. Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, Bruce.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com