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So I was thinking... I got this guitar in, which apparently lived in an attic for many years, for repair. It has 3 top cracks in it that will not close even after humidification so they need to be splinted. The cracks are not perfectly straight but wavy. I was thinking about it this way, set up my Dremel with a bit that is just slightly wider then the crack and with a straight edge as a guide rout out the crack to over half the depth of the top but not right trough it and then inlaying a splint in a sort of a lap joint.

Dumb idea? Anyone done it like this before?

JF Dave Collins has been for several years now doing a technique that a Luthier at Elderly came up with that when "appropriate for the instrument" meaning it's not a pre-war Martin is an option and would work well for a wavy crack.

You're right when they don't close with humidification and stay closed in 45% RH filling with something is what we do too.

So forgive me please but it's quality epoxy, Dave will use several, West, SIII, Bob Smith, etc. with color added to match the top. He glues a BJR (back joint reinforcement) strip under the crack to contain the epoxy and then carefully fills the crack with a color matched epoxy fill. The BJR under the fill is doing the heavy lifting and is really a cleat of sorts.

At times it can barely show but it always will show a bit there is no way to get epoxy to look exactly like spruce. Splints can show too and often do.

But it's an option if the instrument would not be devalued by this technique.

Inexpensive guitar, inexpensive repair. I like it.

Yeah that's an interesting technique Hesh.

I've done quick-and-cheap splints using a small v-parting tool to harvest donor spruce and also to prep the sides of the crack, sort of a tapered inlay. This gets me matching angles on the splint and the crack. Sometimes comes out wider than ideal, but it's quick and cheap.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I had a boss when I was in university Elmer Clegg RIP who said things were "interesting" when he really thought that the idea was BS and the person was full of poop I know you don't think this JF but your post reminded me of Elmer

Admittedly when I heard of the epoxy fill I thought OMG

I’ve done it on some cheap old guitars. It works just fine and is fast so I don’t have to charge very much.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Dude... hahahha You got me laughine me arse off first thing in the morning hahahahha.

Yeah, no... Not what I meant but I totally get it lol.

So in this technique are you colouring the epoxy with pigment, filling to slightly below level of the surrounding clear and then adding some clear coat and buffing? Or filling all the way to level with the coloured epoxy?