Guitar crack repair cleat

Repairs and restorations neck resets, rehumidify dried and cracked tops, glue and cleat cracks, reglue or replace bridges glue and touchup cracked headstocks cleaning aged finishes, repair loose binding refrets and new nuts with vintage touchups repair and clean hardware, repair warped tops, reglue braces. Top and back crack repair cleats tj thompson guitars pro. Pickguards and pickguard cracks the unofficial martin. After working some glue into the crack and clamping a spruce cleat on the inside, the crack is gently squeezed shut with a large bar clamp and cauls to fit the lower bout of the guitar. First i placed the stick on top of the guitar with the magnet and cleat directly over the crack. Top crack corrector tj thompson guitars pro luthier tools. Repairing cracks without opening a violin the pegbox. Apr 06, 20 if so, and those braces are loose, i would take it to a luthier to fix. Final price may deviate from the list below depending on the extent of repair work required upon actual inspection of the instrument. Taylor factory service centers and uv finishequipped service centers can repair cracks and, in many cases, make them disappear completely. By touching or rubbing the crack, you are working dirt and oils into the area, and this can make things much more difficult when gluing it back. This mark would tell me later, when i could not see the cleat, how far to insert it into the guitar body. However, i wouldnt use it for crack repair due to the issue of not being able to repair the repair if something goes wrong. The rounded tops taper down to nothing at the edges.

This article will discuss the concept of cleating cracks, provide a simple method for making cleat stock, and fitting cleats. The photos show an invention i devised to pull a small cleat of spruce, rosewood, or mahogany thru the sound hole, and carefully, but firmly, increase pressure on the back of the cleat, and at the same time flatten out the area where the crack may be feelable. If you dont humidify your guitars you may need to know how to do this fix. This video i glue three cleats securing two cracks in the back of this guitar. Are cleats like staples that dig into the wood, or, are they just small wooden braces that lap over the crack. West seattles guitar repair shop serving the puget sound. Its between 56 inches coming up from the bottom on the top. Buying an acoustic with top crack smart bargain or roll of. Do you think it will hold well without reinforcement. Fwiw i dont recall ever having to redo a pickguard crack repair. Gluing cleats onto a badly cracked back of blueridge br160 guitar. Expert instrument repairs from the guitar doctor in berks county pa. Instead, ill inlay a thin piece of spruce, or splint into the crack and reinforce.

By not putting cleats in, you may be rejoining the membrane but. Well, this is a little embarrassing, but it was my first attempt at serious crack repair. Repairing cracks in acoustic guitars examples of cracks caused. Then i marked the stick at the location where it hit the guitar body. How to fix a crack in the top of an acoustic guitar. Apr 03, 2010 ive wondered how this is done for a while now so, i thought that id ask. Our versatile scissor jack lets you perform tricky repairs inside an acoustic guitar with ease. Cracks in the body of your solid top acoustic guitar are often cause by physical damage to the guitar or shrinkage due to a lack of humidity.

The crack gets filled with glue and three cleats are made to be placed along the break in between the braces on the inside of. The next step will be for the luthier to glue small wooden cleats inside the guitar that span the crack. To repair these cracks the stress must be eliminated by removing the pickguard and reattaching or replacing it. Combined with installation cauls and strong magnets, they allow you to glue both the crack and the cleat in one operation.

Each cleat has a center hole for the crack clamps wire. And since a cleated crack will often cause a split next to the cleat if the guitar dries out once again, you could end up with a repaired crack, a cleat, and a new crack beside the cleat. Depending on the severity and location of the crack, a repair is as simple as stabilizing the wood and applying glue to secure it. Fix a cracked guitar top without hampering the tone thin, strong wood patches for gluing cracks shut.

If it is a later model made with ar then it is legitimate to do the repair with ar. Neither will stick to itself once dried in the crack. It creates perfectly round patching cleats from any wood you choose. Ok, i just bought an old guild d25m on ebay for an awesome price. I wouldnt use lmi white either for the same reason. When a guitar gets or develops a crack, what is used for cleats and how does the process of doing the repair work. Check out the price list then describe your repair for us and well get you a live estimate. This video i put to use my new magnets and cleat the first crack in the bottom of the lower.

Services precision guitar works melbourne fl guitar repair. Martin d15 key crack repair the unofficial martin guitar forum. Otherwise it was in great shape so we adjusted the price and made the deal. Cracked soundboard repair tutorial acoustic and hollowbody. The photos show an invention i devised to pull a small cleat of spruce, rosewood, or mahogany thru the sound.

While there are some repairs that require reinforcement, i avoid cleats unless. The devil is in the details first, we make a cleat out of matching wood to go over the crack. Its a good thing to fix a crack on your guitar, but dont let your tone suffer in the process by going overboard with the repair. Stewmac crack repair tools complete set stewart macdonald. If you have a picture of your guitars condition, upload it to our estimator platform and well be able to get you an even more accurate repair. A simple repair consisting of working some glue into the crack and cleating it wont hold up in the long run. This is the first article in a series i will be writing on the subject of cleats and crack reinforcement methods. Fwiw my old d18 has both the key crack and the other classic, martins pick guitar crack. Many hours, a pile of prototypes, and inspiration from luthier freddie cisneros, went into the development of our scissor jack. If you can flex the crack some, i would rub some hot hide glue into the crack. I purchased one of these spruce strips to repair a crack in the sitka spruce top on my martin om. Jan 05, 2012 taylor factory service centers and uv finishequipped service centers can repair cracks and, in many cases, make them disappear completely. How to best repair this crack wphotos the acoustic guitar. Since the invention of the acoustic guitar, we flattopback repair peeps havent had a crack repair method that was designed for and suited to our needs.

So this time im going to put a cleat behind the crack on the inside. Top and back crack repair cleats tj thompson guitars. Now you can upload photos with your repair estimate request. Holding braces, repair cleats and bridge plates for gluing.

Hello id like to ask if its professional to repair cracks without opening an instrument. Crack repair guitar blog the official taylor guitars blog. Its basically threading a thin guitar string through a repair cleat, tying a knot at the end of the string or soldering a ball to the end, putting glue on the face of the cleat, threading the string up through a small hole in the center of the crack and raising the whole assembly into place and held with the tension of a single guitar tuner. I wouldnt just hit it with yellow glue if you want to keep this for a few more years. Efficiently making and installing cleats to reinforce cracks is a necessary skill for luthiers. A cleated humidity crack will not stay closed any better than a wellglued, properly rehumidified crack repair. This open crack wont stay closed, even after the guitars moisture content has acclimated to a relative humidity of 50% at 70 degrees. To do this, we make a cleat and glue it over the crack. You can push from the inside and outside to get it aligned perfectly after applying glue. Aug 06, 2014 first i placed the stick on top of the guitar with the magnet and cleat directly over the crack.

Whether the crack is caused by humidity or by impact, there is no immediate danger to the guitar. A qualified luthier would probably glue and cleat those cracks to prevent them from growing. May 30, 20 its basically threading a thin guitar string through a repair cleat, tying a knot at the end of the string or soldering a ball to the end, putting glue on the face of the cleat, threading the string up through a small hole in the center of the crack and raising the whole assembly into place and held with the tension of a single guitar tuner. Put glue on the cleat and tighten the crack closed for. Since the invention of the acoustic guitar, we flattop back repair peeps havent had a crack repair method that was designed for and suited to our needs. Using cleats to repair side cracks on the gibson tg1 guitar. Second, if you notice a crack, your first instinct may be to touch or rub it. The treble side brazilian rosewood had an approximately 8 long very straight and closed crack. If the damage is extreme, we may suggest a neck or body replacement. You can also cleat with wood, however the curve is somewhat difficult to fit.

This video i put to use my new magnets and cleat the first crack in the bottom of the lower bout of the guitar top. If they came back i might be more liberal in slapping on cleats. This entry was posted in instrument, techniques and tagged cello, cleats, crack, luthier, reinforcing, repair, restoration, viola, violin. Featherthin and flexible, these cleats are light and responsive like the soundboard itself. Guitar specialist guitar repair and restoration services.

I used a very fresh transparent strong fish glue, but i didnt install cleats. Martin d28 1961 brazillian rosewood guitar the closet reverb. Jan 01, 2012 the good news is the crack right beside it is still closed, and this one is still closed at the ends. Feb 26, 2008 acoustic guitar top crack posted in acoustic guitar discussion. The centerline has begun to spilt at both ends and is repaired and well as a few other small cracks. Knowing how to evaluate the seriousness of a crack will allow you to determine whether to call a repair person immediately or whether it might be ok to leave it alone for a little while. Theres a lot of flex in this area of the back, which contributed to the original cracks and the repair opening back up. Give us a call to discus repair options and please be prepared to email a picture to us in order to receive the most accurate estimate. Ive wondered how this is done for a while now so, i thought that id ask. These cleats are used as reinforcement and are clamped in placeusing specialized clamps or, in recent years, extremely strong rare earth magnetswhile the glue sets for maximum strength. Avoid cracks by insuring your instrument is properly humidified and well.

Put glue on the cleat and tighten the crack closed for a neat, professional repair. If its a crack located close to a border, would it be ok to not put cleats. How to repair cracks in your acoustic guitar guitar alliance. It sounds good, but now i need to figure out how to fix the crack. The crack should be tight so i doubt you need to clamp or add a cleat. Crack repair cleats in spruce, indian rosewood, and mahogany for repairing acoustic guitars with the tj thompson top crack corrector. If so, and those braces are loose, i would take it to a luthier to fix. May 07, 20 this open crack wont stay closed, even after the guitars moisture content has acclimated to a relative humidity of 50% at 70 degrees. Acoustic guitar top crack repair cleating cracks n sealing.

Press the glueside of the cleat to the upper interior of the inside of your guitar, directly underneath the crack. Heres some pics the lower bout on the bass side was broken off in 4 seperate pieces. I agree that if the crack is open, the guitar should be humidified until it closes up by itself. Acoustic guitar top crack repair cleating cracks n sealing outter cracks. In other words, the guitar area isnt perfectly flat and needs to be.

I wouldnt be afraid of a quality guitar with a fresh crack if i could evaluate it myself. We offer a variety of instrument repair and setup services. May 11, 2010 well, this is a little embarrassing, but it was my first attempt at serious crack repair. The guitar doctor is a full service guitar repair shop in exeter. Dont do crack repairs without cleats or take your guitar to someone who does. There is no movement on either side of the cracks when pushing on them there was when i first got the guitar.

Apr 23, 2018 whether the crack is caused by humidity or by impact, there is no immediate danger to the guitar. If you own an acoustic guitar long enough, chances are good that youll have to deal with the repair of a crack in the wood. Making a spruce cleat for the back crack crawls backward. Glue a perfect wooden cleat something new to the world of lutherie is our hardened steel cleat cutter. Here we have a pretty nasty crack, more than likely due to the instrument drying out. Make sure the grain of the cleat is placed perpendicular to the grain of the wood on your guitar. Our crack clamp uses a guitar tuner on a smooth polyethylene base, and with strong thin wire, it winches the crack shut. In an effort to avoid a repeat, and keep the new adhesive from pulling up wood fibers if removed again, this bare area of wood beneath the guitar is usually sealed with finish. Have these cracks meandered or grown at all since youve had the guitar. There is a crack on it, which the seller mentioned and he also said that it hasnt grown any in the years that hes owned it.

I plan on holding onto this guitar for a while, so i plan on getting it fixed. The crack, which developed mainly as a result of the guitar drying out, is located on the lower bout, extending along the grain from the treble side of the bridge to the binding next to the heel block. If you have a picture of your guitar s condition, upload it to our estimator platform and well be able to get you an even more accurate repair. Mar 06, 2017 this video i put to use my new magnets and cleat the first crack in the bottom of the lower bout of the guitar top. I was able to glue and clamp this crack and i cleated it at 3 points on the inside with pyramid shaped maple cleats for a solid repair, which because of the pyramid shape of. Acoustic guitar top crack posted in acoustic guitar discussion. This is the first article in a series i will be writing on the subject of. This video i glue three cleats securing two cracks in the back of this. The good news is the crack right beside it is still closed, and this one is still closed at the ends. How to repair a crack in a solid top acoustic guitar our.