Thread: Old Guitar repair

Hi Rachet

First step would be to loosen or preferably remove the strings. If it hasnt been played for a while it will need new ones anyway. The crack doesnt seem to have affected the top so it should go back together pretty easily. I'd wick in some titebond or hide glue if you have it. I wouldnt go for hot melt as it doesnt have that much grip unless you get the temperature just right. Once the tension is off it wont need a lot of clamping but when you do put some cloth on to protect the soundboard surface.

Im not much of a player either, I prefer making them myself,

I have loosened the strings

the front panel has gone back in , almost

may need some persuasion , more of that later

need to go to bunnings to get

titebond or

hide glue , is this the one from old school days that needs to be heated

what is the best way to go

Does this guitar have real or paint on bindings?

The top is attached to the sides by way of kerfed lining. The glue joint between the underside of the top and the upper surface of the kerfed lining has failed. Your problem is going to be getting the top to seat down properly on the old glued surface of the lining. First thing I'd do is clean up the gluing surface of the lining and then attempt to glue up using Titebond I glue. Apply clamping pressure along edge of top making sure you use cauls to avoid damaging finish on same. Spool clamps would be good for this.

If it was my guitar and it had real bindings Id probably route out binding and purflings along failed section and then replace lining before gluing up top and then splicing in new bindings and purflings.

The shop cant really be faulted for refusing to do the repair.....the repair job would cost more than the guitar is worth. Did they give you a quote on repair job?

Originally Posted by ratchet

I have loosened the strings

the front panel has gone back in , almost

may need some persuasion , more of that later

need to go to bunnings to get

titebond or

hide glue , is this the one from old school days that needs to be heated

what is the best way to go

If youre not set up for hide glue then use Titebond I...alot easier.

Lift the top up enough to get some sand paper in and dress top of the lining (I'd use a sanding stick). Put some match sticks in to hold the top up while you get some glue spread along top of the lining (piece of thin card will do for this). Id clamp up using cam or spool clamps and Id also make up a caul from MDF lined with cork to even out clamping pressure along the join. If youre using G clamps then be careful you dont apply too much pressure. leave clamped up overnight.

one of the old classical guitars i pulled apart had this problem too..... (caused by a drop to the lower treble side of the body i would assume)

i later pulled the top clean off it when i was interested in what goes on inside these guitars... haha....

from what i saw where the break is on the one i pulled apart....
theres so much old (some crumbling) yellow glue inside these things you will not get a decent result by just slipping some glue in between the split and clamping....

i remember seeing an old luthier blokes website on the net somewhere (frets.com or something i would assume)
where he runs through replacing a top....
the method he uses is as martin sugests above, routing out the binding.... then popping to top off of the guitar sanding the glue off of the edge and kerf lining with a long flat bit of wood with sandpaper stuck to it.......
then gluing the top back and then re binding it....
unless its false binding....


as for what martin says about the shop not being faulted for declining the job.....
theres some things that are just so much effort and in the end just arent worth it (you can relate that to life... lol)

The top is fitting back onto the side quite well , I am getting a bit confident

there appears to be bits of plastic , are these bindings or purflings ( beginning to sound like an expert )

what is a caul , is it a bit of wood which would lay along the top above the edge to give even pressure , say with a bit of cloth between the wood and the guitar

I was planing on using g clamps

The shop said that the repair was not worth it , after all the guitar did not cost a lot

May have to go in a minute , going to see Simon and Garfunkel tonight

The bits of plastic...if they run around the exterior edge where top and sides join then its binding.

Caul is a piece of wood designed to spread clamping pressue and also prevent damage to material being clamped. I make my cauls out of MDF and glue cork to the side of the caul in contact with the work being clamped. I slice up cork sanding blocks to get the cork for my cauls.

G clamps will work but be careful you dont tighten them up too much.....once you get glue squeeze out from the joint the clamp is tight enough.

Andrew...I wasnt talking about replacing the whole top. Thats a major job and really not worth it on this guitar.

Cheers Martin

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

Andrew...I wasnt talking about replacing the whole top. Thats a major job and really not worth it on this guitar.

Cheers Martin

i was only talking about where you mentioned routing the binding off

Originally Posted by Andrew_B

the method he uses is as martin sugests above, routing out the binding....

on another note....
the old suzuki's are really nice guitars....
iv been hunting down a suzuki strat copy for many years....
i had the opportunity to get one on ebay and missed it lol... about the same time i bought my squire...

A neighbour of mine has exactly the same problem with his Takamine, it appears that Titebond is the go but cleaning up the residue of the original glue seems like the most difficult part. especially if the split isn't very large. You don't want to widen it by jamming a file or something similar in there. A sheet or two of sandpaper may be the answer.
If the guitar was originally assembled using Titebond then there's no problem but I'd say that hide glue was used since it came apart because of heat and humidity. Titebond isn't supposed to be affected by those two factors.
Personally I'd take the instrument to a good tech or luthier but this job could be attempted without destroying the guitar and presenting it to the luthier in a shoe box so it's worth the attempt, could save him a few bucks.
Yeah it's an old thread but the info may help others surfing for information.

Originally Posted by felixq78

If the guitar was originally assembled using Titebond then there's no problem but I'd say that hide glue was used since it came apart because of heat and humidity. Titebond isn't supposed to be affected by those two factors.
Personally I'd take the instrument to a good tech or luthier but this job could be attempted without destroying the guitar and presenting it to the luthier in a shoe box so it's worth the attempt, could save him a few bucks.
Yeah it's an old thread but the info may help others surfing for information.

Very doubtful that Suzuki wouldn't have been using hide glue on this model of guitar in the 60's. Titebond glue joints subjected to heat will fail.....eg a guitar left in a car on a hot day. It's also possible that the original glue joint just wasn't done properly.