Creaks, croaks and cracks

I evicted that silly frog once already. But when it’s hot I leave the door to the studio open so it will cool off at night, and today I had my magnifying glasses on and was looking at how the splint sat in the slot when the plant six inches from my ear said, “Grreeeaaakkkkk!” He’s in there someplace.

For the last three days I have been coaxing the back off the sides. I heard a number of suggestions as to how best to do it, and ended up using a hot water/vinegar solution [10% vinegar if you’re taking notes]. It was intense, nerve wracking, time consuming work. I’ve done very little else but eat and sleep. Early on in my efforts I cracked the back – about an inch – as I was working around the bottom bout. There is the sharp crack that the glue makes when it releases, and there is the sharp crack the back makes when the edge splits. They sound the same. Heart in your mouth and you have to look. Hundred year old Brazilian rosewood about 2 mm thick is very brittle. Now I know that. And the crack is clamped and glued.

Learning to repair a guitar is about learning how to fix my mistakes as well as the original problems

Ain’t life like that?

I would guess I put in about 15 to 20 hours of painstaking labor, all generated by one simple sentence from a repair guy at Elderly Instruments. I described the problems to him, and he said, “Why not just pop the back off?” Simple country motion. *pop*. Does not bring to mind the picture of sitting cramped in one position hour after hour, the guitar across my knee, alternately woggling a pallet knife, and then squirting syringfuls of hot vinegar-water in a teeny crack.

When the back finally came loose, it was wonderful. I could see what I was working on; how to fix the top, and I was holding in my hand this amazingly light, stiff piece of hundred year old wood. I’ve got it apart. I can’t believe I did this. What have I done? Can I put it back together again? I sure hope so.

With the back off, the body relaxed and the end block crack closed up. I wonder why? I think it might be because the neck is out of true and pulling everything else off. Does that mean it will need to be fixed, too?

When I came in for dinner tonight, I told my partner about the cracked block. He immediately suggested I use gorilla glue in it. He even told me how to do it. “Why gorilla glue?” I asked. “It’s really strong.” he said. “You ever used it?’ I asked. “Uh, no.” So I changed the subject. One of the things I am learning as I work on this guitar is who to talk to. And who not to.