Help Assess my D03R TOP CRACK !! Any luthiers out there?

Started by nataliesilva, September 23, 2017, 12:10:40 PM

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Hello,

This is my first post on the site.  Just wanna say congrats to everyone on being of the Larrivee owning breed.  Some of the best guitars! 

So about 4 years ago.  I travelled to Texas w/the Air Force, let my husband keep the guitar over a week since at that time I was in the barracks, he was in a small apartment a mile away.  I guess their humidity was so low at the apartment, (and obviously just Texas!), that I opened the case a week later and ugh!, a crack!  I went to see a local shop and they told me to hydrate the guitar.  Life happened and here I am today. 

Over the last couple weeks, I've really been hydrating it with this Oasis sound hole humidifier.  The crack has really started to close up to almost an unnoticeable range(at least in some angles.)  I ordered an extendable mirror so I can see the interior side of the top.  The crack does not run through.  It looks perfect inside, certain the crack never ran that deep. 

I'm thinking I will hydrate a little longer and see how it continues to close up or if it's reached the furthest it will close up. 

Sound is unaffected.  Still a great sounding guitar.  The crack is almost unnoticeable, I just don't want neglect of a repair I may need to do to eventually turn into a really messed up guitar. 

So my questions are:

Looking at the picture, would you fill the crack w/glue or just leave it and monitor/continually use a humidifier(as should be done)?

And if you would fill with glue, would you cleat, being the interior is seamless/perfect? 

Also interested in hearing if some other repair is more suitable. 



I'm sort of looking for advice from individuals with some experience in this type of crack, possibly a luthier would be awesome.  Depending on how intricate the repair is, I think I'd feel comfortable doing it myself. 


Thanks for your input! 

If there is no dipping in front of the bridge then I wouldn't worry to much about it being dry.Find yourself a good tech and have the cracked checked for if its a finish crack only it it is a wood crack have it glued up.If I can be of any help my number is on my website and my website is listed in my profile.Call,PM or email me.Calling always best. :wave
A REPAIRPERSON,Barefoot Rob gone to a better place
OM03PA.98 L10 Koa
Favorite saying
 OB LA DE OB LA DA,LIFE GOES ON---BRA,It is what it is,You just gotta deal it,
One By One The Penguins Steal My Sanity, Keith and Barefoot Rob on youtube
Still unclrob
#19
12 people ignoring me,so cool
rpjguitarworks
Call PM me I may be able to help

Alright.  Yeah I don't see any dipping. What would mark the difference between finish and wood cracks?  Is the finish more surface only? It definitely was a larger split in the wood but the hydration closed it up. 

Sometime's when guitars dry out the first thing to crack is the poly finish.If hydration closed the wood you will need to add glue so the wood stays attached to each side of the crack.If you don't have anyone to fix it please call me I help you over the phone.
A REPAIRPERSON,Barefoot Rob gone to a better place
OM03PA.98 L10 Koa
Favorite saying
 OB LA DE OB LA DA,LIFE GOES ON---BRA,It is what it is,You just gotta deal it,
One By One The Penguins Steal My Sanity, Keith and Barefoot Rob on youtube
Still unclrob
#19
12 people ignoring me,so cool
rpjguitarworks
Call PM me I may be able to help

 In a thread called "The O project" I showed how I stabilized a crack with a thin maple patch, using a trick to get the patch where it needed to be.
   Since photobucket messed us all over, I am not sure the pix are there anymore.
    Be sure to watch the humidity and keep your guitar above 45% most of the time, if you can.

I just checked, all the pictures are being held for ransom by Photobucket.
I'll never give them a dime, after how much damage they have done to my repair,rebuild,refinish topics.

Sorry for the rant.

Just use some Titebond original white wood glue on the crack. Wet it a little first. Massage the glue into the crack. Wipe off the excess with a clean damp cloth. Leave it for a day or so.
   If the crack was in the wood it should be stable after that, if it doesn't get dried out real bad again.

   Eventually the crack will collect dirt and a dark line will show up.
But, just keep playing. It will survive.

Thank you for the replies!  That sucks they got rid of your post.  I'll check out what you wrote though.  So white titebond.  Do you think cleats are necessary?  And after the glue and the rest time, is there any finishing coat for blending purpose, or you just let it ride from there?  I guess the D03r has a mostly matte finish.  I can live without absolute perfection, cause it still sounds like a Larrivee.

 I've never used cleats. I'm sure they have their place, but for me it's just needing some wood glue.
Satin, or matte finish is about impossible to repair. You either gloss the top, or make it a Sunburst with gloss.

Use the yellow wood glue from Titebond.There's not much you can do about the finish just get it glued up and then play the cr*p out of it and ENJOY.
A REPAIRPERSON,Barefoot Rob gone to a better place
OM03PA.98 L10 Koa
Favorite saying
 OB LA DE OB LA DA,LIFE GOES ON---BRA,It is what it is,You just gotta deal it,
One By One The Penguins Steal My Sanity, Keith and Barefoot Rob on youtube
Still unclrob
#19
12 people ignoring me,so cool
rpjguitarworks
Call PM me I may be able to help


On the O Project, it had three cracks and I changed the color of the top to hide them. It was not easy though.

   White or yellow Titebond is fine. I guess we all have our favorites.

   Truth is if it was mine I'd probably use hot hide glue. Because it flows like water and cleans up easy. But  so does Titebond.

Yeah I wish I could see the pictures you had posted.  The internet!  Hot hide glue huh?  I've never heard of that, so I'll definitely have to check it out. 

The O Project was a GOTM (GUITAR OF THE MONTH) in July 2015. There is a pic of it there in the Pictures Topic Hall of Fame GOTM. I'm trying to post that pic. But not good at it.

 There it is. I glossed the sides and back, as well as lots of other stuff. But it has 3 top cracks.

Quote from: nataliesilva on September 23, 2017, 07:42:48 PM
Yeah I wish I could see the pictures you had posted.  The internet!  Hot hide glue huh?  I've never heard of that, so I'll definitely have to check it out. 
you probably don't need hot hide glue, unless you plan on doing lots of wood work.

i hear you.  yeh your guitar came out nice.  looks fun to play

Quote from: nataliesilva on September 23, 2017, 09:12:52 PM
i hear you.  yeh your guitar came out nice.  looks fun to play
it's easy to play on a couch or chair, even in a car, if your in a passenger seat.
   But I have a lot of guitars and the two that get played the most are my old D-02 and my newest, the OO-40R.  The OO is still small enough to play in a chair, or sofa.

I agree with Danny and Rob that you should glue it with modern wood glue like Tite-Bond or similar.  Just push it in the crack.  Hide glue is more hassle than it's worth unless you must preserve the originality of a serious vintage instrument.    No need for cleats at this point.  Here is how I would repair a crack such as this one if you brought it to me:

-Wet a finger with water and rub it over the crack to make it a bit damp.  Wipe off the excess water.  The glue will wick into the crack better that way.  You don't want to make it too wet or it will start to swell up before you can get some glue in there.
 
-Reach inside the guitar with one hand and try to open the crack a bit by gently pushing up against it from underneath as you apply the glue.

-While holding the crack open, apply the glue then rub it into the crack with a finger on your other hand.  Swirl it around in all directions, and try to force some right into the crack if you can.

-Once the glue is applied, release the pressure from inside, and the crack should close back up to it's former state.  If some glue squeezes out (which is a good sign), wipe it off with a damp cloth.  Be careful not to pull any glue back out of the crack.

-Use some good quality (stretchy) masking tape to pull and hold the two sides of the crack together while it cures.  Start the tape several inches from the crack on one side and firmly press it down from there to just before the crack.  While holding the tape down at that spot, pull and stretch the tape across the crack and tape it down on the other side while keeping the tension on it.  The tape will try and shrink back to its original size pulling the sides of the crack together.  If any glue squeezes out near the first piece of tape, wipe it off as before, and install another piece of tape across the crack beside the first one.  Continue in this way until you have strips of tape stretched across the entire length of the crack.  The strips should be fairly close to each other.

-Let the glue dry for at least 12 hours before removing the tape.

That should stabilize the crack and it shouldn't get any worse as long as you maintain proper humidity.  As has been said, even if the crack doesn't affect the sound or playability, it will at least be stabilized.  Then you can turn your attention to making it look better depending on how much it shows and how important that is to you.  We all have different levels of tolerance when it comes to esthetics.  My tolerance is high, so if a crack is stable, then I don't care much about how visible it is.  My OM-03 has two cracks in the same area as yours.  One is almost in the exact same place (the treble side) and the other is exactly the same distance from the center-line as the first, only on the bass side.  They were repaired by the previous owner and have remained stable for a few years now.  They are definitely visible, but that doesn't bother me because the guitar sounds and plays great.

It appears you are willing and able to fix it yourself, so I say go for it.  You can't do any harm to the guitar by trying to glue the crack.

Good luck, and by the way,  :welcome: to the forum.

Kurt
"Badges?  We don't need no stinkin' badges."

Became a Shooting Star when I got my 1st guitar.
Back in '66, I was 13 and that was my fix.
Still shooting for stardom after all this time.
If I never make it, I'll still be fine.


:guitar

 :+1: For Kurts instruction's.
A REPAIRPERSON,Barefoot Rob gone to a better place
OM03PA.98 L10 Koa
Favorite saying
 OB LA DE OB LA DA,LIFE GOES ON---BRA,It is what it is,You just gotta deal it,
One By One The Penguins Steal My Sanity, Keith and Barefoot Rob on youtube
Still unclrob
#19
12 people ignoring me,so cool
rpjguitarworks
Call PM me I may be able to help

Awesome instructions.  I definitely appreciate you writing that all out.  I try to do things myself when possible, with good directions and taking the time though of course.  

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