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How hard is this to fix?


u6crash

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Mentioned this in the HCGJ earlier, but thought I'd get some insight from the acoustic folks. I dropped my Carvin C850 and messed it up quite a bit. The back is bookmatched rosewood with a purfling strip down the center. If I don't care about the bookmatching, I think just the one side could be replaced, but all the binding would have to come off to make the repair. There are also cracks through the finish on the bottom side.

 

I know that I cannot fix this by myself alone at this point. One day I'd like to build one of the StewMac acoustic guitar kits, but I'm just not set up for it now. I may just stick this guitar in a case in the closet until the day comes, but I might get some repair estimates too. What are your thoughts on how costly this repair might be?

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i don't think the back needs to be replaced... take it to a good luthier in your area and see what they can do... hard to tell if/how the wood is damaged in that picture, but if the cracks go all the way through, they might be able to be cleated and then just have the finished touched up in that area... hard to tell...

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I'm going to agree with Clippity on this too (small minds are thinking alike today). It is my understanding that the backs and sides on Carvins are laminated so adding a cleat shouldn't be much of a problem and won't change the sound. I don't know what their finish is but if it is non-catalyzed lacquer it is pretty easy to "heal" - a good repairperson should be able to do that for you. Catalyzed finishes are a whole different can of worms. A section of the binding could also be removed and replace too if that was needed.

So, my gut feeling is that replacing a laminated back and trying to replace the binding, followed by a complete refinish would be pretty expensive, but a decent repair could be done pretty easily.

And when you get ready to build that StewMac kit, give me a call. I love leading people astray, er, helping get them started...

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Oh, the wood is definitely damaged. I have miniscule fragments of it on my floor. I'll have to mess with my camera settings to make the flash less intense and take more pictures. Parts of the back are raised up very slightly above the binding.

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And when you get ready to build that StewMac kit, give me a call. I love leading people astray, er, helping get them started...

 

 

What conditions are necessary to build the kit? I'm getting a room together now in the barn that I can do some general woodworking/finishing in, but nothing too fancy. It won't be heated and the humidity won't be controlled, so I'll only be working out there from late April until early October or so, depending on what the project is and how important humidity is to it. My understanding is that it is pretty important for acoustic guitars.

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even with wood damage, i don't think replacing the back would be a viable option on that guitar... by the time you pay for all of the work going into it you'd be better off just replacing the guitar. Take it to a good guitar dude and see what they think they can do. Possibly just filler and a refinish on the back.

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Once again, I agree.

This is a great place to learn about kit building - I have posted a couple of threads and can point you to them. I build in an unheated garage (not the best, but its what I've got) with minimum power tools and almost no skill, but I've been satisfied with the results. Once you've done one or two you'll realize that replacing the back on yours will be a big job.

http://www.kitguitarsforum.com/forum/index.php

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Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'll probably look into getting it repaired at some point and it will be a nice all purpose guitar that I can take anywhere. I still might use this as an excuse to pickup a new guitar though :)

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Mentioned this in the HCGJ earlier, but thought I'd get some insight from the acoustic folks. I dropped my Carvin C850 and messed it up quite a bit. The back is bookmatched rosewood with a purfling strip down the center. If I don't care about the bookmatching, I think just the one side could be replaced, but all the binding would have to come off to make the repair. There are also cracks through the finish on the bottom side.


I know that I cannot fix this by myself alone at this point. One day I'd like to build one of the StewMac acoustic guitar kits, but I'm just not set up for it now. I may just stick this guitar in a case in the closet until the day comes, but I might get some repair estimates too. What are your thoughts on how costly this repair might be?

 

 

Here's some info that may help.

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/crackrepair.htm

 

I'm not sure if you're willing to travel this far, but my guitar tech is in Griffith IN., does excellent work. I've found luthiers in IN. prices are a bit more "reasonable" than in the greater Chicago Metro area. Please, feel free to email for more info. Cheers.

 

Trina

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