A
"splice of life" for a damaged D-18
Or;
how to replace nearly one-quarter of a guitar top without making an
obvious mess.
This
guitar met with an accident-an amp fell on it
onstage, punching a hole in the top and badly breaking the neck.It was
handed to me by Dave Patterson, the instructor at Red Wing at the time
of my term there. (Click images for a larger view.)
The
guitar in its broken state. Note the remaing chunk of heel left
in the dovetail cavity of the body. Ouch.
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A
closer view.The
neck pieces have been retrieved and glued together.
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The
binding is carefully peeled back from the damaged area.
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And
a finished spruce patch is fitted. This patch has been carefully
fitted into a routed hole, supported on all sides by the braces,
cleats, and neck block. The refractive quality of the spruce
run-out in the patch was also carefully matched to the top.
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The
fitted patch before trimming.
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Now
that the patch is fitted and trimmed, the finish is removed
and the top isprepared for new lacquer. The only really obvious
seam is completely covered by the pickguard.
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