A (non PB) guitar body with a crack - can this be saved or is it fire wood?

[ThatCluelessGerman]

So well. I bought a b-grade guitar kit with a crack. The crack between the pickup cavities is deep and goes right trough but it's very fine. The crack under the bridge is not that deep and it stops after the hole for the bridge posts.

I still bought the kit because I liked the double binding (front and back as well as the headstock), but I'm actually pretty shocked about the quality of it. The seller says he has a good reputation in Germany and many people like his kits but so far, it's pretty underwhelming to me. A lot of ugly glue marks everywhere. My sub 100€ kit from eBay looked miles better from the start.
But ok. Let's see.

My idea was to fill the crack with liquid superglue (CA) and then sand it level (carefully). Then maybe some wood filler.

I actually planned to stain the guitar black, but with visible grain. I didn't plan on making a "pretty" guitar, because I really don't fancy these traditional LPs. But now the question is, is the crack going to be a problem or is it just cosmetic? I mean it's not a hollow body and it does not go right through the back, so I hope it's going to work out. But what do you guys think?

[JimC]

You can save anything if you're willing to paint it a solid colour, it ain't scrap. Having said that its a bit worrying. I'm presuming its the typical situation of a body cap on top of a body of different wood, and the crack is only in the cap. If so my first guess would be that one or the other wasn't flat when they were clamped and glued together. In that case a relevant question is whether the crack down towards the bridge will propagate further with time. I'm not sure there's any way of answering that. You could try drilling a hole in line with the crack under the tailpiece in the hope that if it makes it that far the hole will stop it going any further (you'd fill the hole!)

[Simon Barden]

Not good. I don't like the way the crack is so near the bridge post hole. Inserting that could open the crack up further. There's not a lot you can do apart from trying to glue it and hope it holds. you'd need something that's good when bridging large gaps, so I'd be thinking of a thin epoxy and wick it into those cracks. It's not going to look pretty, though you could paint a couple of matching solid stripes afterwards down the body to cover up the glue line. Maybe even black stripes to match the black stain. Something like this.



You should be able to get the other glue marks off with a mixture of glue remover or acetone and sanding. Just keep any acetone away from the binding. It's a solid top from the look of it, so you can happily sand away as required.

[ThatCluelessGerman]

Hey guys, thank you!

It's unfortunately not a solid top Just the usual paper thin veneer.

I managed to get most of the glue off with aceton and sanding, but there is some discoloration left. Not sure if it will take the stain there or if I have to change my plans.

Do you think it would be a good idea to insert the bridge posts now, before staining? If the crack widens, I would have a better chance of fixing stuff before it is stained or even finished.

The crack is running through the cap between the pickup cavities, but it is shallow where the bridge posts are. So I haven't drilled a hole yet but I keep the idea in the back of my head.

The whole body is stained with glue, it's just ridiculous. Maybe somebody built it with their feet or something?

[ThatCluelessGerman]

I have put the bridge posts into the freezer. Maybe I'll try hammering them in tomorrow. Let's see if I destroy the body by accident ;-)

Other than that, this kit is really shitty. The sides of the body are uneven. The binding is higher than the uneven sides. I need to fill the sides and sand down the binding, too. The body is 2 pieces that don't match at the slightest. The neck has a filled hole right at the head plate. The tuner holes are all wonky.
Really, I would have expected this at a 100€ set from AliExpress but NOT with a kit that cost double of this, at a reduced rate (because of the crack). It usually costs between 250 and 280€ which is totally ridiculous. I pity the fools that paid the full price for this.

[JimC]

So is the crack into the main body timber? That's really bad news.

[ThatCluelessGerman]

No, the crack is in the cap. But the cap is not solid maple, it is mahogany (I guess).

[Simon Barden]

The rear should be mahogany (or a variant of mahogany) and the cap on top should be maple with a maple veneer. But it does depend on the spec of the body. The cap may be something like sycamore. Have you got a link to the eBay page? That cap has cracked and has taken the glued-on veneer with it. Probably not seasoned for long enough before it was used.

It looks like this was a kit put together from parts that should have been rejected at the factory.

I don't mind high binding as it means that it can be sanded or scraped level with the top, but everything else is pretty bad.

[ThatCluelessGerman]

Simon, I think you are right. The cap is maple, the flaming is a maple veneer. I would love to post the link to the shop page, but I don't want to get sued or anything (because I said the kit is shit not up to standard).

I can send it per private message if you want.

Anyway, I got the bridge posts in. So far, the crack has not expanded!

BUT as I put the studs in the freezer before hammering them in, I'd rather wait until they expanded before praising my luck :-)

I haven't put in the tailpiece studs yet as I need to drill the ground wire hole first and it's probably better doing this when I'm done with staining.

[ThatCluelessGerman]

Some pics:





Oh and if you wonder how much filling the sides needed until they are at least somewhat even:



Not done yet, but at least getting there...

I found one good thing about the kit: The neck has a perfect fit. Really nice and snug.