Any idea how much this will cost?

williwill

By some epic bad luck, a DIY bed set fell on my guitar and split it cleanly in two. I wanna take it to a shop to get a repair quote, but the nearest shop to my place is like an hour's train ride, and I don't know if it can even be repaired. So just wondering if anyone could tell me if it can even be repaired, and how big of a hole should I expect the repair to cut in my pocket? =(

The neck's cleanly detached from the body (1st picture). And there are two cracks, one on each side of where the neck used to be on the top of the guitar (2nd picture). Each crack is about 2-2.5 inches. No other damage as far as I can see. =( And if it's any help, it's a 3/4 acoustic Selmer of London guitar. =(

Craig Bumgarner

I think it is a fairly simple repair. I sent you an email.

Craig

williwill

Thanks! I didn't receive the email though. Could you send it again? Really appreciate it!

Bob Holo

Haha.... whew! Man, take a deep breath and smile, because you just got luckier than rolling snake-eyes. You want to see what most guitars look like after something heavy drops on them? Go look at the one on Leo Eimers' site.

Take heart - unless there's something amiss that's not obvious in the picture, you got lucky. I've seen good techs work for the better part of an hour on a stubborn neck removal and not get it that clean - and those cracks aren't the end of the world. You need to get them fixed but they're not in horribly tough places to fix.

Cost will depend on how picky you get about the touch-up lacquer and if there is damage not apparent in the picture (cracked neck block, serious structural things not apparent from the outside, popped braces, popped lining etc. etc. etc.)

Craig Bumgarner

Roger on what Bob says, lucky break indeed. I sent you a PM.

CB

Pekka

It seems to me that you use steel strings on the nylon string guitar. The pressure of the strings is too strong for the guitar. Guitar is quite easy to repair, just buy Titebond (glue).

Craig Bumgarner

Being a DIY kind of guy, I would not discourage you from repairing it yourself, but first consider why it came apart so easily in the first place. As Bob said, this joint is usually difficult to take apart and it is not always pretty when done. That it came apart so cleanly suggests it may not have been well fit in the first place. Check the glue thickness, if thick, the original fit was poor.

Regardless, clean the glue off and try the fit again. It should be snug. If not, glue in shims and refit using sharp chisel and patience. Check alignment to top, sides and bridge frequently throughout the process and finally before gluing.

Bob's concern about a cracked head block is worth following up, especially as the cracks in the sides extend into the area which should be reinforced by the the head block and cracks there seem somewhat illogical unless the block itself is cracked as well. Another possibility is the sides are not attached well to the block and the sides cracked independently of the block. Inspect in the joint area outside as well as inside the guitar with mirror and light. Cracks in the block can likely be glued. Drilling small holes into the cracks and injecting low viscosity glue with a thin needle glue syringe may be helpful.

CB