Dupont crack Repair Help!

marcos81

I have a Dupont MD60 I just purchased in Paris 5 months ago. There is a crack developing on the side of the guitar and buzz developing on the Low E on the 7th fret. I noticed it gets worse in cold weather. Can anyone recommend a repair contact so I may preserve my Dupount!!! Please Help!!!

frater

It would help to know where you live...

Anyway first thing you should do is humidify your guitar: get a big dampit now.

marcos81

I just got stationed in Cold Ass Korea. The guitar was bought in paris during the summer, It was about 70-F degrees when I bought the guitar but i had always had it in a cool place. Until recently the winter has hit here to average of 50-60 F degrees. I found a the first website in the search engine for dampit.

marcos81

Temperatures get pretty in my room alone in Korea, but for now I have just put the guitar in the case and put it furthest away from the outer walls in a closet. Is there anything else I can do while waiting for my Dampit to arrive in the mail?

frater

Read this:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9956

Beware, the problem is usually excessive heath in your home not the cold outside (even tough I suspect that crack could also be a result of drastic change in temperature...) I'm no expert but I'm sure you'll have soon the advice of someone more entitled than me to give it!

frater

This could be of some help:

http://www.taylorguitars.com/see-hear/

"Understanding Humidity" ... unfortunately Bob removed the video in which he fixed a broken guitar using a couple of dampits.

klaatu

It's a combination of things. Cold winter air is itself quite dry, often in the 20% range or below. Add to that the drying effect of household heat (as frater suggests) and it's death to wooden guitars - one of the reasons that Mario Maccaferri invented the fabulous plastic guitar!

You need to get that crack looked after, but while you're waiting for the Dampit to arrive, you could take a small sponge, soak it in water, wring it out so that it's not dripping, and put it in the case somewhere where it's not touching the guitar. Remoisten it every few days. That should help keep things from getting worse.

marcos81

Thanks for the advice fellas! I have the guitar stowed away w/ no strings & bridge as of now with a damp sponge in the case while I wait till the dampit arrives. I have always delt with solid body guitars and did not see this coming. Once I have this humidified ---Is there a way I can Repair the Guitar crack? Or is this just one of those things that is forever and just extra special care from now on? I appreciate all the feedback it's good to know there's sites like these

klaatu

Humidifying will probably prevent further damage, but the crack can and should be repaired before it gets worse. You need to take the guitar to a competent repairman. Depending on where you are stationed, you might be able to find someone there. There are certainly some factories in Korea that build decent guitars (as factory built guitars go), and any major city would probably have some good guitar techs. Finding someone who knows anything about gypsy guitars could be a challenge, but crack repair is pretty generic (I think).

Jazzaferri

The wood is quite highly figured where the crack is developing.

Unless there was a hard knock to start it probably a bend with a part that had a fair bit of residual stress that with the shrinkage from dry cold air being warmed let go.

Is a pretty straightforward repair for a luthier. If I recall correctly cyanoacrylate glue is the modern preferred method. It shouldn't spread very far

Hopefully our resident expert luthier Bob Holo will comment on this

richter4208

Maybe gypsy guitars a different, tho I don't know why they would be, but storing a guitar without strings usually isn't recommended. You want to keep normal tension on the neck at all times. Most people even recommend changing strings one at a time and not just taking them all off at once for a restring. All tho once in a while it's a must for tech services.

I'm no expert, but I personally wouldn't do that no matter what the advise.