Official Luthiers Forum!

You could just drop fill it and call it a pin knot. Or, you could keep making it worse...and larger.



This one is a pin knot...

I would consider that a second and have to sell it as b stock.

I think I'm going to have to do the unthinkable...

I really don't want to make it worse to make it better...

I made this repair before finishing and it came out surprisingly well. After finishing, the repair is invisible (99.9%) and will color age along with the surrounding spruce. You would have to refinish your top to make this repair. Best I can offer.







Michael

Nicely done!

So a natural inclusion in the wood makes a "b" instrument, but a damaged in construction and repaired is still "a" grade?

I sympathize, as I've got one on my bench right now that could be its twin. Don't know when the divot occurred. I remember thinking this red spruce top is so much harder than Englemann, but now I've got this little hole. I plugged it with a tiny piece from an offcut, glued in place with Titebond. Despite being earlywood plugged into matching earlywood, the plug seems a bit lighter, like filler, and I see it. Don't know I can make it less obvious. I'm tempted to dig it out and just fill it clear with CA. Not excited about making it bigger to accept a patch. Got to make my mind up soon, as it's going to finish by end of week. Silly we get so worked up over cosmetic blemishes, but I try so hard for clean work.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Depends on how well it fixes up...

You want to fix it? Re-top it. Problem over. You people are too perfection happy.
"B" stock...get a factory.

Ed I feel your pain -- But I have seen very expensive guitars (8000+) with wierd grain intersections which could have been avoided, other odd choices as well. Point is, its a musical tool not a wall hanging.

_________________
Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I find myself agreeing with Mr. Brentrup, or at least his contention that an interesting, discrete beauty mark seems preferable to the scar left after it's removal. That approach seems to work for Cindy Crawford and a few hundred other models or actors/actresses that have opted for interesting visual imperfections over makeup-enabled bland perfection, and - at least in my opinion - applies to some of the choices we are called upon to make in our own craft.

The damage shown in the original poster's photo appears to me to be something that would clean up quite well with drop fill. The repair will likely look like a minor pin knot or sap pocket, which seems to me to say "I belong here - I am the most interesting part of this top!" - versus a plug or a dash of putty filler, which says just one thing to my eyes: "Oops!"

_________________
A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

What I take from this is that there is no SOP for dealing with this type of ding, much better instead to not be a dingbat. Glad I used the guard for preventing this from happening.

You're going to have to enlarge it to get in a patch. You might have some luck with a parallelogram that fits between the grain lines. If that doesn't work, then an eye-shaped patch with the long axis on a grain line might. Every attempt that doesn't work means the next try will be bigger. This is tricky stuff: the knife has to be really sharp to make a clean cut, and all of the angles have to match perfectly.

There is a time to accept less worse rather than wind up at worse worse.

Words of wisdom. Take your best shot and move on.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I have found anytime I am working with spruce with a finish is that there is nothing that I do but make small problems bigger. Totally stripped of finish I can sometimes make nearly invisible repairs. The color of spruce changes so quickly and the eyes ability to pick up discontinuities makes color matching temporary and generally unsatisfying. If I do not strip the finish, repair and refinish I now just drop fill and move on.

I sell all of my instruments from the start as b grade. Someday I will make it through a build without some defect.

_________________
http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

And then there is the old standby for "B" grade tops - the sunburst. Worst case scenario - black face.

johnparchem wrote:
"Someday I will make it through a build without some defect."

Apprentices make mistakes and don't know it.
Journeymen make mistakes and hide them.
Masters make mistakes, but they're part of their style.

I'm stuck someplace in the 'journeymen' category: I can hide most of my mistakes....

I'm in Tom's camp on this one. Inlay a small piece of contrasting material, MOP, ebony, and do the same thing on the opposite side. a symmetrical design fix.

_________________
Under Compensated Nut!

The only thing that makes that tiny little mark remotely noticeable is the dark ebony dust. Take an appropriately sized drill bit (just slightly oversized-but try to stay between the two grain lines-and the rounder the grind the better) and, by finger power only and very little pressure), twist whilst blowing with compressed air. Fill starting with a touch of shellac, followed by a drop of medium CA if there is a nice size divot, finish with nitro drop fill (multiple lighter drop fills, not one big puddle) to slightly proud of the rest of the finish, and wait a couple months before sanding level. The slight difference in depth of finish is hard to notice unless viewing at an angle and looking very closely.

Just my 2 cents.

_________________
Aaron Craig