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Comment by Alexander Batov on September 28, 2011 at 12:10

If the join folds back OK where it was (can't think why it shouldn't, even if the screw is bent ...), there is absolutely no need to take the back off! Just clean off all the remains of old glue from both surfaces, then thoroughly size them and glue with fish glue (that would be the best option: fish glue joins, if done properly, hardly ever separate!) or good quality hide glue. All in all, a couple of hours work at most.

The join like this shouldn't be really used in the first place on the baroque guitar, as indeed on any historical guitar reproduction. So it was an accident waiting to happen sort of situation.

Comment by Ed Durbrow on September 26, 2011 at 4:58

Hiro said taking the top or back off is much harder because he used titebond. The top isn't too bad. it bent the wood on the fretboard and there will be a scar but it didn't splinter. It took Hiro several hours to realize that he could take the back off instead of the front, which would not only be cheaper but save the integrity of the top.

I'm waiting to hear if the guy's insurance will pay for it. In that case I'll ship it to Rollins (if he'll fix it).

My other guitar seems like such a dog, now that I have to go back to it. 

Comment by Scot Tremblay on September 26, 2011 at 2:48

I had an issue like that with one of my 19th century guitars (my Stauffer terz) but it was my own fault as I leaned on it near the 10th fret by accident and the joint came apart. I made the guitar so it was up to me to fix it . It wasn't as bad to fix as it could have been.  I just popped the back off, took the screw out, cleaned up the joint and reglued/rescrewed with a slightly bigger screw. Lucky for me the fingerboard snapped right at the 12th fret so there were minimal repairs necessary there. Just a new fret. 

 

If the screw is bent and it damaged the wood, plus the top wood is broken as it looks like, as well as the joint being contaminated, I can see why it's not going to be an easy or cheap fix. I'm very sorry that happened to you.

Comment by Ed Durbrow on September 26, 2011 at 2:11

This is my very expensive Rollins guitar that I bought this year. I simply was tuning, pushing the tuner in, when it buckled. I'm still thrashing it out with the guy I bought it from over costs. It is not going to be an easy fix. Hirotaka Watanabe said that the screw is bent. We have to take the top or back off to get to it. Then he found that Rollins used titebond instead of hide glue so it will be even more time consuming. In short, it is a thousand dollar repair. Apparently lacquer seeped into the joint. This guitar was built more than 30 years ago.

Thanks for your sympathy.

Comment by Scot Tremblay on September 26, 2011 at 2:05

That really sucks, Ed! I'm hoping that's not yours. Did it just let go or did someone sit on it? The good news (if there is such a thing under the circumstances) is that it's not that bad to fix.