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Is a cracked top considered a catastrophic failure that requires replacement?
After I had the top sander to 1/8", I flexed it to see how stiff it felt but I used a little too much force and CRACK!
Since the split was pretty clean I was able to apply glue and reclamp the top immediately. After the glue set overnight I scraped and sanded joint which now blends in with the other lines on the top.
From a cosmetic standpoint I'm inclined to use the top. I think only an expert I would ever spot this.
A bigger concern is whether this will come back in the future. The crack ran right beside the rosette and I'm worried that this might still be a weak point.
Thanks,
Gerry

try gluing it up and see what it looks like.

The bottom picture was taken after the repair. It looks fine to me but I don't know how to judge the strength.

Although I hate to tell you but get a new top. Tops are cheap compared to the time and effort it will take you to build the guitar. Nothing could be worse than spending the time to build the guitar and stringing it up only to find that the crack does not hold well, effectively ruining all of your work. Much, much easier to replace the top now than having to replace the top when the guitar is completely finished!

Personally, if the crack was clean, I don't see any difference in having a seam there and a seam joining the two halves. If there was any splintering you may still have weak points.

Tim and Sylvan,
Thanks for your replies. My thinking was along the lines of Tim's comment and i'm 95% sure the repair is as strong as the rest of the top. It's the 5% uncertainty that is the problem and based on that I'll take Sylvan's advice.
I've noticed there is a saying on this board that it's not a mistake if you can fix it. The corollary is if you can't fix it it must be a mistake. I guess I didn't want to admit my mistake.
Gerry

What size of guitar was this for?

I'm thinking that the top might do very well for another guitar that you're experimenting with, where the strength of the top won't be an issue.

Thanks, JLT. I'll hold on to it.