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I was getting ready to put in the rosette into my Carpathian Spruce top for my build OM, when I found this pocket (?). I'm not sure what it is, but when lightly sanded, it opened more. It's about 1 cm long, so it's not a small thing. It seems to lay between 2 grainlines.

What is this? I cannot work around it; it's placed so that it will be square in the center of the upper bout of the guitar. Will it cause a problem with the structural integrity of the guitar top?

Would it be possible to flip the top over and position it so that the upper brace falls over it?

how is it on the other side.
if I sent that to you I can get you another

tippie53 wrote:how is it on the other side.
if I sent that to you I can get you another

The opening doesn't go through. I cleaned it up to 320 grit.

The only thing I can see on the reverse side is this whatever. LOL Sorry, I don't know what it is. I think it's just cosmetic.

Sorry for the lousy photos; I started running out of light. It appears as a smudge at a distance. Here are photos of the reverse side of the top (with a rectangle around the area), along with a closeup of the area. This area is not open.

I just want to make certain that the top wood is structurally sound, before doing anything else:

Looks like a pitch pocket. I had a similar issue on the adirondack top I was using. I flipped it over and made sure it was under a finger brace. Structuarlly it seems fine and the guitar sounds great.

Chuck73 wrote:Looks like a pitch pocket. I had a similar issue on the adirondack top I was using. I flipped it over and made sure it was under a finger brace. Structuarlly it seems fine and the guitar sounds great.

Chuck, do you mean the first photo, with the hole, or the second set of photos?

First set of pics was the front and second pics was the back correct? Looks like the pitch pocket I had in my top. What I did is put he open side on the inside, made sure a brace was over it, filled the void with glue and was careful not to sand through when finishing the other side. I have only built one and a half guitars, so I'm no expert.

I don't know for sure but I wouldn't trust it to not be a potential weak spot if it weren't reinforced.

Chuck73 wrote:First set of pics was the front and second pics was the back correct? Looks like the pitch pocket I had in my top. What I did is put he open side on the inside, made sure a brace was over it, filled the void with glue and was careful not to sand through when finishing the other side. I have only built one and a half guitars, so I'm no expert.

I'll take a look to see if a brace will cover the pocket; I'm not too sure that it will and I don't have a lot of wiggle room as far as the layout. Thanks.