Top and back are warped
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 6:15 pm
Well everyone said not to do it, but I did: my garage/shop, despite having a portable air conditioner, had some crazy humidity fluctuations in the last few months. Now my top is bowed up (really bad over the lower bouts). If you put the top on a flat table, rosette up, the bouts are warped up. Worse, the back is warped in the opposite direction that it should be curved. It warped back so hard that it split one of the braces down the middle about 4 inches (the glue held though- yay!!)
The humidity in the garage, a few months back, wasn't controlled by the a/c. The thing has some sort of "no drain" technology that apparently doesn't remove any moisture from the air (or returns it somehow) and the humidity got up to the high 70s %. Worse, when it got cold the heater (built into the same unit) DOES drain water and quite a bit of it (guess it has some sort of built in heat pump). Coupled with the already dry, cold air, the heater pulled the humidity down to 28% at one point. This is all assuming the cheapo digital weather station in my garage is reporting accurate data.
I braced the top and back in late July and due to various life events had to put construction on hold until recently. That is when I discovered the terrible warping.
I have some questions for you guys:
1. Was it the humidity variations that caused the damage or the length of time that I left the top and back laying in a cardboard box without putting the whole body together? Or both?
2. Is there anything I can do to return the top and back back to their original shapes, or do I scrap everything and start over? I did throw some glue in the split back brace (it was the longest one near the tail of the guitar) and clamp it back together- guess I'll have to see if it holds.
Thanks,
Sam
The humidity in the garage, a few months back, wasn't controlled by the a/c. The thing has some sort of "no drain" technology that apparently doesn't remove any moisture from the air (or returns it somehow) and the humidity got up to the high 70s %. Worse, when it got cold the heater (built into the same unit) DOES drain water and quite a bit of it (guess it has some sort of built in heat pump). Coupled with the already dry, cold air, the heater pulled the humidity down to 28% at one point. This is all assuming the cheapo digital weather station in my garage is reporting accurate data.
I braced the top and back in late July and due to various life events had to put construction on hold until recently. That is when I discovered the terrible warping.
I have some questions for you guys:
1. Was it the humidity variations that caused the damage or the length of time that I left the top and back laying in a cardboard box without putting the whole body together? Or both?
2. Is there anything I can do to return the top and back back to their original shapes, or do I scrap everything and start over? I did throw some glue in the split back brace (it was the longest one near the tail of the guitar) and clamp it back together- guess I'll have to see if it holds.
Thanks,
Sam