Carter D-10 with cracked top--Need qualified repair estimate

[Susan Conway]

Hello Forum,

I want to thank all of you forumites for all of your great responses to the wood cracking issue on the Carter D-10---Please see my previous posted topic for most of the photos of the cracks and all of the great opinions and helpful suggestions!!!

I have decided to try to find some really great repair persons, skilled and experienced in the repair of PSGs and I'm hoping to get equally as many great response from you all once again on this 2nd half of my journey in getting this guitar repaired the right way, the first time.

Would all of you please put on your 'thinking caps' once again and offer some suggestions of some knowledgeable, experienced and skilled repair and restoration persons specializing in PSGs like this Carter D-10?

I need to contact several to get estimates of how much and how long it would take to repair this otherwise very nice guitar.

Let me thank all of you in advance for any help, or suggestions, of experienced repair persons you might know of who might be interested in this.

With much thanks,
Susan Conway

[Russell Nugent]

Where in Florida are you located? There are some great steel builders in the state who could probably help.

[Dale Ware]

I think if I were going to repair it I would send it to Bud Carter, let him strip it down and take the body to Mark Giles to replace the top. What I would really do though is play it like it is. Dale

[Richard Sinkler]

Unlike a dent in your car, you will find very few "companies", if any, that repair steel guitars with that kind of damage. Likely you will end up sending it to an individual that works on PSG's. Hopefully, there will be a couple that come up on here.

I too would play it like that or better yet, go after the creep who lied and sold it to you in the first place.

[Todd Brown]

Damn! It's cracked at the Keyheads, too? And the seller still says it was caused in shipment?

Other folks are right, you could just ignore it, but I know I couldn't do that either. I'm afraid paying a qualified professional to fix that, is gonna be well over a grand! Don't know how deep you want to get into this guitar.

You could see if someone on here would be interested in buying it as is, maybe you could come out o.k., get rid of this without sinking more money in it, try not to lose to much, and get another steel and don't look back.

I hate that this happened to you. I'm not trying to start anything, cause I have no idea, but I really hope it wasn't a forum member who sold you this guitar like this.

[Malcolm McMaster]

Isn't it Mark Giles who supplies most of the bodies to a lot of the steel building companies? it seems to me he might be logical person to try.

[Bill Hatcher]

why in the world will you not consider getting your money back on this instrument?? i wouldnt invest any money in this guitar for anything. send it back, get your money back, move on to a better instrument.

[Richard Sinkler]

I didn't notice the cracks at the keyhead also. Does the crack span the whole length of the body? I would actually suspect now, that the guy who sold it to you may have dropped the guitar a time or two out of it's case. Although, many very knowledgeable people on here have stated seeing this kind of crack in other guitars.

I would definitely try to return it and get my money back. Of course, if the terd that sold it to you in that condition didn't tell you of the cracks, and insists it was damaged in shipping, then no way is he going to refund your money. It will cost a fortune to get it fixed for sure. Unless I had an emotional attachment to this guitar, I would also be in favor of just playing it like it is or see if someone will buy it as is from you. You won't get what you paid (unless it was real real cheap).

This is a good lesson on buying sight unseen. Demand current pics from a seller. I would think any above board seller would make sure you could see the guitar or have a return policy. I don't know if you got it from a forum member as I haven't seen that guitar on buy and sell, but if it was, shame on him for being so dishonest.

But that is one sweet looking Carter.

[Lane Gray]

Yanno what I think would make for an awesome fix?
Obviously an inlaid patch with differently oriented grain, but I'm thinking a contrasting color wood in non-rectangular shapes.
Taking a tragic necessity and making a thing of beauty out of it.

[Jerry Roller]

If I had this guitar, I would disassemble the top side and endplates, run a 1/8" tablesaw blade thru the cracks and glue in an 1/8" thick maple spline, cut a sawcut across the ends and glue in a spline (cross grain), then add a shading to the finish with heavier shading across the ends to hide the repairs since they would show up in that pretty flame maple. It would make a beautiful sunburst guitar. This should be done for in the neighborhood of $600.00 to $700.00. Susan, would you have any interest in selling the guitar?
Jerry

[chris ivey]

susan..just for fun you can go to the '4 coats of lacquer' thread and see my purple emmons. you can clearly see the cracks on both necks behind the changer.....i call them 'tone cracks'....they make the sound even better.

however you want to deal with it is up to you. i imagine the cracks were already there before shipping...perhaps the seller could give you a hunnert or two back for misrepresentation if that is the case. your steel is very pretty and we can all understand your consternation.

[Richard Damron]

DELETED BY THE AUTHOR.

Bill Hatcher has implicitly decreed that I am some sort of dumba$$ - in spite of my qualifications and experience AND in spite of my recommendation that Susan have someone of note, locally, inspect the instrument and render an expert opinion.

I yield, on bended knee, to a higher power.

[Bill Hatcher]

Susan -


The chances are pretty good that the cracks that are seen have reached their limit. That is, they won't get any wider.

Given that, I'd be tempted to stain them with an artists brush and then fill in the depression with lacquer.
Richard

i dont guess you saw the picture of my carter that had the same cracks in it in the other thread.
the wood is going to start to pull up and be uneven..trust me on this one. it may take a long time, but it is. a crack like this in such a strategic spot will not remain dormant.

i have repaired THOUSANDS of wooden musical instruments....THOUSANDS!
i wouldnt own this instrument. i question this entire scenario. why in the world someone who just bought a guitar in this condition would even consider keeping it is beyond me. i have finished trying to help out on this one. best of luck.

[John De Maille]

If these cracks weren't described or admitted in the sellers ad, I would send it back and demand my money back. There's too much work and money to be spent on that steel. I feel really bad about a situation like this. The buyer shouldn't have to put up with these defects. But, on the other hand, if the cracks were disclosed, then, the buyer will have to pay for the repairs. I don't believe those cracks were caused by shipping mis- handling. Maybe time for a lawyer.

[Jim Bates]

I assume this crack is along the two pieces of wood that were glued to make the two necks? Is it possible that this is just a 'weather' crack from using wood that was too moist and then it dried out?
I had a very similar cracking on my Fender T-3 that I bought new from Fender in 1954. After I had it a couple of weeks, a crack appeared in the seam between the outer and middle neck, at the pickup end. The crack was about an inch long. I was living in western Oklahoma then, and the guitar was made in California. That year was one of the driest in recent history in OK. My dealer sent guitar back to Fender, and they fixed it (no charge), and it has stayed fixed all these years and many hundreds of gigs. It appeared that all they did to fix it was to fill crack with glue (or other filler) and touch up paint.

If the crack is not any bigger than shown, is there a problem? Does it play O.K.? What if you leave it alone?

Thanx,
Jim

[Steven Black]

Susan, this crack looks to be under the key head, I do not know how far it travels, it is probably just at the lip of the guitar where the endplate bolts to it and the keyhead is mounted, I think the key head was mounted to tight to the thin edge of the body, may have to lift the key head off, most steel guitars crack at other end where pedal changer is and it is more difficult to fix or impossible, try contacting Ricky Davis, or Bent Rom, they might be able to help.

[Tony Williamson]

ok. i may get laughed off the stage here, i would see a person who specializes in the repair of cracks in acoustic guitars. spruce tops on old martins get cracks all the time. lots of these guys are GOOD. I MEAN GOOD. now its thick where the crack is, does it go all the way thru? other people who might can fix it are double gun gunsmiths who do stockwork. some of these people are amazing. but i would slap a little epoxy tinted with some sawdust stained to match that, rub a little tru oil on it for shine, and forget it.

[Tony Williamson]

i was looking at your other pics. the crack looks worse. i'd take that neck off and the keyhead and see what i was dealing with. it definately looks worse in the original pics. take everything off, then make a decision how to proceed. ok, im done.

[Tony Prior]

I am certain Bill has great expertise and experience, but , as I said in the other thread, if there is no recourse what is Susan to do, throw it away ?

I also have decades of experience and the # 1 experience I carry with me in life is to find a positive solution rather than cave and turn out the lights. If there is no recourse to return the Instrument I would take it apart and repair it. I seriously doubt if we presented this Instrument to a quality Luthier that they would say..Nahh..throw it away....

Some say they would not own this guitar, but this is not their guitar...I doubt any of us would own it if we knew of the issues ahead of time....Today it's time to help Susan seek a positive solution of which there are many.

t

[Carl Mesrobian]

After reading this and the previous post I tend to agree with lots of Bill Hatcher's comments, but with a little more sugar coating on them! I guess I missed the part about whether or not the cracks existed before shipment. I wonder how many damaged items get shipped with undisclosed damage only to arrive damaged, leaving the recipient the option to file a claim with the carrier, rather than settle with the shipper! Recently I bought a guitar for 5 digits $$. I made d**n sure I got lots of pre ship photos and asked LOTS of questions! There are still lots of honest people around, some just having a better reputation than others. Good luck with the repair!