@koendb  You're not giving up on it are you, can't you glue it again ?

Posted by: @rocknroller912

Post some close up pics and get a few opinions.

Picture of the inner side of the soundboard

The crack pointed in red is also very prominently lifted, I can see and feel it sticking out.
That one is also gone through to the front side of the soundboard

The first picture is a close up of the glued area in the middle of the soundboard

I think I may have gone too far with my sanding?

Posted by: @robin

You're not giving up on it are you, can't you glue it again ?

I don't know, I have tried already twice now, and it feels like I am making it weaker, with each attempt.
I am not giving up, but I might give up on this board, but I will order a new one if this is not fixable anymore.

@koendb

It looks like the cracks are where the wood changes from heart to sap wood, unless it’s glue stain giving a darker colour. Titebond is stronger than wood so you won’t be making it weaker. Making a perfect acoustic first time is difficult so expect some mistakes and you will need practice attempts at cutting the sound hole and inlays, also bracing so stick with this one as you might start a new one and have a mistake in another area. Then you will have two scrap boards.

Posted by: @rocknroller912

It looks like the cracks are where the wood changes from heart to sap wood, unless it’s glue stain giving a darker colour.

The dark spot is actually glue residu, from my glue up this morning, I just did not yet clean it up

My problem is that it is now also cracked completely to the front too, so I cannot just lay it flat and put glue on it, as it will stick to the back and make a horrible mess + I have no way to squeeze it together anymore, since I cut out the body. I dont mind the horrible mess, since under normal circumstances, I can sand away the glue left overs. but now I cant anymore, since the board is already fairly thin

@koendb 

@Rocknroller912 has a good point, there's likely to more challenges along the way. Glue it up and carry on regardless. When its ready to glue to the body, thats when to decide if its usable. At worst case you'll have had a good practice.

One more attempt. baking paper behind it, removed excess glue with a dry rag this time, instead of a damp one.

Lets see tomorrow, if it is good, I ll do the front too

Posted by: @robin

Glue it up and carry on regardless. When its ready to glue to the body, thats when to decide if its usable. At worst case you'll have had a good practice.

@robin, fair point.. from both of you...
Allright alright I'll continue 🙄 😋 😘 

@koendb there must have been flaws in this wood from the beginning. Gotta love the unpredictability of wood. 🙂 I think it is still a good call to keep going. I believe if you can get to the point of gluing the braces on it will be good and solid. Good luck. 🙂

You can tell if there are any splits by tap testing the top - If there is a problem in this regard it will rattle and hum instead of producing a nice tap tone. It is OK to glue them up and reinforce if needed - some tips:

Put some wax (sparingly) on the joining board to stop it from sticking...or use/make wax paper if you prefer.

You can still apply side pressure using pins and wedges like this:

@markbailey The photos dont load for me, but I understand what you mean 🙂

I think I am ok now ! my last attempt seems to have resolved the issue.
If not, I 'll be back 🙂 Cheers guys for all the advice and moral support ( and pushing me a bit! )

I actually was able to make the rosette and install it. Nervewracking! brrr

@markbailey Those pictures haven’t loaded at this end, not sure if they have uploaded properly at your end. 👍

So you wont believe this..
After adding the rosette, everything was fine, I set aside the board to inspect it the day after.
I sat behind my computer to do something else, when I heard a cracking sound again, maybe an hour after I put the soundboard aside ( still attached to the working board btw )
And yuuup it cracked back open,this time in 3 places along the same grainline.
So this time I really glued it with my fingers, forcing the glue in , got proper squeeze out now.

This morning I decided to take it out of the clamps and hold it in front of a light source, just to make sure. This time the cracks are clearly visible.

Does this mean I have a poor glue joint? or is this normal?
Anyway.. 'cracking' along..
I definitely can feel a bump now, so more sanding required.

@koendb

You’re not having much luck.

Posted by: @rocknroller912

You’re not having much luck.

Well , rather be unlucky now, then when the guitar is almost complete....
Plus, I do learn a lot.. It's ok, I will continue making braces and once the top is done, decide what to do..

Even if I put it on the guitar, I can always pull the soundboard back off and get some training on fixing guitars too 🙂
As long as it does not collapse when I manage to get strings on it, it ll be ok for at last a short while.

@koendb

I haven’t made anything new for a few years and have focussed on repairs so I’m having a practice soundboard build with a £5 piece that I bought many years ago. Glad cause it’s getting all the mistakes out of the way. First attempt without any supervision is hard.