dis-assembling an acoustic ?

[Mark Daigrepont]

I have a Brazilian rosewood dreadnaught that was built for me by a friend close to 10 years ago as a favor.
While the guitar was on loan to a buddy- I loaned it to him to"play it in", it was saturated with water - his house was demolished by hurricane Katrina. The guitar was in such bad shape that I just put it away in storage.

I've been thinking of carefully disassembling the guitar to salvage the back and sides (the Brazilian rosewood). I've seen tools on luthier supply shops that looks like an attachment for a dremel where the plates could be cut off.....

Would this be feasible, or even worth the effort? As a new guitar, this dred sounded great; and with the cost of Brazilian so high, I'm really thinking of trying to salvage that Brazilian...

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

[Mark Swanson]

Taking something apart is the easy part. And it sounds like the water has already helped with that. I wouldn't cut the wood, but take it apart at the glue joints instead. Do you know what kind of wood glue was used? Wood glue will usually come apart with heat and a water/vinegar mixture, along with gentle coaxing. Just go slow and concentrate on small areas at a time, freeing them up with a small palette knife as you go.
Other types of glue are a bit harder but you still should be able to get it apart.

[Mark Daigrepont]

Thanks Mark S.,

Yes, the binding has already separated from the top, so it would appear to be a good sign. I don't really care about the top so much, it's just a spruce. But I would like to salvage the back and sides, since they are Brazilian. I'm pretty sure it was assembled with either normal white or yellow glue; I don't think he used epoxy or any other more advanced type.

I'll try a heated knife and see how it goes. As much as Brazilian costs these days, when you can find it, I'd really like to re-use it.

[Mark Swanson]

Heat will work well, but don't leave out the water, and if you add vinegar to the water it will work even better, Just give it time to soak in there and don't get impatient.

[Michael Jennings]

Mark has all the right answers for you regarding dis-assembly.

One thing you might want to consider is either building [or buying if the guitar was built to "standard" dreadnought dimensions] an outside mold and the necessary inside "stretchers", in order to keep the sides from distorting while a new top is made and installed.

Mike J

[Randy Roberts]

Mark,
A quick and easy way to maintain the sides without the work of a true mold is to use styrofoam.

http://www.mimf.com/library/Randy_Rober ... -2009.html

In your case you wouldn't use a router, but a simple jigsaw would do well to cut out the shape of the current body after tracing it on the styrofoam..

[Mark Daigrepont]

good idea Randy!

I think I'm going to try the Mark S. approach and try to coax this baby apart. Like I had mentioned, the water had already started the process for me. The bindings are almost all off, so that will save some time.

Thanks for all the tips! I'll post some pics in progress... if it goes well

[Michael Lewis]

Two points that bear consideration BEFORE you take it apart: make your body form; and select your tools carefully. Vinegar will react with ferrous metals and stain permanently, so use stainless or chrome plated tools for the separation when using vinegar.

[Mark Swanson]

I take it that you are not trying to save the finish as well, and that is good too because you can use heat on the body without worrying about that. Use a clothes iron on the neck and the end blocks, if you heat them well with the iron they'll come off pretty easy.

[Mark Daigrepont]

I take it that you are not trying to save the finish as well, and that is good too because you can use heat on the body without worrying about that. Use a clothes iron on the neck and the end blocks, if you heat them well with the iron they'll come off pretty easy.

No, I wasn't particularly fond of the finish even before the guitar was "ruined". My hopes are to salvage the sides and back, sand/scrape the finish off and completely start over and assemble a new dred. I know I have a lot of work ahead.... I'm going to have to remove the bracing, kerfing, and basically get down to just the brazilian. But, with the price of brazilian where it is; I think it's worth the effort.