Now it's awl messed up!

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Ryan Mazzocco
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Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Ryan Mazzocco »

So, I did a terrible thing. I dropped a my scratch awl and it hit the spruce top of my current build. upon inspection I found a nice little hole. Is there any way to make this go away?
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Gordon Bellerose
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Gordon Bellerose »

DOH!!!!
I'm no help.
I might try to drop a bit of glue in and sand the area, but others with a bit more experience will most likely tell you I'm full of it.
I need your help. I can't possibly make all the mistakes myself!
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Peter Wilcox
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Peter Wilcox »

Assuming that's shadow and not dirt in the hole, and there's no finish on the guitar, I'd try aggressively steaming it first.
Maybe I can't fix it, but I can fix it so no one can fix it
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Ryan Mazzocco
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Ryan Mazzocco »

Peter brings up a good point. This is raw, it's clean, just a dark shadow looking down the puncture. It doesn't go all the way through.
I was thinking about trying to steam it, but wanted to hold off until at least a few of you smart guys suggested it. I guess it's basically like a really big divot and possibly could be steamed out, though I'm not sure all the way. there may need to be some sort of filling (maybe glue and spruce dust) going on here before it's all over. my concern with that is it may look darker in that one spot under finish. ?
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Bob Gramann
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Bob Gramann »

As Peter suggests, steaming is the way to go. After you’re sure you can get no more satisfaction with steaming, rather than dust for a fill, make a splinter from the offcuts of the top that looks as much like the area to be patched as possible. Use hot hide glue and wait several days for all the moisture to leave before you level sand it. You may not be able to make it completely disappear, but you can make it so that no one will ever notice (but you, of course).
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Barry Daniels
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Barry Daniels »

Glue and sawdust will definitely be too dark. I can't guarantee that this would work but I have a flesh colored shellac stick in my collection that is very close to the color of spruce. You might also even look at the colored wood putties that are available. Or something like wallboard mud could be used with a bit of color added to tone it down to the spruce shade.
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Bob Gramann
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Bob Gramann »

The problem with any kind of colored filler is that the wood changes color as it ages but the filler doesn’t. I wish I didn’t know that.
Mario Proulx
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Mario Proulx »

Time for a creative inlay...
Simon Magennis
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Simon Magennis »

For me …
First stop: steam.
Another option, but I haven't used it yet although I got a bag of it, is Lycopodium, apparently popular enough in the violin making world.
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Ryan Mazzocco
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Ryan Mazzocco »

thanks guys. I steamed it like mad today and got most of it. then after some light sanding made it look pretty good IMO. not perfect but just looks like a small dot in the spruce.
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Bob Gramann
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Bob Gramann »

Congratulations. Quit while you’re ahead. You can always make it worse.
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Ryan Mazzocco
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Ryan Mazzocco »

Bob Gramann wrote:Congratulations. Quit while you’re ahead. You can always make it worse.
that's my specialty.
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Peter Wilcox
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Re: Now it's awl messed up!

Post by Peter Wilcox »

Ryan Mazzocco wrote:thanks guys. I steamed it like mad today and got most of it. then after some light sanding made it look pretty good IMO. not perfect but just looks like a small dot in the spruce.
That's great. When you apply the finish (lacquer?), after you put on the first few coats, if needed maybe you can drop fill it before putting on the final coats and it may be almost invisible.
Maybe I can't fix it, but I can fix it so no one can fix it
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