Broke a Cuban Mahogany side

[Darrel Friesen]

I've had this set for some time. Bending the waist went quite well on the first side so I thought OK, I'm out of the woods. I then proceed to snap the side while bending the upper bout.
Any ideas on where I could get a set of replacement sides? Worst case, I suppose I could use Honduran for the sides if I can find a reasonably dark set to match, or I could do a pointy cutaway, which I don't really care for, or save the back set until I can find a set of sides. Being in Canada presents a problem in sourcing anything from the U.S.A.

[David King]

There has to be a way to patch the break or laminate a veneer from the back. Was there a lot of runout or curl in your set? Cuban mahogany is out there. Some of it is coming from plantation/yard trees in Hawaii so that might be a good place to look.

[Mario Proulx]

Being in Canada presents a problem in sourcing anything from the U.S.A.

Yes, but since Canada still trades directly with Cuba, you'd think we'd have Cuban mahogany on this side of the 49th, eh? I used to have a couple sources, but lost them along with a long list of obscure wood sources I once had. But in short, I'd look for a replacement on our side of the border, not south of it.

[Darrel Friesen]

Thanks guys. Maybe I need to take a trip to Cuba It was a set that I bought a few years back. It was cut from an old table by a guy in England. It is quite well quartered. I didn't really check for runout, just tried to bend hot and very carefully using a backer but that obviously didn't work. It broke through completely unfortunately. I was thinking of flattening it and then laminating it to something else and trying to use hide glue to try and hide the crack. I'll probably just wait until I can source sides or a board from somewhere. I have a nice set of Pau Ferro that I may use with this curly redwood top instead.

[Michael Lewis]

Darrel, take a cue from the Martin guitar co. and stain your mahogany before applying finish. They had to do this because the wood comes on all sorts of color densities, as you are aware. The stain makes all the wood more or less look the same. That is why Martins look the way they do. So just look for similar grain/pore pattern and get on with it. You'll do fine.

[Darrel Friesen]

Thanks Michael. I was thinking of trying something like that and your validation certainly increases my confidence level.

[Mario Proulx]

That's a very good way to go about it, for sure, and nobody will be the wiser if you choose the side(s) well. But make sure that you declare that the sides aren't cuban if you sell the guitar, as there may be a difference in the perceived final value.

[Darrel Friesen]

Thanks Mario. I've sold a few guitars but only to friends and family and only for price of materials so far. Keeps me building without cluttering up the house too much, ha! I do hear you though going forward. This one will be for me so it's all good.