Crack in antique box

Posted by T-Gripped on October 14, 2015 at 9:43am

My sister-in-law gave me two boxes that belonged to her grandfather. She estimates they are over 60 years old. Both feel very fragile. One has a crack in the bottom as well as two brads nailing the cracked bottom to the side. You can see one of the brads above the "r" in "Cremo." What can/should be done to repair the crack? My current plan is to build it as a 3 string fretless with a piezo.

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Replies

  • Thomas "Duck" Petry December 10, 2015 at 11:13am

    That's a beautiful build T-Gripped. One to be proud of. Does it sound as good as it looks?

    • T-Gripped > Thomas "Duck" Petry December 10, 2015 at 11:20am

      Thomas--It sounds good! [to my ear at least] Still need to tweak the bridge and tailpiece.a bit. 

    • Thomas "Duck" Petry > T-Gripped December 10, 2015 at 11:28am

      They always seem to need a little "fine tuning", but I love the sound of the older boxes. Aged like fine wine!

  • T-Gripped December 10, 2015 at 8:25am

    306506500?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024Here's a pic of the completed build. Thanks for all your help! I used a vinegar stain on the neck and beat it up with a screwdriver to achieve a relic-like look. The tailpiece is a $0.10 fork from a junk store. Still need to tweak it and the bridge a bit. More volume than I expected acoustically.

    • Mark Bliss > T-Gripped December 10, 2015 at 11:01am

      Curious what you decided on the crack?

    • T-Gripped > Mark Bliss December 10, 2015 at 11:11am

      Mark--Pretty much followed the good advice above. Ended up backing out one brad to better access the crack, filled it with glue, and braced the inside with leftover scrap. Also braced the corners and another smaller crack that was only visible from the inside due to the paper cover.

    • Mark Bliss > T-Gripped December 10, 2015 at 12:56pm

      I think that was a pretty good way to go.

      I have about a dozen vintage boxes, mostly pre depression period, but I haven't built with many, most being too small for the style of instruments I like to build. I like that vintage looking D/bow above though. That might be a good project for some.

      But no matter the age of the box I like to build them to last, hopefully without over-bracing. So I generally use the corner blocks and even thin lining strips to make sure all the joints are solid on the inside, while unseen from the exterior.

      For that vintage box, it would have been important to me for it to look as original as possible on the exterior. But I might have gone as far as to close the cracks with Hyde glue and add some "violin patches" of similar wood to the inside to insure long term stability.

      Very nice build!

      PS. I'd experiment with pushing that bridge (assuming its a floating bridge) back around the 1/3rd from the tail range and see how it sounds. (As opposed to the center of the top.) See what flavor that provides.

    • MadGomer > T-Gripped December 10, 2015 at 8:48am
      'Tis a beautiful thing, well done!!!
  • PhilUSAFRet October 15, 2015 at 1:28pm

    Here are expert instructions on how to repair a crack on a guitar.  Suggest you review them.

    http://www.stewmac.com/SiteSearch/crack%20repair.html?facet=&ta...

  • Thomas "Duck" Petry October 15, 2015 at 10:15am

    Personally, I would do as little repairs as necessary to the box. Those boxes are made from real wood and as long as the joints aren't falling apart will work fine. No need to "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". The only modifications I made to the box on my Owl relic build were small corner blocks to allow for the screws that hold the lid on. One screw in each corner hold the lid on and two screws through the lid hold the neck in. Stay primal and have fun with your builds.

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