Split in joint of Fender rejected body

[Nareg]

I saw a craigslist advertisement in Los Angeles by a guy who was selling purportedly rejected bodies which were machined at the "local Fender factory" and sent back to the wood dealer for credit because they were flawed blanks. I thought it would be a good way to pick up some bodies at a discount for a summer project but when I went to go pick it up I saw that they were all in worse condition than i anticipated.

I bought the best two I could find. One of them has a split down the center seam where the joint is coming apart. It's wide enough that I can see light shine through the body when I hold it up to the sun. My cousin who builds furniture for a living says that the only way to repair it is to cut out that area and splice in a new piece of wood (either as a pinstripe down the middle up to the bridge or as a large triangular insert at the bottom).

Would there really be no better way? I wanted these for transparent finishes like Butterscotch Blonde and I don't want another piece of wood showing up in the grains. Besides, I bought this one regardless of the split joint because it had a nice wide-spread grain. Can't I try to seep in some glue and clamp it shut again?

[mgdesigns]

Try to wedge it open a bit, and squeeze some Titebond I into the crack, and clamp for a day. Should survive OK. Otherwise, split it all the way down, sand flat with 200 grit sand paper on glass sheet and rejoin with Titebond I. 0.01mm of loss in wood won't amount to much.

[musicalmartin]

Looks like the bodies border hopped back to LA as they are Mexican bodies going by the three CNC holes

[musicalmartin]

duplicate post

[Maricopa]

Going across the Rio Grande would explain a lot about it's condition....

[Nareg]

Yes, I also believe some or all of these are Mexican made. But then I read that a lot of the MIM bodies are actually CNC routed in america? So maybe that's what these are?

Also, one of them -- the split-joint one -- has "S.P.R." stamped in the neck pocket, which I thought might mean Spring Branch, Texas. This one also has "NAT" for i'm assuming, "natural" int he pickup cavity, and only one CNC router guide under the pickguard.

Let me know what any of this means.

PS. who thinks I can just glue this seam back together and be good? Also, I paid 65$ each body. Steal or bad deal?

[oigun]

You can fill the void with epoxy, gluing and clamping is not an option. It will open up eventually if it is possible to clamp it shut anyway. A very thin spline will di the trick and if well executed hardly visible.

[Jack Wells]

Going across the Rio Grande would explain a lot about it's condition....

True but the Rio Grande doesn't run between Ensenada and Corona.

[Mike Simpson]

The same ad was running in Phoenix... I didn't call them....

[Mike Simpson]

Bad deal.... Enough ash or alder for a body costs $20 to $23 here.... Thats what bodies.cost me.

[dsutton24]

...who thinks I can just glue this seam back together and be good?

The only way to be sure of a long-term fix is to get rid of the old glue, and you're not going to do that without seperating the pieces, planing, and regluing with a filler strip. Your cousin is right. You can certainly squirt in some glue, clamp it up and hope for the best, but there are no guarantees.

Are the bodies worth what you paid? That's up to you. You can buy Mighty Mite bodies for less than $100.00, and I've bought several complete Squier Telecasters for around $100.00.

[guitarbuilder]

Originally Posted by Mike Simpson

Bad deal.... Enough ash or alder for a body costs $20 to $23 here.... Thats what bodies.cost me.

Black Ash/Swamp Ash is that cheap there?

[Davecam48]

I'd cut it in half along the join and then whack in a nice rosewood or ebony filler the same thickness as the saw blade kerf, and make it a feature!

You could then resell it at a profit!! (or is that prophet?)

[Mike Simpson]

Originally Posted by guitarbuilder

Black Ash/Swamp Ash is that cheap there?

Woodworkers Source calls it Ash... Look at the body on my 2012 challenge build. I paid $18 for the ash body and $42 cocobolo neck woods.

[emoney]

It's already been said more than once, but if you really want to fix it, it needs to be
split all the way up, and even then I'd probably want the 2 pieces to sit for a while.
Then, put a filler strip between the two and go from there.

No sense asking the question "did I get a good deal", because at this point, there's no
go back so what does it matter?

[guitarbuilder]

You'd be better off filling the gap with some glue with gap filling properties and just painting it an opaque color.

[Crafty Fox]

Originally Posted by guitarbuilder

You'd be better off filling the gap with some glue with gap filling properties and just painting it an opaque color.

+1

[macaroonie]

I would have thought it would be standard practice for a manufacturer to destroy their rejects.

[guitar2005]

Originally Posted by macaroonie

I would have thought it would be standard practice for a manufacturer to destroy their rejects.

Agreed!

Personally, I'd epoxy that and heat it lightly to ensure that the epoxy goes into the seam well.

[dan1952]

Around here we call this whole deal "outsmarting yourself."