Mahogany Tear Out...help!

[ohno50]

I have started my first "from scratch" build...a Mahogany bodied tele. I reached the point today of routing the outside of the guitar body using my template. Everything went really well until I got to the end of the body.
On my first pass I guess I tried to take too much off and was the lucky recipient of a little bit of end grain tear-out. Not huge but enough to cause a frown.
My plan on this guitar was to just Tung-Oil it so I would prefer to not go the wood filler route if possible.
Any suggestions on how to how to fix this would be very much appreciated.

 

[TEAM LANDRETH]

First, welcome to TDPRI, fellow Canuck. Second, photos are always a good idea when asking for advice.

Your best bet is to glue in a patch. Route either a notch or a straight pass to eliminate the torn out section. If you have enough mahogany left, you may get a nice grain match with a bit of careful planning. If it on the face of the guitar and fairly obvious, a burst finish might be a solution.

Filling is trickier. I would suggest saw dust from the body and fish glue. AC glue is likely to seal the pores and cause discolouration where as fish glue mixed with sawdust isn't likely to wick into the surrounding wood too much. Fish glue has a longer cure rate than carpenters glue, and can be softened with water later. A gap filling glue like 2002 GF from Lee Valley is great alternative, also. Seeing as you live up here, a trip to Lee Valley will find all the adhesives a guitar builder could ever want.

 

[ohno50]

Thanks for the advice. I have attached a pic showing what i was trying to describe.

 

[Colt W. Knight]

You can just sand that off. Shortening the end of your guitar by 1/8" isn't going to hurt anything.

I wouldn't bother trying to fill it until after you have sanded.

 

[ohno50]

ok. Thats what I was thinking of doing but I wasn't sure. Thanks.

 

[Colt W. Knight]

Happens to the best of us. Its only a big deal when it takes chunks you can't sand away. Now that sucks!

 

[TEAM LANDRETH]

Seeing the photograph, I would fill. It looks to be entirely on the side of the body, so it should be easy. Mix your filler sawdust rich so it spreads like thick peanut butter and won't sag. 2002 GF glue or fish glue. Carpenters glue can change the colour depending on the make. Tightbond ll is a good choice if you must, mind you.

I humbly disagree on sanding out the tear out. An eighth of an inch is actually quite a bit of wood. Even feathered out, you will notice it. Maybe not so much up close, but from across the room it will become obvious.

That being said, there is really only one person who needs to be impressed with your work. You. If you're happy, the universe is happy.

Lastly, I live in Winnipeg by choice, so that makes me crazy by definition.

 

[Colt W. Knight]

Seeing the photograph, I would fill. It looks to be entirely on the side of the body, so it should be easy. Mix your filler sawdust rich so it spreads like thick peanut butter and won't sag. 2002 GF glue or fish glue. Carpenters glue can change the colour depending on the make. Tightbond ll is a good choice if you must, mind you.

I humbly disagree on sanding out the tear out. An eighth of an inch is actually quite a bit of wood. Even feathered out, you will notice it. Maybe not so much up close, but from across the room it will become obvious.
If you sand the bottom edge flush again, no one is going to ever be able to tell, ever!

That being said, there is really only one person who needs to be impressed with your work. You. If you're happy, the universe is happy.

Lastly, I live in Winnipeg by choice, so that makes me crazy by definition.

When you sand it flush, you sand with the contour of the body, and keep the edges 90 degrees just like Fender did it for years before CNC and computerized routers came along.

 

[SacDAve]

Like Colt said just sand it out, that's how the children in China do it at the factory. Everyone will know it’s a Tele.

 

[ohno50]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to go the sanding route and see where it leaves me.

 

[Colt W. Knight]

Just remember, you are not sanding a flatt spot in the guitar, just recontouring the edge with the tearout.

 

[GregB]

Go to my build thread and scroll about half way down. I had exactly this problem.

Before:
image removed

After:
image removed

 

[Colt W. Knight]

For Greg's body, sanding isn't a option. Nice patch.