Finish Crack?

[El Cid]

Hey all,

Here is some pics of a crack(s) where the neck meets the body of the guitar. What do you think it is? Finish Crack? You can see in the first pic that it runs down a bit from the binding

 

[Paruwi]

I would not worry much about it.

it's hard to see at all

 

[dolebludger]

While it is difficult to tell anything from the posted pics, there is really no such thing as a finish crack on a poly finished guitar like an Epi. That is because poly remains more flexible than the wood, and will not crack unless there is a crack in the wood beneath it.

 

[RTH]

Sorry, Dole, that is just not true. We've seen plenty of Epiphones with finish cracks at the heel from neck flex. Its extremely common on Epi set necks. Also, on the guitar above, you can see a crack in the poly over the binding. There is a lot of info about poly cracks on the web.

 

[dolebludger]

That is interesting, to say the least. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. It is just that I have some 35 year old poly finished set neck guitars with no such cracks (not Epis). And I've been told that the poly on guitars is like the clear coat on cars, where it takes more flex than wood could take to crack the finish. But I have o admit that the crack through the binding does throw me a bit.

 

[RTH]

None of my poly guitars have finish cracks either, except for my EBM. I've had poly chip off the side of the neck and other spots too. If you drop a poly guitar, the poly will crack and sometimes even shatter in that area.

Here are some pics of my EBM that got dropped and resulted in some pretty heinous poly cracks. If you look at the top-left corner of the cavity picture, you can see the poly cracks end at the cavity and are not in the wood. You can also just make out that they only go as deep as the poly.

 

[El Cid]

The seller said it may have happened during shipping. I am taking it to a local luthier just in case. I want to make sure there is not any structural damage. From what I can see it looks like the Poly. It actually has a crack leading to a small crack on the fretboard binding.

 

[RTH]

That a good idea. if the guitar got bumped or dropped, it could have unset the neck a bit too.

 

[El Cid]

Thanks for the responses guys. I am heading to the Luthier now

 

[El Cid]

Unfortunately the luthier said the neck flexed and unset a bit. Since I bought this new he suggested to return it. Its too bad because I really was looking forward to play this. I will have to watch for another one

 

[Paruwi]

Unfortunately the luthier said the neck flexed and unset a bit. Since I bought this new he suggested to return it. Its too bad because I really was looking forward to play this. I will have to watch for another one

Good decision,

there will be another one, without damage

 

[IRG]

Was this one of the Lee Malia models listed for sale on Reverb? I'd send this one back too.

 

[El Cid]

Was this one of the Lee Malia models listed for sale on Reverb? I'd send this one back too.

It wasn't one of those off of Reverb. This one was actually sold as new. I may make an offer on one of the Reverb refurb Malias (Say that ten times fast). Though I might wait a little while. Another one may pop up in my price range. Plus I have the Tak DC on preorder to look forward to

 

[RTH]

Good deal taking it to a luthier. Finish cracks around the heel are common, but not like that. I didnt figure the wood was cracked, but had a feeling about the neck being unset. I hope you get another one with the damage.

 

[El Cid]

Good deal taking it to a luthier. Finish cracks around the heel are common, but not like that. I didnt figure the wood was cracked, but had a feeling about the neck being unset. I hope you get another one with the damage.

It is unfortunate but I am glad I caught it now and not later. My local luthier is awesome, even though he keeps asking me why I have so many Epis

 

[RTH]

That was supposed to say "without the damage".

 

[El Cid]

That was supposed to say "without the damage".

Wow. I didn't catch that either.

Well, the Epi is packed up and ready to ship tomorrow.

 

[RTH]

Good luck! i hope this works out for you.

 

[fumblefinger]

Not sure how poly acts on solid bodies, but I've owned Ovations that had substantial poly cracks that went at angles to the grain. The crack was obviously in the poly only. Of course I don't know what kind of poly Kaman was using back in the 70s or early 80s. I'm sure it was different than the UV cured polyester on our modern Epis.

 

[RTH]

You can see the poly cracks on the bass I posted above go in an opposite direction than the grains. The grain angles to the left and the cracks veer to the right. I think it all depends on how the crack occurred.