Fraulini Angelica [4.1 lbs] :: top crack repair.
This guitar has a top center crack caused by low humidity and I've been battling with it for most of the summer. The top was dried to the point of concavity (lower in the center than the edges). Normally acoustic guitar tops have an arch or are at least flat. I have had good luck in the past by humidifying guitars to close small cracks before gluing and cleating them. This crack repair however keeps wanting to pull itself apart, even in my climate controlled shop. I've gone through two iterations of structural / finish repairs and both times tiny checks developed in parts of the repair. Having to wait 3-4 weeks for the finish repairs to cure before rubbing and buffing only to find unsatisfactory results was frustrating. The repairs didn't look terrible, but I knew it could be better.
Cutting and fitting a slice of spruce into the crack helped relieve the stress on the top. One last round of finish repairs and at long last this great guitar is back in it's owner's hands.
Previous photo of fitting the splint here.
And photo of gluing in the splint here.