Arto
Oud Junkie
Posts: 120
Registered: 4-1-2006
Location: Finland
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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center seam on top opening - what to do?
Hi friends,
I have a brand new Haluk beginner oud I got a few weeks ago. I have been happy with the instrument: it´s beautiful, nicely made and shows more
attention to the detail than I thought it would, considering the price. I especially like the looks of the peghead and the walnut-mahagony bowl - the
bowl is much more beautiful in real life than in the pictures. It has a full sound IMHO, confortable action, and - last but not least - the pegs hold
the tuning admirably.
One problem I have and it is the center seam of the top. It started opening a bit at day three after arriving. Must be the climate, though it is
almost summer here in Finland with 10-20 C temperatures outside, around 21-22 inside, and it´s not as dry as it will be in winter with central
heating on. The seam is not gaping by any means, somewhat less than 1mm at its widest, but is clearly visible. It´s at its widest underneath the
bridge, but you can see it opening very slightly also between the central rosette and the fingerboard.
I have had e-mail conversation with Mr Eraydin and he has suggested keeping the intrument well humified (I asked about this in another thread here)
and using glue or silicone to the seam to prevent it from opening more. My problem is that I am not so keen to try the latter - I can well visualize
how horrible the cosmetic result would be if I try squeezing glue into a less-than-millimeter opening with my total lack of woodworking experience.
I suppose a guitar repairman would humidify the instrument, glue the seam and possible patch it a bit from underside to support the glued seam. But
you can´t get inside without removing at least one rosette (how?), and of course I´m not so keen to pay a lot for a perfect repair job, considering
the instrument´s original price.
If I don´t do anything, what are the risks structurally, and how much a slight center seam opening affects the sound?
thanks,
Arto
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Dr. Oud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1370
Registered: 12-18-2002
Location: Sacramento, CA, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: better than before
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There are no structural risks as the braces are what support the face. There is really no loss of tone or volume, either, as seams open up even on
aged soundboards due to climatic changes. If the seam is open very wide, a repairman may make a sliver of matching wood to glue in, but usually the
seam is filled with a mixture of hide glue and spruce sawdust. You could do the same even with liquid hide glue since the joint is not structural. You
could ignore it since it's really a cosmetic issue.
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