Goya G10
Grace Da Maren
One owner. One beautiful connection. This Goya has been a dear companion to one lovely soul.
Not long ago, a crack developed on its top, so when he was in Newfoundland, the owner of this Goya G-10 found a luthier to fix it up. He cleated the cracked top the best he could. Now, 2 years later, another crack had developed along the top, and a new one on the back. This is a dry guitar, but it wasn't living the kind of life that a couple weeks in a humidor could fix. I had to make this guitar solid and send it back on its merry way.
When cleaning the crack on the back, I absent-mindedly sliced the label almost in half. It's a little detail, but I knew it was important to my client. He'd mentioned the label at dropoff. He'd bought this guitar in 1966, and if you look closely, you can see 1966 and his initials written on the label. He did that through the strings. It was an important part of this guitar to him. Add to ripping the label, to really fix that crack on the back, I was going to have to remove the label. I updated the client about these facts, and he was curt, but understanding.
I tried naptha and heat to release the label from the guitar, and in the end I got much of it off, but left a corner behind. I safely tucked the label away and updated my client on the repairs. Chatting with him was fascinating. Turns out there was some unaddressed trauma that damaging the label brought forward for him. But after further processing, he realized he plays the guitar, not the label, so he could let go of the feelings that had been so troubling. I am so grateful that this mindful person was able to forgive me, and willing to share stories about his healing journey.
The thing about this job is, even though the practices look like they are repetitive, the clients are whole people with intricately woven webs of connections to their instruments, and no two of them are identical. It is my great honour to work for my clients, servicing their dear instruments, and having an impact on their lives. May I not let my day-to-day processes dull my awareness of just how intimate my work is.
With the cracks prepped, I went about making tiny splines (ribbons of suitable wood) and epoxying them into place. Following epoxy, I touched the splines with a little shellac, then coloured shellac, and finally layers of thin CA glue to level. Internally, I added cleats to the back crack. Because the top crack was situated next to a brace, I didn't have room for a traditional cleat, so I made sure I had plenty of epoxy on that seam.
I'm still working on my technical colour application, and my greatest weakness is impatience. I'm so excited to get to the end product that I build up layers too quickly; I need to take more time between coats. However, the repair passed the 3-foot test (stand 3 feet away from it to judge the finish work). Looking good was a secondary concern to being solid, and I'm confident it's not f'ugly and it's certainly solid, so for me and my client, this was a successful repair.
But don't take my word for it, here's what he had to say!
Exquisite repair on my old Goya G10. Thank you Grace for such dedication to quality work.
This guitar was a great lesson about the importance of mindfulness and transparency. I am so honoured to have worked for this world traveler and his trusty companion.
No guitar isn't worth the work when the owner loves it dearly.
March 2024
