Fylde cittern cracked x-brace

[Dave Richard]

Customer brought in this lovely cittern for unrelated adjustment, & I noticed the crack at the x-brace joint(and separation of the thin ‘cap’). Repair of this issue on a flattop guitar is straightforward, but the crack(which begins at the corner of the notch), while obvious, is not open enough to ensure getting glue into it, before clamping. The crack does not appear to move, or change between string tension or no string tension. The sound hole is very small. Anyone here have experience with a similar repair, and can advise?

[Eric Oliver]

Is that not a "strap" of wood that spans over the "x" notch?
Sorry - I flew through your post. I do think I can see a crack coming out of the joint. Can you determine the grain orientation of that piece?

[Dave Richard]

Is that not a "strap" of wood that spans over the "x" notch?
Sorry - I flew through your post. I do think I can see a crack coming out of the joint. Can you determine the grain orientation of that piece?

I referred to the 'strap' as the 'cap', which is supposed to reinforce the joint, but has separated from the x, above the crack. I do not know the orientation of the that arm of the 'x'(I will look, though).

[Dave Richard]

I'm asking if anyone has made a similar repair, to a similar instrument: perhaps coaxing the crack more open, to enable glue to fully penetrate the crack. I do not yet see how to make that possible. If I can achieve that, then clamping it shut is straightforward, i think.

[rcc56]

I've done somewhat similar repairs on guitars, but not on a mandolin. The procedure would be the same though, except for the difficulties of getting in there.

Try pressing on the top over the X-brace at different points, and see if you can find a spot where the pressure opens the crack slightly.
If you can find such a spot, you can work in a slow set glue by flexing at that spot and rubbing the glue in as you flex. Then, get some glue under the cap, clamp, and cross your fingers.

If you can't get the crack to open, it might be that the cap is preventing the crack from opening. Then you will have to decide whether to remove the cap and try again, and then install a new cap; or to leave the cap in place and install an old-fashioned glue-soaked cloth patch. A cloth patch might be considered to be a compromise, but sometimes a compromise is the best we can do.

It's hard to get in there. Good luck.

[Dave Richard]

The cracked x-brace in question is a correctly orientated quartersawn piece. The cap, or strap, has already separated from the x-brace, above the crack(which happened first-crack or separation, I'd like to know!). This carved top does not have the flex of a flattop: I've tried pushing, and gently clamping down on the top, to coax open the crack, but so far, no movement. Thank you all for your replies. Sometimes, with a puzzling repair, it's best to set it aside and ruminate over the problem, which is what I will do for now.

[Ray(T)]

I’s be tempted to ask Roger Bucknell at Fylde for advice. I’ve always found him very approachable and his regular newsletters are always worth a look.