Thanks @bobouz ! Your suggested repaired combined with the diagrams/images from @GardMan will be great info to take to the luthier. Hopefully he will be able to have a close look at the neck block area of my guitar, assess it, and make a final decision has to how best to reinforce the top in that area. I will for sure suggest your additional braces-that sounds like the solution to me.
Yeah good but you can't live like this. Get it to someone.... I've actually seen this type of injury be helped by a popsicle type brace behind the crack!! And that will help because I doubt you have serious neck block issues but if you have access to a luthier.... then THAT!! It's diagnosis versus panic repairs. Did I just say that??? Holy crap!
Thanks Tom! Yeah, now that I've seen the bracing diagrams from @GardMan it all makes sense. A brace/cleat behind the crack and between the popsicle brace and the neck block and between the popsicle brace the the first brace just above the sound hole sounds like it should stabilize things and hopefully stop the crack from getting worse. I will get the guitar to a good luthier soon!
Or send it to Bob!Interesting Bob. The "popsickle" brace is somewhat of a topic among Collings owners. Some claim that to omit the brace adds responsiveness to the top. Collings themselves won't commit to whether the omission of the brace adds to the responsiveness of the top or not, they only contend that one of their guitars, strung with no heavier than medium gauge strings, should go 50 years without an issue (and that's pretty much a direct quote from Collings). I chose to omit that brace in the guitar I ordered last year. Having said that, that "50 years" is about up with a '71.
Good luck with this Norrissey. Keep us posted.
Edit: From Collings:
Design Options
What is a tongue brace and why would I want to leave it out?
The tongue brace is a flat, thin brace that runs across a guitar's upper bout underneath the tongue of the fingerboard. String tension is always pulling the neck and fingerboard towards the body of an acoustic guitar and a tongue brace helps to reinforce this area to prevent the top from cracking along side of the fingerboard tongue. This cracking is only a potential problem and one that most likely wouldn't be an issue for 40 or 50 years. The tongue brace was originally developed in the late 1940's after cracking occurred on some popular pre-war instruments.
There are a few reasons why people order guitars without tongue braces or remove them:
1) Some players believe that the absence of the tongue brace allows the top to vibrate more freely, and therefore produce a subtly more open sound.
2) Some players like to try and duplicate pre-war bracing designs as much as possible.
3) Clarence White's 1935 D28 didn't have a tongue brace. Many builders offer "Clarence White-style guitars" like our CW model in which we leave out the tongue brace.
In the past 25 years that we've been building the CW model, we've never had a problem with the top cracking along the edges of the tongue. In the long run, a tongue brace is a good safeguard against tension cracks, however if you would prefer to have it left out it should not appreciably affect the structural integrity of the guitar for many years.
West
And I can see that. And I may have put the issue among Collings player a different way. It's not really a source of controversy, it just that some players think it makes a noticeable difference, while other do not. You'll notice in the excerpt I posted above from Collings, they are pretty noncommittal on whether or not the popsickle brace makes a noticeable difference sonically. So given my circumstances being 65, and Collings top integrity estimate of 40-50 years without the brace, I was thinking it would be fine until I'm 105-115, so I took the plunge in hoping the omission of the brace MIGHT enhance the top some small amount. I will say this though, there is actually a $75 charge for Collings to leave the brace out. I had a tough time with that one until it was explained to me that the fee covers any repair they MIGHT have to do to the top in the future, (I think it was the first time in my life I had to pay to NOT get something).
There is also a large "cult" of Martin players that have the popsicle brace removed from their '70s era (? on the dates) Martin dreads to improve their sound... commonly talked about over on the UMGF.
are they flat earthers too?
Maybe "Flat toppers?"
I am a flat topper
Well again, with maybe 20 years of playing left in me, Lord willing and the creek doesn't rise, I was looking for the most vibrant, responsive top I could get right now. With the ability to dictate to the builder what I wanted, and knowing some thought omitting that brace "might" help, I also opted for Adirondack bracing with the Adirondack top. I can't imagine a more responsive top. Whether or not omitting the popsickle brace is a factor in that responsiveness is certainly open to debate. I really don't have an opinion on the matter, I was only armed with the "possibility" that omitting the brace might improve responsiveness.
I don't see anything of concern...what am I missing? To be fair I never look inside my guitar.Thanks for all the help and info guitar masters! I really appreciate your taking the time to share your knowledge!
I took the strings off the D35 and tried to take a photo of the area on the inside of the top where the crack is forming. For some reason I had a hard time getting a good pic. The neck block is bottom right, popsicle brace in the middle, and the "First Brace" is at the top. The sound hole is just out of frame at the top. The pic is on an angle.
So as need dictates, on your 105th birthday, you can ask Collings to install the brace that’s already been paid for!
I don't see anything concerning on the inside yet but a crack is forming on the top. So per @bobouz and @GardMan I will likely have a luthier reinforce the top in this area by putting additional braces between the neck block and the popsicle brace and between the popsicle brace and the 1st brace. Fingers crossed!
Looks good in there, so preventative steps may be all that’s needed. My own case was similar in that a finish check & slight bulge had formed at the soundhole (visually between the first & second strings when looked at from above), running a very short distance to the end of the fretboard. As with yours, from the inside all looked fine, but the smart bet leaned towards acting immediately to strengthen the area as a safeguard.Thanks for all the help and info guitar masters! I really appreciate your taking the time to share your knowledge!
I took the strings off the D35 and tried to take a photo of the area on the inside of the top where the crack is forming. For some reason I had a hard time getting a good pic. The neck block is bottom right, popsicle brace in the middle, and the "First Brace" is at the top. The sound hole is just out of frame at the top. The pic is on an angle.
That's what I was thinking.So as need dictates, on your 105th birthday, you can ask Collings to install the brace that’s already been paid for!
And at the current inflation rate, that $75 should be worth approximately $10,000 in 2063.