I ran into a potentially serious problem about midway through the lacquering phase. Apparently I hadn't gotten enough superglue underneath the two maple strips comprising my center strip marquetry on the back. This issue went completely unnoticed during sand, leveling, even applying the epoxy wood sealer. It wasn't until I had a few coats of lacquer on that the problem occurred.
I walked into my workshop (bathroom) to apply the 4th or 5th coat and immediately saw a substantial bulge forming in the marquetry on the back--I could even push it in and out! Apparently the lacquer (which constricts as it dries) was pulling up / apart the two maple strips that had not been adequately glued in place! I knew this would be more than a cosmetic issue, as once the lacquer fully cured hard, it would surely crack as soon as anyone touched that area.
You can kind of see the bulge in the center line below:
I wanted to come up with a way to secure the strips without ruining the already applied finish, so I devised a plan to access the cavity from within the guitar body underneath the strips and pump a little glue in there. I tracked down an old style hand-crank drill so I could control the speed of the drill cut and used a long 1/16" drill bit to bore a small hole through the back on the inside just until I saw maple dust coming out of the hole (without going through). Every time I turned the handle it sound like I was making a phone call on an old crank phone.
Once I had my hole, I needed a way to inject a little super glue into the spot so that I could press from the outside until the void was filled and the marquetry strip returned to flat. Having been a Diabetic since I was 5 years old, I now know that the purpose of my affliction was so that on this very day, at this very moment, I would have access to insulin syringes...finally, some closure...
...and here's me pushing as hard and as gently as I can to close up the wound. I think I actually got low blood sugar after doing this...
Phew. Crisis avoided. Now to make sure I don't accidentally reuse that insulin syringe...
