Perfect D55 - little less than perfect this evening

[adorshki]

Well ... it happened .... finish checking. Around the bridge. What should I do to stop the progress?

They're just like cracks in glass, not possible to stabilize

It travelled from Dallas to Pittsburgh in winter .... so I guess that is the chance I took. Oh well. It’s still awesome.

FWIW it happens from sudden temp swings.
That's why the caution about opening a cold-soaked instrument in a warm room.
If guitar was shipped with something acting as an insulator around the case, whether intentional or not, kind of doubt it occurred during shipping, as temps don't usually change quickly or by as much as would cause it, so suspect was probably there already and you didn't really notice in the first blush of true love.
I know what you mean though, might be part of the reason for the great price.

 

[adorshki]

I think I got some too. My blue jumbo traveled from Maine to Utah. It could be from any number of things. Simply shipping in winter, regardless of how careful we are to let it acclimatize when it arrives.... Or maybe Westerly nitrocellulose lacquer was applied particularly thin (makes for that great Westerly tone, but also tends to finish check?).... Just age.... Cosmic rays?.... (OK, probably not that last one.)

Still awesome is right!

We've seen anecdotes that extreme cold in itself isn't the culprit, but that may also vary by age and condition of the NCL< remember, NCL formulae themselves have evolved over time, like everything else.
And actually it's the thicker finishes that are more prone to temperature shock, as the thinner ones "stretch" more easily.
And like everything else the finishing process evolved in Westerly, but yes, late Westerlys are known for thin finishes.
That DCE-3 looks like it was tortured by being left in the trunk of a car in sub 30 temps overnite , then brought inside and put in front of a space heater and Tone-rited to boot.
And it still didn't talk.
:glee:

 

[Guildedagain]

I remember asking a Gibson rep about leaving my SG or Les Paul out in the car all night, all the time...

He said, "if you're comfortable, it's comfortable. If you wouldn't be, too hot or too cold, it wouldn't either", with heat being infinitely more destructive.

I prefer to think of my gear as cryogenically treated ;-)

And correct about the lacquer, the thicker, the better it cracks, or crazes, or checks.

 

[Westerly Wood]

tone flames are starting to grow on the top. perfectly normal and usually a sign of awesomeness.

 

[SFIV1967]

...And let it rest awhile before opening...

At least 12 to 24 hours before you opened the case? That's typical when the guitar is still cold and comes in a warm room. Mind that it takes many many hours until the temperature in a guitar case that was in a shipping box get's up to room temperature. Best 12 hours in the shipping box and another 12 hours in the case before you open the lid...
Some guitar manufacturers say you should not even open the shipping box for a full 24 hours:

"If you've ordered a guitar from us, you will see an important temperature warning sticker we place on all of our outgoing packages that states "Do Not Open for 24 Hours." Depending upon the season and weather conditions, this wait time is strongly recommended due to potential changes in temperature that can occur between the shipping facility, truck and your environment. Sudden changes in temperature can cause devistating damage the lacquer or varnish finish on instruments... With these common sense measures, you can be assured that your new guitar will be unpacked in the same condition that we sent it from our shop. Obviously, this change in temperature can be more pronounced at different times of the year, so it is not necessarily a firm rule, although some common sense measures should be taken before unpacking."

Ralf

 

[TBK711]

I didn’t even open the shipping box until 27 hours after bringing it into my house. And my house is pretty cold.

Oh well, so it goes ... the guitar is great.

 

[GAD]

A Les Paul with good checking is a thing of beauty.

For me, so long as it's uniformly distributed I think it looks amazing. I love a mint guitar, but that DCE above is fantastic.

 

[SFIV1967]

I didn’t even open the shipping box until 27 hours after bringing it into my house. And my house is pretty cold.

O.k., so you cannot blame yourself. And it is a great guitar! Also think about travelling musicians in winter who drive from city to city. They have no time to wait for opening the case. Hence you see so many guitars with those laquer checks.
Ralf

 

[Bonneville88]

That Paul is just gorgeous - wow -
don't know that I've ever seen checking looking so right - amazing indeed!