Ouch! This dry weather and cold has produced a crack starting under the tailpiece and running along the top grain almost to the bridge. It looks like about a .010 inch gap at its widest. I've been fixing flattop guitars for many years, but I just wanted to get some expert opinions from you all as to how you approached an archtop crack repair. Thanks very much.
Get the humidity back up in the instrument (the crack should close) and then work some thin hot hide glue down into the crack with your finger (i.e. scrub it into the crack, and don't be greedy with the glue. If you have a mirror, watch the inside, and you will see the glue seep out when you've gotten enough in there) wipe off the surface before the glue dries.
You might try and clamp the sides of the instrument up, and a cleat inside might help, but depending on the size of the crack, the glue will probably do fine as hide glue shrinks as it dries. They main point is to get the humidity back to normal before you start.
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