Can this busted headstock be repaired?

[jmain]

This is a one-of-a-kind neck with a rosewood board and blocks and binding that I got straight from Lakland. I was trying to raise money to get a JO5 so I sold it.

Well, I got the JO5 but FedEx busted up the headstock and I had to reimburse the buyer. To their credit, FedEx paid the insurance so I got reimbursed.

It would be such a shame to toss this. I was wondering if it could be repaired. Maybe graft a new headstock on it? How much would that cost?

[RWP]

No expert here by any means, however I had a neck snap off a Guild B302 20 years ago when it fell over in the stand. A repair shop glued it back together and it has been fine ever since. You can see where the repair was made due to the finish. With yours it might not be as noticeable. Good luck!

[jmain]

Cool. Thanks for the info.

I was thinking of glue and clamps might do the trick. I'm a little worried about it being right across the tuner holes and being susceptible to cracking.

[Brass Nut]

That look like a fairly simple and straight forward repair job to me.
Google "guitar repairs" and I'm sure you'll find something.
A couple of possibilities come to mind and I'm no expert.
Be carefull and try not to mess with the edges anymore than they've already been. Wrap them in soft foam for safe keeping while you scout it out.
If it was me, I'd do it myself. but then again I've probably more repair experience than the average Joe.
Consider even a very fine funiture builder / restorer too.
I know a guy that's simply amazing at retoration of wood items.

PS, If you're thinking of scraping it, scrap it my way (I'll pay postage - )
Brass Nut

[jmain]

Originally Posted by Brass Nut

That look like a fairly simple and straight forward repair job to me.
Google "guitar repairs" and I'm sure you'll find something.
A couple of possibilities come to mind and I'm no expert.
Be carefull and try not to mess with the edges anymore than they've already been. Wrap them in soft foam for safe keeping while you scout it out.
If it was me, I'd do it myself. but then again I've probably more repair experience than the average Joe.
Consider even a very fine funiture builder / restorer too.
I know a guy that's simply amazing at retoration of wood items.

PS, If you're thinking of scraping it, scrap it my way (I'll pay postage - )
Brass Nut

'Preciate the info BN. I'll do some digging to see what's up. My Pa-in-law restores antique furniture and builds some nice pieces too. I think I'll let him take a look at it when he's in town in a couple weeks.

[moro]

Originally Posted by jmain

I'm a little worried about it being right across the tuner holes and being susceptible to cracking.

That shouldn't be a problem. The wood glue is going to be stronger than the wood. If it breaks again, it won't be where you repaired it.

[62bass]

I've repaired a few headstocks broken like that. The key is good glue and proper clamping. I prefer a marine glue, a 2 part glue called Weldwood which is a powder you mix with water. It dries very hard and doesn't creep under load when dry like some other glues do. I wouldn't use epoxy or carpenter's glue. Your father in law should be able to do this easily and produce an almost invisible glue joint stronger than the wood.

Don't let the broken joint edges get damaged or get grease or oils on it. You want that nice clean break so everything will line up exactly and the glue will bond properly.

Looking at that photo, it looks like there was a lot of stress on the wood at the tuning pegs. After the repair is complete and you've given the glue a few days to cure completely, take a dowel with some coarse sandpaper and slightly enlarge those tuning peg holes. They may be a bit too tight a fit.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by moro

That shouldn't be a problem. The wood glue is going to be stronger than the wood. If it breaks again, it won't be where you repaired it.

Right on. This would be awesome to get it repaired. I appreciate all of the info.

Then I would just have to find a body.

[Relic]

you could always just send that horrid unrepairable foreverly-broken neck to me out of the goodness of your heart....
:^P

easy fix there, no worries. But +1 to what 62bass wrote about the tuner holes.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by Relic

you could always just send that horrid unrepairable foreverly-broken neck to me out of the goodness of your heart....
:^P

easy fix there, no worries. But +1 to what 62bass wrote about the tuner holes.

All of this has been a bit of a drag. It'd be cool if I can repair it and fit it to another body.

[Eric Perry]

I'm not an expert, nor do I play one on TV, But I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night...

When you glue it, make absolutely sure the pieces are perfectly lined up top to back. If not, when you tighten the tuning machines, it's going to but a great deal of stress on that glue joint.

Good luck. I think it will be fine.

[tZer]

I have a beater bass that's headstock completely snapped off of AND, because the previous owner decided to shorten the headstock for some strange reason by sawing it off though the last set of tuner holes - I had a bass with a headstock that was in FAR worse condition.

I was able to glue the headstock back on and, by sawing down the headstock a little further and adding more wood to make the headstock a little more reasonable, I was able to get the bass back to a functional state.

Now mine is a total beater and I had very little to lose in trying what I did to "fix" it - but based on my situation, I would think yours is very fixable.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by Eric618

I'm not an expert, nor do I play one on TV, But I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night...

When you glue it, make absolutely sure the pieces are perfectly lined up top to back. If not, when you tighten the tuning machines, it's going to but a great deal of stress on that glue joint.

Good luck. I think it will be fine.

Point well taken. That's why I think I'm gonna let my Father-in-law sit in on this one. I was regretting selling it in the first place.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by tZer

I have a beater bass that's headstock completely snapped off of AND, because the previous owner decided to shorten the headstock for some strange reason by sawing it off though the last set of tuner holes - I had a bass with a headstock that was in FAR worse condition.

I was able to glue the headstock back on and, by sawing down the headstock a little further and adding more wood to make the headstock a little more reasonable, I was able to get the bass back to a functional state.

Now mine is a total beater and I had very little to lose in trying what I did to "fix" it - but based on my situation, I would think yours is very fixable.

I'll give it a whirl a couple weeks from now and let you guys know how it turned out.

[Eric Perry]

Dowels might not be a bad idea.... Not sure if they're needed though. Biscuits open up a whole can of worms for someone not accustomed to wood-working: Special tools, buying the biscuits, having to re-drill the machine holes (They'd interfere) etc.

I do think a *good* quality glue joint will work perfectly fine, if done correctly.

Again, good luck!

[hbarcat]

Gene Liberty is a luthier in northern Illinois who does expert repair and restoration work. His motto is: "The most impossible repairs performed routinely". Here's a few before and after pictures from his website of repaired bass headstocks.

http://www.guitarfix.com/fixed14.htm

http://www.guitarfix.com/fixed9.htm

email him your pic of the broken Lakland neck and tell him what happened. He knows his stuff and gives good advice, and his repair prices are reasonable.

http://www.guitarfix.com/index.htm

[Johnny Crab]

For DIY, I'd use this as it shows up in all luthier forums for all kinds of repairs: http://www.westsystem.com/index.htm
Call 'em for which kind.

ANYTHING can be fixed. Example from my past. Knocked over by drunks fighting before road crew & bouncer could react one 1964 Gibson Thunderbird


Did need a fretjob anyway!

Repaired by this genius in the 80's when he was working out of his first shop next to his Dad's autobody repair shop:
http://www.fosterguitars.com/meetjimmy.html

Fixed to BETTER than new(thin lamination under the weakest area...invisible):

[62bass]

Originally Posted by Eric618

Dowels might not be a bad idea.... Not sure if they're needed though. Biscuits open up a whole can of worms for someone not accustomed to wood-working: Special tools, buying the biscuits, having to re-drill the machine holes (They'd interfere) etc.

I do think a *good* quality glue joint will work perfectly fine, if done correctly.

Again, good luck!

A quality glue joint with clamps to hold it while the glue hardens will be completely adequate for what seems to be, at least from the photo posted, a very clean break.

I'd use dowels, or wood scarfed into the joint only if there was wood missing. Dowels don't add much strength and are more useful for keeping parts in alignment. Biscuits can add strength but aren't needed and it's a small area to be glued and tough to do unless you have the tools and experience.

Your father in law will know what to do and do a perfectly fine job if he's had experience with wood joints. Just use the right glue, proper clamping with perhaps a jig to hold the clamps properly, and give the joint a week at room temperature to fully harden before you string up. I recently did one on a headstock that was tougher to do than yours and it turned out fine. The hardest part was keeping the squeezed out glue off the finish. It was hard to work around the clamps. This is an easy job.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

Gene Liberty is a luthier in northern Illinois who does expert repair and restoration work. His motto is: "The most impossible repairs performed routinely". Here's a few before and after pictures from his website of repaired bass headstocks.

http://www.guitarfix.com/fixed14.htm

http://www.guitarfix.com/fixed9.htm

email him your pic of the broken Lakland neck and tell him what happened. He knows his stuff and gives good advice, and his repair prices are reasonable.

http://www.guitarfix.com/index.htm

Eric,
I think you're right about just going with the glue if I don't send it to a repair guy.

I might check out Gene Liberty or Johnny's guy if we can't do it.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by 62bass

A quality glue joint with clamps to hold it while the glue hardens will be completely adequate for what seems to be, at least from the photo posted, a very clean break.

I'd use dowels, or wood scarfed into the joint only if there was wood missing. Dowels don't add much strength and are more useful for keeping parts in alignment. Biscuits can add strength but aren't needed and it's a small area to be glued and tough to do unless you have the tools and experience.

Your father in law will know what to do and do a perfectly fine job if he's had experience with wood joints. Just use the right glue, proper clamping with perhaps a jig to hold the clamps properly, and give the joint a week at room temperature to fully harden before you string up. I recently did one on a headstock that was tougher to do than yours and it turned out fine. The hardest part was keeping the squeezed out glue off the finish. It was hard to work around the clamps. This is an easy job.

I think he can do it. I've seen him do some amazing stuff with all manner of smashed up furniture and new builds.

He made an awesome footstool for an antique wooden rocker that has rocker's on the footstool and looks to be the same age. He made some great instrument stands just using an old catalog. The upright bass stand is in the living room b/c it's great furniture.

We're gonna give it a shot. Then I'll just have to find a Joe Osborn or Bob Glaub body to put it on. Maybe I can get a Warmoth body with the correct size neck pocket and have a Warmland 75 RI.