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Headstock damage. What would you do?
- Thread starter bassyogi
- Start date
Bruce Johnson wrote an overview of the repair in post #9. As he said, when done correctly it will be nearly invisible.
Unfortunately I live in SE Ohio where the closest luthier is about 2hrs away. Anyone ever have any work done by Dan Erlwine? He's probably the closest to me if I stay with a local luthier. Who do you guys recommend here on TB if I decide to ship it to someone?
Yes. Since this happened during shipping, is the chip floating around in the packing material? Looks like it should be a big enough chunk to glue in and be pretty much invisible.
You might try contacting John Brown in Minn. for advice (or repair)? He is highly regarded in the industry. He builds and repairs guitars and basses.
His web page is currently under construction but there is contact information.
http://www.brownsguitarfactory.com/
He repaired a BC Rich Mockingbird I own (damage and repair happened with a previous owner). Granted, your damage isn't quite as drastic but he may be able to help.
Here are some Before and Afters...
His web page is currently under construction but there is contact information.
http://www.brownsguitarfactory.com/
He repaired a BC Rich Mockingbird I own (damage and repair happened with a previous owner). Granted, your damage isn't quite as drastic but he may be able to help.
Here are some Before and Afters...
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
I would get it fixed personally if it isn't your only bass or you can do without it for awhile have the neck shipped to someone experienced in these types of repairs also if it isn't a rare bass be on the look out for a used neck it may be cheaper.
Thanks for the info Marko57.
I used to have the wood chip. Had it in a sandwich bag that said "Save" on it. Had it laying on my nightstand bc I was planning to take a pic of it and the neck to send to a luthier down in Athens Ohio. My wonderful mother-in-law came to my house to help my wife spring clean one day and guess what happened? Now, you would think a piece of wood... in a bag...with save written on it would be enough to leave it alone... Nope. Tossed it. SMH!! Anyhow, this isn't my main bass so I am not in a big rush to fix it, but I think I am leaning toward getting fixed. But then again, some things are just better off left alone.
Does Fender tint their poly? I'm wondering how close superglue or fingernail polish will match the rest of the headstock?
I used to have the wood chip. Had it in a sandwich bag that said "Save" on it. Had it laying on my nightstand bc I was planning to take a pic of it and the neck to send to a luthier down in Athens Ohio. My wonderful mother-in-law came to my house to help my wife spring clean one day and guess what happened? Now, you would think a piece of wood... in a bag...with save written on it would be enough to leave it alone... Nope. Tossed it. SMH!! Anyhow, this isn't my main bass so I am not in a big rush to fix it, but I think I am leaning toward getting fixed. But then again, some things are just better off left alone.
Does Fender tint their poly? I'm wondering how close superglue or fingernail polish will match the rest of the headstock?
I agree. Yeah, if it really bothers you, this technique will correct it 95%. Make a good dense mixture of yellow carpenters glue and fine maple saw dust. Fill the damage. Allow for a little shrinkage. Carefully shape the repair carefully with fine sand paper, buff, clear coat then stand back and admire what you have done and what you have learned. Gentlemen, keep your headstocks away from your drummers cymbals or scars will appear!
Big Hoss
Up note, down note, blue note, brown note...
- Sep 5, 2014
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The headstock repair is going to take some skill, and a router.
The headstock needs to be routed so that there is a flat, smooth surface for the patch to sit in place. I personally would find as close as possible to match grain / color wise in maple, route the headstock, trim the patch to fit somewhat proud, sand flush to the surrounding surface, trim to match the radius with a flush trim bit, break over the corner with a small rounding bit or just sand it round, smooth it with some 400+ grit, and poly that sucker...
The deep scratch on the body I might just keep in place if it's not too deep. Putty fills never look right, especially on a natural finish instrument.
If you aren't comfortable doing the work yourself, take it to a luthier and get an estimate.
The headstock needs to be routed so that there is a flat, smooth surface for the patch to sit in place. I personally would find as close as possible to match grain / color wise in maple, route the headstock, trim the patch to fit somewhat proud, sand flush to the surrounding surface, trim to match the radius with a flush trim bit, break over the corner with a small rounding bit or just sand it round, smooth it with some 400+ grit, and poly that sucker...
The deep scratch on the body I might just keep in place if it's not too deep. Putty fills never look right, especially on a natural finish instrument.
If you aren't comfortable doing the work yourself, take it to a luthier and get an estimate.
If you want it fixed, Dan would be a great choice.
On a USA bass a big hack like that will create a bigger loss in value if you ever sell it than a proper repair will cost. If it was a MIM or Squier I would say leave it.
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Fill it with putty and sand it if you want to fix it. I wouldn't pay anyone to do it, and I certainly wouldn't be overly concerned about sealing that chip against moisture penetration, unless the rest of it has been somehow waterproofed and you are playing it in the pool.
I've had good luck making repairs to match vintage tint Fender necks with Valspar Poly+Stain "summer oak" color. Put on a few thin coats of the tinted poly until you have a close color match then finish off the repair with clear coat.
There are of course other brands that have tinted poly--also liquid tints you can use to custom match, amber superglue from StewMac, etc.--so there may be different/better options. Good luck!
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I'd just sand it out and patch up with clear coat for protection.
Alternatively you can of course get a new neck too...
hasbeen
Commercial User
- Sep 23, 2004
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I really don't get this "it adds mojo" thing. IMHO, there is "wear" and there is "damage". That is damage. What is the story supposed to be that created this "mojo"? "I dropped my bass and now it looks cool?"
I like the grain in the headstock, especially up towards the B-string. You got a nice piece of wood there. Unless you could repair it so that it blends in with the rest of the grain, I would probably just carefully sand the damaged area until it was very smooth and then give it a coat of superglue to seal it.
I emailed Dan Erlewine (closest luthier to me) today and got an estimate. He offered two options. 1. Tint epoxy and fill then buff for around $ 50 +/-. 2. Put in a piece of maple and refinish for $ 200+. Probably gonna go with first option.
i had an SG in trans red with a chip on the edge of the body. i fond a stain i thought would match pretty well and then started bjuilding up layers of polly. i then sanded it back neing careful not to take much of the exsisting polly down. i ontinued with finer grits and then buffed it out. it took some time to build up the polly but it worked great and was mad easy.
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