Headstock veneer seperating?

[BennyBen]

Hi! Got referred from the general forum.

It looks like the front of my headstock might be separating. Has anybody seen this before? Is it a big problem that I need to get fixed asap, or can I wait to see if it gets worse? Doesn’t seem to be affecting anything at the moment.

 

[Jisch]

You can wait to see if it gets worse. The strength in the headstock is in the rest of the wood, not the laminate. I guess technically the laminate would provide a small bit of extra strength, but you could strip that whole piece off and still be fine (not that I'm saying you SHOULD strip that off). It may be able to be fixed by wicking glue in and clamping, but someone would have to look at it up close to see if that were possible.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Yeah, not a big deal. You probably should glue it back down soon, just to keep moisture from getting in there and causing it to separate more.

Here's what I would do:

• Remove that tuner.
  
• Wipe a little bit of wax (Johnson's Paste Wax) around the area of the separation, being careful not to push any down into the gap.
• Put a thin bead of wood glue (Titebond 1, LMI Instrument Maker's Glue, etc.) along the gap, then push it with your thumb to force it down into the gap. Add more glue, push more in. Get the gap filled with glue if you can.
• Put on one or two small clamps to squeeze the gap closed. Glue will/should squeeze out. Catch the biggest blobs, but don't worry about the rest. Don't try to wipe off the excess glue.
  
• Let it dry 6 hours
• Because of the wax, the dried excess glue will pop right off with a fingernail.