Moses Graphite Neck Help

I recently got a bass off a buddy of mine to do a little setup work on it and i very quickly discovered the graphite neck has a significant warp in the headstock. It is crazy bent and not just a little. More like a potato chip. I thought these necks were supposed to be indestructible?

Anyway, i am reading and i see where some types of graphite necks might move/warp under excessive heat. I suspect this might have been left in a car in the summer heat for a while but it doesn't quite add up. Either way, i strapped it to a bench to see if it will release any of the bend but I am wondering if it will require heat as well. I have never messed with graphite parts so looking for advice. Anyone have a similar experience?

 

I suspect this as well. It wasn’t in direct sunlight and only an afternoon but the sun is intense right now. It would explain it. I am tempted to strap it to a 2x4 and set it in the car window for a day or two to see if it moves back. I am just concerned it might have lost its ability to resist string tension if it moves back.

 

thanks for the advice! I did send an email to their orders email asking for technical assistance along with some photos. We shall see if anyone is still monitoring. It appears they no longer make these necks.

 

I did hear back from Moses Graphite.

"I'd say that you first need to heat the headstock only, notably not the neck shaft. Do so with it clamped between two flat plates. Tighten the clamps as the heat allows the peghead to conform to those flat surfaces. Cool the headstock prior to releasing the clamps. Then on the back side, rout a couple of channels through the peghead. These will ideally be one between the tuner holes and the adjoining straight headstock edge and one from circa the neck shaft side of the 'D' tuner hole down the center of the peghead to as close to the transition to the neck shaft as possible. Glue (epoxy) carbon fiber rods in each of those holes. Sand flush and apply a surface finish. Although we no longer are in the neck business, we have done and can still do this work for $125 plus shipping."

I will be attempting to rework the headstock with heat however, i do not plan to add carbon fiber rods to the headstock so we shall see if it is able to resist the tension of strings once it is again strait. I will keep this thread updated with my progress.

 

It might be a little early to celebrate but i would say i have had success working with this neck on my own. I used a heat gun to carefully add heat to just the headstock. Once heated i clamped it down to a flat surface while it cooled. Attached are the photos. After the neck was reassembled and has sat under tension for 24 hours the neck still seems to be holding its new shape.

In hindsight i needed to follow instruction and find some "plates" to use a little more closely. The clamps left some impressions in the surface finish. It is amazing to me just how soft this material gets at temperature. At no point in time was the surface temp beyond touchable but yet it took impression from the clamps. Crazy material. I can definitely see it moving under heat inside a car.