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Small dent on 1 day old Lakland maple neck

zippydog

zippydog

Dec 28, 2006
852
196
Chicago
#1
Guys,

Hoping for a steer here...

Yesterday, I took delivery of a brand new Lakland 55-02 deluxe, rosewood fretboard, maple neck and headstock.

Today, I was putting a strap lock on the top horn and somehow, the butt end of the screwdriver/electric drill must have dinged the neck on the top side just before the 4th fret, making a small indentation in the maple wood. The indentation is small, but really bumming me out. Its in a high traffic part of the neck, but high enough to the top side of the neck that I'm only rarely hitting/feeling with my thumb...just hate that its there at all.

Am I best to accept this as "mojo" or is there a basic DIY fix or something a local Luthier could tackle for me? I could also take it up with Lakland directly, I suppose, since I'm just across town from them.

I can't tell if the neck is finished or unfinished - very smooth but has a matte appearance. I probably need to know that for the best help...hoping maybe someone here might know?

Any suggestions or tips?

Many thanks!
 
#3
chalk it off as character.... I had an incident with my prized G&L SB-2 where I was doing a sound check and I walked past a table and a guy cut me off... I almost fell but caught myself with my hands.

My bass hit the table (it was on me with the strap) and I tried to pull back but it whapped the table a second time... two HUGE chunky dents right by the bridge on my lake placid blue body.

I got over it and now they're character to the bass.
 
#6
mikeyswood said:
I would charge $250 for that repair: $10 for the work and $240 for being overbearing.
Click to expand...

Well, I asked for perspective...no shortage of it here. think I'm gettin' the picture.

Sorry guys, just hard for me to spend that much money and inflict a flaw within the first 24 hours of ownership that I'm going to either feel or notice every time I play.

For the curious, the offending ding runs across the grain. One long indentation and a few small ones.
 

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#7
Eh, I've had similar dings, and anyplace else, I'd ignore them, but not on the surface my thumb runs across.

What I done, was tape around it, fill in the dent with a tiny amount of CA, and then sand it level, using an emery board, one of the multi stage ones that can go up to gloss buff if you need it.
 
#8
I have heard of luthiers using steam to "swell" the wood, then sanding. I asked Carl P. (ex. head Lakland luthier) about this process. This is what he does to get dings out headstocks, etc. Give Carl a call, he will either tell you how to do it the "right way" or will do it for you at a very resonable price. You can reach him by looking up the Chicago Bass Dr. FWIW, he is no longer the head tech at Lakland. However, he is still the man when it comes to anything Lakland tech oriented. His shop resides in the Lakland shop. Weird deal, yes.....but Carl is the only guy I want tweaking out my Lakland.

Edit - If you end up doing it yourself, Beechwood Casey Tru Oil is what is used to coat the back of the necks. You can get this oil in the gun section of any major outdoor'sy box store that sells guns....most small gun shops "should" have this as well. You will need some 0000 steel wool to scuff the neck up before applying the oil....a cheese cloth to applu the oil.....wipe w/ mineral spirts after sanding with the steel wool....3-4 coats is plenty.....wait 24 hours for dry/cure time between coats.
 
#9
Just let it go man these things happen.
Last year I bought a 2004 Bongo 5HH that was in pristine condition, not even a scratch on it, on the very first day I lifted it up to sight down the neck and the tip of the headstock went right into my brick fireplace and took a chunk right out of it. At first I was really pissed but I knew it would happen eventually so it was good to get it out of the way kind of like a new car!
 
#13
Zippydog,

I know what you mean. I like to keep my stuff really pristine, and you can do that if you keep such nice instruments snuggled away in their cases and never used. But it just isn't realistic if you are going to play it. Chalk it up to intervention by the mojo gods. It won't seem nearly as bad in a month or two!
 
#19
For the curious, I'll cut to the end...as the ending is sweet.

Met Carl as scheduled today.
Carl made the dings go away. Period. No simpler way to say it.
Then, he did an amazing setup and I've been playing all evening with the same look on my face that's usually just reserved for kids on Christmas morning.
 

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