Broken neck Please help (pics inside)

Josh_P · #1 02-07-2007, 10:41 PM

Greetings everyone. A friend brought me a Schector Diamond Series that has a broken neck. It's the only guitar he has an I would love to be able to help him out if at all possible. (see pics below) All of the wood is there and I snapped these pics the moment he dropped it off. It's in my rack in the exact same state. My questions are:

I'm going to try to fix it with glue and clamps. (anyone think I'm way off by doing this?)

Will the truss rod cause problems with the glue?

Should I go ahead and seperate the pieces all together before adding the glue or not disturb it due to the truss rod?

I searched www.projectguitar.com and couldn't find an example quite like this one. Any input is sincerley appreciated.

Thanks guys

~J

ibanezcollector · #2 02-07-2007, 10:49 PM

im no expert but that doesnt look like a open it up a bit and add some glue..

It looks more like a take it off an replace the neck kind deal..

Not saying it cant be done but it looks pretty bad, your going to be doing major surgery which will involve possibly reshaping the neck and refinishing it.

Josh_P · #3 02-07-2007, 10:56 PM

Thanks for the input man. I should have mentioned to everyone that I'm not worried about cosmetics what so ever. Just want my friend to be able to play it again : v )

Thanks again for the reply.

~J

madpickin03 · #4 02-07-2007, 10:58 PM

Since its stripped (broke is a more proper word) mostly half way the neck, glues and clamps wont do you any good. I bet the truss rod is also screwed up.

You'd need to get a new neck and join it with the body preferably from the neck joint area, which means you'd need to cut it and re-join a new neck. Requires a good luthier i'd say.

ZOMB13 · #5 02-07-2007, 10:59 PM

ouch!
well
you can still save it, I hope, maybe carefully adding the glue and giving enough but not excess pressure?

David McCarroll · #6 02-07-2007, 11:00 PM

Oh dearie gracious me!

First thing - the correct, and only glue to use is Fullers Titebond, or Titebond 2 - Don't use PVA, as it is very susceptible to creep (ie: joint moves under pressure), and don't use 2 part epoxy or superglue (Epoxies don't really stick to wood, and superglue..... well, you just wouldn't even try, would you?).

You are most likely better off NOT trying to separate the pieces, but you will have to attempt to clean out any splinters, or bits of timber which won't bind together just the way that they came apart (although it looks like a pretty clean break) - try not to get glue on the truss rod, as if you glue it in, it will most likely sieze up and cease functioning due to being bonded to the surrounding timber - you want a thin, even layer of glue over as much of the surface area as you can get, and as many clamps as you possibly can to maintain an even pressure over the entire glueing surface as it is drying.

Fortunately it is a very long break with plenty of glueing area, so it will fix up fine if you do the job correctly. Personally, if I were you, I'd seriously contemplate getting a luthier to do the job if you have never attempted it, or have any doubts about it - the glueing job shouldn't really be that expensive - what WILL add considerably will be the expense of refinishing the neck, if you want to cosmetically complete the job.

Rich actually has a tutorial about repairing a much less severe, but similar brak in the neck of a UVMC somewhere in the resources pages of IbanezRules.

Good luck with it!

Cheers

David

buddroyce · #7 02-07-2007, 11:12 PM

I actually saw something similar fixed at the ESP Guitar Craft School in Japan. What they did was actually strip the guitar neck down, break off the remaining bit of the neck, glue it back together, shave some areas that were worn out or missing down and glue some wood patches(some strips of mahogany onto the mahogany neck). Once the glue is set, shave and shape the neck again to level down the wood patches.

If you don't want to break the remaining part off you can always just wick in some glue into the cracks. "Hot stuff" glue seems to work pretty darn good for these situations as does Tite Bond.

Josh_P · #8 02-07-2007, 11:21 PM

You guys are freaking awesome!!!!

Thank you all so much for the replies. It's exactly what I needed. Please keep em coming. I plan to tackle this bad lad sometime this weekend.

~j

Entropy · #9 02-08-2007, 12:40 PM

Looks nasty!
No help here but I'm wondering if he told you how that happened?
Hopefully something that bad has a great story behind it!

**jim777** · #10 02-08-2007, 01:28 PM

I think I'd follow David's advice above, especially in regards to choice of glue. Also, don't rush; get the glue and clamps and everything else all ready and lined up before you start and take your time. The whole thing might actually end up a bit nicer once its finished, striped and tung oiled as well.

Good luck with it, and keep us posted.

jim

Demiurge · #11 02-08-2007, 01:45 PM

Do you have any pics of a straight-on view of the headstock? It's really hard to tell from the side shots if/how the fingerboard is damaged... and let's hope that whatever caused this break didn't also damage the truss rod, too.

Josh_P · #12 02-08-2007, 01:47 PM

I'll def post pics of the progress.

Story behind it - Dude and girlfriend we're getting in a fight while he was playing (standing up using his strap). Dude gets pissed and releases the top strap button letting the guitar fall headstock first into the concrete. Funny part is that his girlfriend bought the guitar for him. I think she was more pissed than he was which just fueled the fire ha ha. Any of you guys ever destroyed anything while fighting with the ol lady? When I'm pissed at people the only thing I destroy is a 12 pack of beer immediately afterwards.. Never the equipment

brothersnowgone · #13 02-08-2007, 03:08 PM

Wow that looks pretty wicked, I'd like to see how that turns out haha. Anyway good call on the 12 pack, thats easily replaced, the equipment not so much lol....

**Ayrton** · #14 02-08-2007, 05:18 PM

I would have to see more pics, but can you close up the gap with your hands now? Does it close up seamlessly? If the truss rod is not bent and the fingerboard is straight, then use good wood glue (e.g. Titebond) and clamp it over night. The glue joint will be stronger than the surrounding wood, so you will be good to go.

Josh_P · #15 02-08-2007, 10:07 PM

yeah man, I can clamp it tight with my hands. Here's my battle plan:

remove the paint chips from around the cracks

Glue it with Fuller Titebond using evenly spaced clamps, not to much pressure. I was also going to zip tie the spaces in between the clamps for added support.

Let glue dry for 48 hours

Sand the neck / fill in any chip spots. Sand again and be done with it.

I'll post pics along the way!

~J