Question About a Possible Repair *56k*

[JeffWiredBeck24]

My Les Paul's headstock is pretty severely cracked, I'll post some pictures of the damage.




Does anyone have a rough estimate of how much it might cost to repair this? Am I better off just selling this for parts? How much could I get for parts?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[David McCarroll]

No you are not better off selling the guitar for parts - this is a fairly common break on Les Pauls due to the way the grain runs at an angle through the headstock - a good bang on the back of the headstock and voila - you see the results.

You are pretty fortunate in that it is a very clean break - no splintering, no missing bits etc - a decent repairman should be able to fix that WITHOUT any cosmetic touching up for somewhere around $50 - $75 I would have thought.

Here's a couple of pointers - don't try to remove the headstock, no point, don't get talked into adding graphite or ebony or maple reinforcing dowels - no point! The only glue that should be used in a repair like this is either Fullers Titebond, or a hide glue - most repair shops will use Titebond as hide glue stinks and is very messy. Don't tinker or fiddle with it - the more grease, dirt, finger oil and so on you get in the crack, the harder the repair becomes.

DON'T use, or be talked into using any form of epoxy glues, araldite, or any other form of 2 - pack glues - they don't work well with a break like this, and you have very chance of the headstock falling off again, except the luthier will charge you considerably more to remove all the epoxy glue which didn't stick the wood in the first place. Likewise Super Glue is not an appropriate adhesive at all for a task like this. Unless you are pretty sure of what you are doing (and as you have asked, I guess the answer is thet you aren't!) - leave it to a decent repair person!

Your Les Paul is worth, what, between $1200 - $2000US? - of course it is worth repairing. Besides - you live in LA, the home of the guitar tech!

[JeffWiredBeck24]

^Greater advice could not have been given, thanks a lot. I'll get it repaired. I actually do know an amazing guitar tech that works at one of those tiny guitar shops.

Thanks again.

[David McCarroll]

My pleasure! When I worked in a guitar repair shop we used to repair at least one Les Paul or SG headstock a week - it's a very common break - but some more advice (tell me when you're sick of it!) - Mahogany neck Gibsons break EASILY - Mahogany is a brittle wood, and the 17 degree headstock angle and lack of volute means that the headstock will snap like that if you drop a Gibson on its back from about six inches above a hard surface - the first thing that contacts is the tip of the headstock, which then has to take not only the tension of the strings, but the weight of the guitar as well, and it can't, so the neck breaks at the weakest point.

So, get a good guitar stand, preferrably with a neck lock, never, ever leave your guitar just leaning against your amp, never leave it lying on its back - bad - bad! Whenever possible, even when you are at rehearsals etc, just put the guitar back in its case when you put it down - that's about the safest place to rest it!

That break should glue very nicely, and if the repair person does a good job almost won't be perceptible. If the cosmetic appearance bugs you, you can get Gibson lacquer repaired fairly easily as they are normally Nitrocellulose lacquer, which means that if you add fresh lacquer to the surface it melts into the existing, and with a bit of care an invisible repair can be done.

Cheers,

David.

[JeffWiredBeck24]

That's actually exactly how it happened, although my Les Paul was actually on a guitar stand. It was a clumsy move that toppled it. Stupid I know, but glad to know it can be simply glued back together. When it first happened, I feared I needed a whole new neck.

Thanks again!