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Cracked!!! - Crack from nut screw holes working back toward

5K views 19 replies 8 participants last post by  YngVaiTriani 
#1 ·
I found a crack on the back on my neck working toward the scarf joint. I doesn't appear to affect the playability. Is there anything I can do. I is small enough so it won't spread for glue. It's a 1998 570 strung with 9-46. Is it possible the string guage is too heavy??? Should I go back to 9-42 like was originally on? Help!! I love this guitar....although if it is beyond repair, I may be able to justify that UV purchase to my wife........hmmmmmm. Nope, You better tell me how to fix it. Thanks
 
#3 ·
Cracked!!!

Just kidding......................

Seriously there are a couple of ways to fix it. One is to wait till it does break and glue it on with a strong bonding agent such as Tite-Bond II

The other is to route a couple of channels up and down the fracture area and lay in new hardwood splines to strenghen that area of the wood...
 
#4 ·
Cracked!!!

I have seen other posts where even Jem necks crack in a similar spot (or am I dreaming this?) Has anyone experimented with replacement neck from Custom Guitar Wares or the like. I know Ed Roman makes replacement necks too. Any input?? Ed Roman doesn't appear to be an Ibanez fan from what I have read. I still want to keep this guitar as it was a gift from my wife. She will crap if she finds out it is cracked! (can you tell who wears the pants?) I feel like my dog just died! But at least now I can buy a new DOG!!! :) UV here I come!!!
 
#5 ·
Cracked!!!

I had the same problem with my JEM. It seems to be an inherent design flaw where the holes for the nut screws are (I think the JPM1 on Rich Harris' site has a repaired stress crack in the same spot). I took it to the local shop and he blocked the trem, over-tuned it to pry the crack open and used a small syringe to inject the bond into it & clamped it. Gave it a light sanding - so far so good.
 
#6 ·
Cracked!!!

It is not a standard or common design flaw like the old Neck heal finish cracks were...........

First of all there are two things which contribute to this and if you have the second then your probably going to get the crack with age and stress:

The first is part of the design, Look at where I point out the thin part of the neck and the truss rod cavity vs the nut screw mounting holes at the bottom of This tutorial

The second part is really the luck of the draw. It is the actual grain of the wood used on the different parts of the neck. the old rule that a quartersawn maple neck is strong and the best to use is very true! For the most part the main body of the necks are close to being just this type of wood, but in mass production sometimes the cut is off center and this can lead to complications down the line in time.
 
#7 ·
Cracked!!!

Thanks - now I know what a truss rod looks like and how it works! My phrasing was probably misleading. I guess what I meant was that at the point where the nut holes are is the weakest part of the neck (as stated in the tutorial) - which I thought was a design flaw because I've seen some newer necks have a bit more "beef" in this area. I just figured that they changed the design to strengthen this portion of the neck.

I was just going to leave mine alone, but the guy who bonded it for me said that it was a question of when, not if, it would eventually break.
 
#11 ·
Cracked!!!

I've got this problem with my 7VWH. For a while I had a problem of over-tightening the screws in the nut-hole. (Ask Kevan how tight my nut-pad screws were when I went to his house a little over a year ago!). A problem I've gone away from, but the long-term effects weren't the best for it.

I have 4 hairline, I mean SMALL, cracks going with the grain right at the nut-hole's. It cost me $250 to have a just about completely snapped off RG570 neck fixed, and it came out awesome, however, I have priorities and cannot dish out the $250 to do it to my JEM.

Brian, do you think it would work well enough to maybe try blocking the bridge and tightening the strings so it seperates enough to get some glue down there, and just clamp and glue it?

As I said before, the cracks aren't wide enough to really break the headstock off, that and they run a little longer. (Actually, one follows the joint where the headstock meets the neck, and leads to the fingerboard). Also, breaking the headstock off...well, I don't have the balls for that!

I have noticed a lot of tuning problems (as Rich said I would) since I noticed the cracks, so this is something that has to be taken care of.

Oh yeah, I was wondering why strong epoxies are never recommended for projects like this. You'd think some of those epoxies out there, with the strength they have, would be great. Is it because the chemical make up of it can be hazardous to the wood?
 
#13 ·
Cracked!!!

Just to add...
Although we all dislike Ed Roman for his policies and general all round life attitude, he does actually make good replacement necks (shame he can't be a nice guy with it)

Personally, I would buy something from him if I needed too (though that's not likely as I'd make my own replacements)

No matter what the person is like, once the neck/part is on the guitar nothing much else matters.

Steve
 
#14 ·
Cracked!!!

Andy,
The theory sounds good and I'm not experienced in your problem, but if you were to do it I certainly wouldn't use epoxy.

Although they can be strong and quick drying nothing beats a guts and bone glue like Titebond.

If I was faced with the same problem I'd fill the cracks with Titebond mixed with maple sawdust (the sawdust will provide the colouring to match the neck which is purely a cosmetic issue)

Many people see glue as a weak alternative, but with Titebond I can testify this stuff is like steel, it really does take on the properties of wood.

Give it a go.

Steve
 
#15 ·
Cracked!!!

In most cases, when glueing two pieces of wood with woodglue (like titebond), the joint is stronger than the wood itself.
I tested this myself when glueing my bodyblanks together. I tried to break a glued, spare piece of mahogany on the joint, it broke not on the joint, but somewhere else in the wood. This means the joint is stronger than the wood...

Andy, I also wouldn't use epoxy to glue your neck. Epoxy is strong now, but how does it react on aging? How will the joint be in 5, 10 years?

Joten
 
#16 ·
Cracked!!!

I wasn't really planning on using epoxy, just wondering why it's not used for stuff like this. I never thought of the elasticity of it. (I used a few different types with models, as well as my father's RC Airplanes back in the day). Makes sense now that it's been said.

Brian-the damn WebSecure crap we have on my computer at work won't even allow me to check my AOL mail, so I'll wait til' the morning, (well...noontime...when I wake up). But Thanks ahead of time!

I can't wait to get that fixed....I've been avoiding the whammy bar far too long now...
 
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