[erikheffner]

**sorry this post should be in "all other including prestige" my bad**

Hi everyone, last night had a bit of a let down (literally) and cracked my wizard 2 on my first RG. It always had 1 crack from the previous owner, on the back and it lasted me from 2007 to now...it's a 1994 RG450DX, treated me pretty well through years after blocking the bridge and it's one of the best made wizard 2s I've played with full binding so I'd like to save it and looks simple enough to approach myself...
The crack went around the carve for the bolt on the back and connected the (now) two cracks, so it's not deep and the glue on the fretboard also gave out around the first 4 frets, very hard to split open though. And then on the bass side it split on the scarf joint which I find to be a lucky thing...
Just looking for advice to make it good for years more...
Thanks in advance.

 

[sepulchrave]

You need to remove it and strip it off the hardware and undo the truss rod then set it on a couple of wooden blocks on a table and gently apply a clamp to the centre of the fretboard bowing the neck to open up the cracks enough to inject wood glue using a syringe to fill them all up, then release the clamp and flip it over before lightly clamping again to keep the cracks closed while you wipe up the excess glue and leave it for 24hrs.

 

[erikheffner]

You need to remove it and strip it off the hardware and undo the truss rod then set it on a couple of wooden blocks on a table and gently apply a clamp to the centre of the fretboard bowing the neck to open up the cracks enough to inject wood glue using a syringe to fill them all up, then release the clamp and flip it over before lightly clamping again to keep the cracks closed while you wipe up the excess glue and leave it for 24hrs.

Cool, I appreciate you taking the time to reply and put some details I to it. The neck has been removed and all the hardware, just need to get the truss out.
Might have to get more clamps. I think I need to do it in three sections. One side, middle and another side, just the only way I can get the best evened out work done to it.
Fortunately got other guitars to play in the mean time.

 

[LonePhantom]

I'm sure it will be repairable. I've cracked my 1995 Wizard neck twice over the years. It doesn't look pretty at the back now, with four dowels helping pin it together, but it plays find and is stable.

 

[j.arledge]

it is fixable. I have fixed a couple that broke in that same way. Like it was said previously, just take off the nut and release any trussrod tension. You should be able to pull the neck apart enough the get glue in there. Titebond wood glue works like a champ. Don't skimp on the glue, it won't bond with metal so you don't have to worry about the trussrod. It also cleans up with water, so have some wet towels handy to clean up the extra glue. Then you can just clamp it and let it sit for 24 hours. Once you clamp it, the extra glue will squeeze out so just be careful with getting any on your clamp/clamps. You may also consider putting something between the clamps and the neck in order to spread out the surface area of the clamp and not damage your finish. If you have some rubber or cork that would work great.

any further questions just shoot me a PM.

 

[erikheffner]

I'm sure it will be repairable. I've cracked my 1995 Wizard neck twice over the years. It doesn't look pretty at the back now, with four dowels helping pin it together, but it plays find and is stable.

Yeah, I agree, I got lucky that it broke the way it did. The crack is fairly shallow so far that I can tell. I removed everything and can confirm the crack runs around the curve of the bolt hole on the back of the neck and not under it. Hard to get a pic...

 

[erikheffner]

it is fixable. I have fixed a couple that broke in that same way. Like it was said previously, just take off the nut and release any trussrod tension. You should be able to pull the neck apart enough the get glue in there. Titebond wood glue works like a champ. Don't skimp on the glue, it won't bond with metal so you don't have to worry about the trussrod. It also cleans up with water, so have some wet towels handy to clean up the extra glue. Then you can just clamp it and let it sit for 24 hours. Once you clamp it, the extra glue will squeeze out so just be careful with getting any on your clamp/clamps. You may also consider putting something between the clamps and the neck in order to spread out the surface area of the clamp and not damage your finish. If you have some rubber or cork that would work great.
any further questions just shoot me a PM.

Ok, thanks for the input. Yeah I have removed all the hardware and loosened the truss all the way, just waiting to get the glue and make sure I have enough clamps. Weather's pretty chilly lately and I have other guitars to mess with, so no rush fer sure.
Honestly it gives me the chance to fix up some frets and fix the hairline crack better that had been there for years. Might even take the time to DIY crown... we'll see. Fair to say though it gives me a chance to make it just as good or better. These old mid 90s Korean models to me are pretty well made, save the hardware. They don't do full binding on them anymore either. Necks straight never gave me issues even with minor fret lift, worth saving to me.

 

[pteropid]

Man it's heart-breaking to see a broken Wizard neck. My VBK had a major break, basically lost the headstock. It was professionally repaired in 1995 and looks to have been stable over the last 24 years (looks a bit ugly). It's currently spending a couple of months with a master luthier getting a complete makeover (the neck that is).

I'm sure your 450DX will be OK, definitely worth saving in my opinion.

 

[erikheffner]

Well I am in the process of working on it now. Maybe letting it sit wasn't the best? Looks slightly worse? Regardless considering other horror stories I think I have a pretty good chance. Got some red titebond, a few spring clamps and a few C clamps, just cleaned it up and warming up the glue a tad. I am going to try feeler gauges. Will post updates soon


**update**
Well we will see what happens. It is done and clamped, I decided to do the whole joint at once, and I hope that works because it could have gone smoother...
That glue just gets tacky so quick...its bonded but it felt like before the glue I got it the wood to line up better, and now I have a gap on the treble side of my fretboard, possibly because I couldn't get the clamps on in time before that side was starting to dry. I got a lot of glue in there, and the back of the neck was my main focus, but it was very anxious fer sure...
Not sure if I am satisfied but there are too many clamps in the way to know...

 

[erikheffner]

Hope I didn't blow it, that gap on the fretboard is going to bug me...Some of these pics are right before gluing fyi

 

[j.arledge]

there was only one that i had go back together where there wasn't a gap and it was because of the way it broke. all the other ones needed some sanding to get 100% smooth. I did a gibson and there was no way i was going to be able to save the factory finish so i just sanded the entire neck down, stained it and oiled it. I played amazing all things considered.

if the gap does bug you a little, what you can do is get a small piece of maple and used it to make maple dust, just sand it down and keep all the sawdust. you can use it to fill in the gap. You can take a little extra wood glue and work the dust and glue in to a paste, then work the paste in to the crack. Let that sit for a little bit to firm up, then tape the area around the crack and sand it a little to make it smooth. If you go too far or there is still space left you can back fill with super glue using the same method as in this video. I have had a lot of luck with this method. you could skip the maple saw dust part and simply fill in with super glue, it just depends on how much of a gap there is and how you want the repair to look.

 

[erikheffner]

Hmm, well I will consider some of that for the gap fer sure.
Actually it doesn't seem to bad, once every think set I guess it flushed out a bit better, probably need to lightly sand anyway some of the glue etc. There are some minor pressure marks from the clamps, I kind of knew this after testing, but they are shallow enough I will live.
These are the results before some final clean up. Tried to twist it in the ways I twisted it to put glue in and I didn't hear any thing, or see any splitting, so it seems strong; didn't get too aggressive but strings will tell the real results...

 

[erikheffner]

I got anxious and strung it up.
Looks alright, feels the same prior to stringing, just letting the truss adjust the next 48 or so... spends most of its life a full step down anyways with 10-11s so I think it'll be alright, and I'll just clean and sand it a touch to smooth it out
I definitely appreciate everyones help, let me know if there is anything more I need to keep an eye on or anything more I could do clean it up. Otherwise for a 94 Korean I think it was well worth it. been a great neck all these years and it is super straight still.

 

[j.arledge]

I give any job like that 24 hours to dry which is probably longer than it actually needs. If it hasn't moved yet, it shouldn't or at least not at the glue joint. The glue joint should actually be stronger than the wood. You may see secondary cracks in the wood but the joint should be stable.

 

[erikheffner]

I give any job like that 24 hours to dry which is probably longer than it actually needs. If it hasn't moved yet, it shouldn't or at least not at the glue joint. The glue joint should actually be stronger than the wood. You may see secondary cracks in the wood but the joint should be stable.

Yeah I think it was enough time, 18 hours clamped or so, 4 hours sitting on its own, and then I moved the truss rod around a bit, installed the nut and put it back on the body. I glued it around 4 yesterday and strung it up around 5 today. Played it for about 40 mins after tuning it up, feels pretty good, no buzz issues; actually seems like it buzzes less on a few frets now, truss adjustments respond promptly, stayed in tune... just wanted to check again in a few days I guess is how I meant. Good to know about the glue, I did try to get a good amount in there.

So yeah, thanks for your input and help, I'll keep an eye on it, that gap I will probably just leave, its on the bottom and I can't feel it.
I do think a lot of the luck is how it broke and stayed intact, if it had broke clean off its hard to say...