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SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

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  • #1

    SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

    A good friend of mine brought me his Paul Stanley guitar today to do a setup and cleanup. I took it out of the gig bag to find that there is a very substantial crack near/at the neck heel. I can move it and hear the wood creek. My friend said that one of his kids must have dropped it when it was in his basement and he didnt know about it.

    I have done a lot of my own repair work, but nothing like this and I am looking to the more experienced luthiers here for advice on how to approach a repair of this nature.

    Thank you in advance for any and all tips that you can give me.

    IMG_2202 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

    IMG_2203 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr

    IMG_2204 by brent HENDERSON, on Flickr
    I'm just a few hundred lessons away from being a great guitar player.......
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  • #2
    Re: SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

    Awwwwww that hurts, not as great as his Iceman, those are still great looking guitars
    1994 Ibanez IC500 Iceman reissue
    Jackson Soloist 7 string
    ESP LTD M-400
    Original Marshall Silver Jubilee 2553

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    • #3
      Re: SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

      Do not use super glue on that. Titebond or hide glue thinned a bit will be the ticket. Work it in by flexing the joint open. One big clamp until it dries (I usually give neck joints 24 hours). Touch up if you like.
      aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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      • #4
        Re: SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

        Originally posted by ICTGoober View Post
        Do not use super glue on that. Titebond or hide glue thinned a bit will be the ticket. Work it in by flexing the joint open. One big clamp until it dries (I usually give neck joints 24 hours). Touch up if you like.
        It's not as simple as that. The neck didn't separate from the body at the neck joint...the body wood cracked with the neck still tight in the pocket. Sorry Goob, but this is a job for a "real" luthier.

        Brent, at this point you have to decide whether you just want to do a hack job on it yourself, or whether the guitar is worth taking to a luthier and paying the big bucks to fix it correctly.
        Originally Posted by IanBallard
        Rule of thumb... the more pot you have, the better your tone.

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        • #5
          Re: SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

          Does a crack open wide enough to get glue in?

          There is an off-chance that you can cleanly remove the neck by heating the original glue, but it is unlikely.

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          • #6
            Re: SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

            It's not as simple as that. The neck didn't separate from the body at the neck joint...the body wood cracked with the neck still tight in the pocket. Sorry Goob, but this is a job for a "real" luthier.

            Brent, at this point you have to decide whether you just want to do a hack job on it yourself, or whether the guitar is worth taking to a luthier and paying the big bucks to fix it correctly.
            Since I've done plenty of them since the late 70's, I would know. It's pretty straightforward, and provided the OP has a good clamp and the sense God gave a goose, he can handle it. All it takes is patience. Or he can pay someone...
            aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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            • #7
              Re: SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

              Originally posted by GuitarDoc View Post
              It's not as simple as that. The neck didn't separate from the body at the neck joint...the body wood cracked with the neck still tight in the pocket. Sorry Goob, but this is a job for a "real" luthier.

              Brent, at this point you have to decide whether you just want to do a hack job on it yourself, or whether the guitar is worth taking to a luthier and paying the big bucks to fix it correctly.
              If that's a USA it's worth paying some one who really knows their stuff to do that repair right. We are talking well above real R8 $ here in value folks if this is a Washburn USA Cracked mirror!
              Last edited by Ascension; 04-20-2020, 07:34 PM.
              Guitars
              Kiesel DC 135, Carvin AE 185, DC 400, DC 127 KOA, DC 127 Quilt Purple, X220C, PRS Custom 24, Washburn USA MG 122 proto , MG 102, MG 120.
              Amps PRS Archon 50 head, MT 15, Mesa Subway Rocket, DC-5, Carvin X50B Hot Rod Mod head, Zinky 25watt Blue Velvet combo.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

                Pull the neck pickup and inspect... is the neck quitting or just the body splitting?

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                • #9
                  Re: SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

                  Originally posted by ICTGoober View Post
                  Since I've done plenty of them since the late 70's, I would know. It's pretty straightforward, and provided the OP has a good clamp and the sense God gave a goose, he can handle it. All it takes is patience. Or he can pay someone...
                  My concern if this is a US guitar is the cosmetic repair also needs to be done very well and not just the structural. A Real US Cracked Mirror is worth several grand so that puts this repair in a potential different light. If it's an import that's different but that neck heel sure looks like it's from a Washburn US custom shop guitar.
                  Guitars
                  Kiesel DC 135, Carvin AE 185, DC 400, DC 127 KOA, DC 127 Quilt Purple, X220C, PRS Custom 24, Washburn USA MG 122 proto , MG 102, MG 120.
                  Amps PRS Archon 50 head, MT 15, Mesa Subway Rocket, DC-5, Carvin X50B Hot Rod Mod head, Zinky 25watt Blue Velvet combo.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

                    Brent,

                    Yes, Goober is just wrong on this one. That will be a more complex repair because the fracture is a shearing type split not a separation type split. And if you try to wiggle it up and down to work the glue into the crack you risk knocking off or breaking some of the mirror pieces. And because of the mirrored surface you can't just clamp it the usual way (even if you COULD work the glue into the crack without causing more damage). Then you have to deal with fixing the finish which normally isn't that big of a deal, but can turn into a nightmare if the mirror comes loose or breaks.

                    Absolutely, take this to a very competent luthier. Let him have the challenge...and the potential liability.
                    Last edited by GuitarDoc; 04-21-2020, 09:16 AM.
                    Originally Posted by IanBallard
                    Rule of thumb... the more pot you have, the better your tone.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: SET NECK HEEL CRACK REPAIR ADVICE NEEDED

                      Yes, Goober is just wrong on this one
                      Just not true. The most recently I've done this job was 2 weeks ago on a 20 year old Ibanez Artist double cut that fell off the guitar stand. The crack ran across the joint at the body, curving outward into both cutaways up to the binding. The widest I could force the crack open was .048. I clamped the neck to the bench, and pressed down on the body to open the crack. I used a #18 gauge needle (I buy mine from a nearby farm supply house), and thinned brown hide glue by about half to help it wick down into the crack. On the curving cracks up the body, I could not insert the needle - I just put drops on the surface and kept opening and closing the crack to work the glue in. When I was getting plenty of squeeze out along the length of the crack, I wiped the majority off and clamped it up. Next day I unclamped and proceed to touchup the 2 chips where the needle popped off the finish. The client picked it up last night.

                      I think Brent COULD do it, as he seems to be a savvy guy. I didn't recommend that he do it. And it's correct that taking it to a luthier with a proven track record provides liability.... someone to blame if it the joint fails later. I have an excellent local reputation, and I stand behind my work AND MY POST.

                      P.S. - I always pull the neck pickup on cracks like these to see if the crack extends into the pickup cavity. It did not in this instance.
                      Last edited by ICTGoober; 04-21-2020, 10:35 AM.
                      aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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