Broken neck :(

[candyman]

Ok, so i got a epiphone lp, it was for free, but there is a reason for that, the head, has broken, its just gone, so i need to swich out the entire neck, BUT, its a thru-body neck, and i really want to fix it (if completely impossible i'll make a table of the body) so i am considering cutting off the neck, and set on a new one with bolt-on, any advices? Help?

 

[ginormous]

Re: Broken neck

Ouch. Total bummer.

I know of a local guy who broke the headstock off his Epiphone Casino.
He took it to the local repair man, but the location of the break (right at the angle where the head tilts back from the neck) made it impossible to brace and clamp effectively for gluing together.
It had an odd, "clunk" sound, and no sustain. He kept it as something to bash on, but never did any serious gigs with it.

 

[candyman]

Re: Broken neck

Yea, thats the same place as on mine, is it possible to fix the neck? Bolt-on or gluing on a new neck

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[ItsaBass]

Re: Broken neck

What Epiphone Les Paul do you have with a through-body neck?

 

[candyman]

Re: Broken neck

I think its a studio, but i dont hace the headstock or anything, but i guess its studio

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[candyman]

Re: Broken neck

Is it possible to just remove the glue, and put in a new neck? The guitar is pretty much stripped down to just body and neck, going to set in some awesome parts and make a killer guitar

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[jon the art guy]

Re: Broken neck

I didn't think Epi ever made a neck thru. If its a set neck, you can steam the broken neck off and replaced with a new one.

off u see did MRSAge, I m on tapa talk and auto correct is hating on me

 

[DreX]

Re: Broken neck

Ok, so i got a epiphone lp, it was for free,

Assuming this guitar is bashed up in other respects, and assuming you have to buy a new neck off ebay, then unless your time is especially cheap, it's not going to be worth fixing. But if you can just glue the headstock back on, and don't mind an ugly guitar that probably sounds off, that's an option.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Broken neck

Pics of the headstock break?

 

[925SS]

Re: Broken neck

Pics of the headstock break?

+1, & a pic of where the neck meets the body also.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Broken neck

A couple of you have mentioned for him to try to glue the headstock back on, but I think he is saying that he doesnt have the headstock. So neck replacement is about the only option.

candyman, candyman, candyman.... guess it doesnt work without the mirror... Anyhow, that guitar should have a set (glued in neck) so yes, can be replaced but not an easy task.

 

[Psykel]

Re: Broken neck

If it's broken right at the headstock, convert it to a Steinberger-style headless!

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Broken neck

You can fix that by using a very small piece of wood:

 

[925SS]

Re: Broken neck

http://www.ebay.com/itm/new-Unfinis...859?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item233943996b
Being a new neck, you'll have some fret work to do.
To get the broken neck off, drill four, 1/4in (or as big a bit as you can fit between the frets) holes into the Center of the fretboard at fret 17,19, 20, & 22 down into the tenon, (make sure you measure, & put a piece of tape on the bit so you don't drill out the back of the guitar, I checked the depth on my gibby studio, 1 1/4 to 1 3/8 should get it done).
Stew/Mac sells steamer needles/hoses, but those are for precise work, (they remove a fret & drill a small hole thru the fret slot), for your purpose, I'd recommend a scunci steamer.
Cover the body with a good cloth, then take a thick piece of cardboard, wraped in cloth, placed between the pickups, & clamp the body down to a table.
Take the scunci & steam the sh*t out of each hole, alternating between each hole.
Keep steam going for about 5 minutes, then grab the neck, (up where the headstock used to be), & give it a wiggle (up & down only, don't pull side to side)
Continue steaming till the glue releases, & the neck can be lifted out of the pocket.
After you get the neck out, steam the pocket, & with a clean cloth, remove all the glue you can.
Let it dry for a day (or 2)
LIGHTLY sand the pocket to remove any glue residue.
You're ready for the new neck.

 

[candyman]

Re: Broken neck

Ok thanks!, no dont have the head, but i have really good time, i wanted tu buy a new guitar, but instead i thought about having this as a project so i have something to do, and it may turn out as a great guitar.

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[Edgecrusher]

Re: Broken neck

Ok thanks!, no dont have the head, but i have really good time, i wanted tu buy a new guitar, but instead i thought about having this as a project so i have something to do, and it may turn out as a great guitar.

What your going to spend in making that guitar right wont be worth it. Gluing a new neck into it has its own issues notably epiphone necks are notoriously inconsistant in their tenon shape. Ive seen some that made contact with the body on only one side. You might wind up buying a neck that has a tenon too big and have to shave it or worse one with a tenon too small. Converting it to bolt on will have the same issues but even worse as the neck still needs to make good contact but now you dont have the glue to make up for a few thousandths of an inch foilbles in the measurements. Correcting for mistakes in neck angle is a whole other ball of worms that can make it impossible to set a guitar up correctly if its wrong.

At the end of it all you will have at the very best a Epi body with a replaced neck. Unless you've done lots of guitar projects before and had great results I wouldnt put money on it turning out great. Better odds are it winds up being a permanent project cause you just cant quite get it to play right.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Broken neck

It's unfortunate that you don't have the headstock.

 

[Chocklit_Thunda]

Re: Broken neck

It's always fun to learn. Buy a cheaper replacement neck like one from GFS or something and give it a whack. I take it that you've got all the hardware in it so I fit doesn't work out you're only $55 bucks out of pocket (excl. shipping) and you gain some experience along the way.... If you want to learn about guitar repairs, you've got to start somewhere. Yes it's hard but it's also doable. Read a lot, make notes, measure once cut twice (jokes! it's the other way around!) and all these other guidelines will help you get a decent outcome.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Broken neck

It all depends on what you want. The above advice is interesting as they only sell bolt on style. So you'll have to do some routing from scratch, and on an angle too (to get the 4 degree neck angle you will need to rout the body on that same angle).

It will be a tough project thats for sure - not only for the removal but for the installation too.

 

[J E C]

Re: Broken neck

It is possible to make a new head stock and attach it and have a perfect repair, BUT you need to know what you are doing. If I had it I would do it my self, but I have experience with things like that. You could see what an experienced repair man would charge to do it, and then weigh that against the value of the instrument. Worth a shot.