Repair - Gibson headstock fix

WezV

Thought i would document a headstock fix i'm doing.   It was a mostly clean break on a nice 335, but it shows some of the issues you can have with this type of work

First, the break, which happened in the case, without any known knocks



So its quite a short break, but not too short... the big issue here is that middle bit behind the truss rod

Just look how thin the wood is!


Also note some red stain in it.  That suggests one of two things.

It may have already had a fracture when it received its cherry red grainfiller at the factory, or somebody has previously attempted a tinted  drop fill on a crack in this area

The customer wasn't too keen on the idea of splinting or backstrapping, but i did warn him i wouldn't be able to guarantee without doing one of those. 

After a bit of back and forth we agree to try a simple re-glue first and monitor carefully.  This suited me anyway, as the first step is always to reglue it


And it went together well.  We agreed to string it up and see how it got on.   Well as i thought might hap[pen,  after 2 days with strings that weak area was starting to open up again... but I tried the sim[ple repair, and didn't really loose much for doing so



So the next step is to do a back strap.... its more invasive, wont be invisible, but will be stable.   It also allows me to thicken up that problem area behind the nut.

I'm not doing a full length backstrap as want to save the  serial numbers.   It will go from E string tuners to half way between nut and first fret.  This will mean a visible join, but an honest repair is best here.

Like this


Lets get on with the scary pics...

First it gets taped up to mark where i want to remove wood



I saw the straight edge with a  fret saw, then carve away the rest




Find a strip of mahogany



and bend it to fit on the hot pipe



That's it for now

ICBM

That really is poorly made - someone not paying attention to the depth when they belt-sanded the back of the neck and headstock. I've seen quite a lot like that, where there's a noticeable slight hollow on the back of the neck there, where the flat of the headstock meets the rounded section of the neck, leaving the back wall of the truss rod cavity almost paper-thin.

No way I would expect it to be strong enough without either some substantial splints or a backstrap like that - the backstrap is best since it does address the original problem.

WezV

Yeah, the hollow on this one is quite noticeable, and goes into a very flat neck carve... no way this can't be considered a factory flaw.   

Making that transition thicker and rounder should be  enough.  I was considering making the strap longer onto the neck shaft, but I don't think it's really needed... 

ICBM

A friend of mine just sent me this horrorshow to ask if it could be restored...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333628937674

I think it could be, if you have the courage to do the job again but to about twice the depth, and making a proper bit of the maple/walnut sandwich to backstrap it with.

Not at that price though!

WezV

It would definitely be possible... I imagine most of the time would be spent cleaning out the old bodge

guitarcookie1

Question from someone who knows not a lot:

Could you not add a volute to the area to strengthen the back of the neck at the thin point?

WezV

I definitely could, but in reality it wouldn't add much more strength than what I am doing, and it would change the design from what it should be..

Here I have used a straight piece of mahogany with perfect grain alignment, no run out, and bent to fit the curve.  That creates something very strong without adding too much thickness.

If I was doing a volute I would have to cut the new piece of wood from a bigger block. Unless I found a bit with a perfect curve to the grain, It would have more run out and be weaker than the bent wood, even if it's a few mm thicker. 

WezV

i missed a few steps... but that piece of bent mahogany was roughly cut to shape and glued it place.

after that, i start whittling it down with a carving knife... it allows a lot of control.   note i have marked the break area as this is where i want to remove the least wood



After a bit f carving and sanding, we are hitting the original finish, went through on a couple of spots, but got a nice blend between the old and new wood, so that's not something to worry about



the side view shows the new transition


The new piece of wood is 3mm thick under the tuners, increases to 4mm thick in the break area, then tapers into the neck shaft .   The aim here is add much needed thickness where its needed, but minimise impact on the feel of the  neck

after that, i add some cherry filler to start the finishing process off



next steps will be to redrill the tuners and begin to start adding a nice deep cherry lacquer.  from there i can decide if its going to be a good colour match between the woods.   if so, carry on. If not, tint the repair a shade darker

enjo

Nice work, as a Les Paul owner (with a slim taper neck!) I fear it will be in my future at some point.

UncleBiff

Tidy job!

Andyjr1515

Great skills on show here.  Nicely documented.

Philly_Q

Great work.  I love threads like this one.

lustycourtier

what 335 is it, to be numbered like that?

usedtobe

Great work!

WezV

lustycourtier said:

what 335 is it, to be numbered like that?

2014 Rich Robinson limited edition.   Based on his 63

PeteC

Thanks for sharing this repair Wez - fascinating to see how its done correctly.   You experience and skill shows. 

prowla

Ah - nicely run in now!

Jalapeno

Excellent work Wez, I'd to see the final finished repair

WezV

It's going okay so far

Colour match is close, but a bit darker than the original finish as the difference in wood tone was still apparent with better match.
 
Going slightly darker helps  to not have the repair staring you in the face, but not hiding it either.  It will still show through the finish in brighter light.   

gusman2x

I find this extremely interesting. Thanks!

tone1

Amazing skills!