ibanez headstock repair

[sebtones]

hi guys, i scored an ibanez rg370dx today for dirt cheap at a local auction. its as new except the headstock is snapped just above the nut and pretty much all the way through although it is still connected. is a repair do-able and worthwhile or should i just find a new neck(none to be found on aussie ebay atm unfortunately), what necks(round heel)would be compatible? thanks in advance, seb.

[Plucky]

Seb, Can you post some pics? That would help a lot.

[billyboy]

hi guys, i scored an ibanez rg370dx today for dirt cheap at a local auction. its as new except the headstock is snapped just above the nut and pretty much all the way through although it is still connected. is a repair do-able and worthwhile or should i just find a new neck(none to be found on aussie ebay atm unfortunately), what necks(round heel)would be compatible? thanks in advance, seb.

Hello, I would tape off the fretbrd and the area in general and if the break is clean and sets together well, apply thin" hot stuff "glue forcing the break open slightly to get glue saturated in the break and clamp it up as best you can or have a friend hold it and use accelerator. Then if you have access to a compound miter saw and a cutter blade from a bisquit jointer mounted on the miter saw, cut slots thru the break with 3/16" spacing. You could try stacking 2 7&1/4 " blades on the miter saw if you don't have bisquit blade. The problem being that as the diameter of the miter blade increases the lenth of the cut also increases for the same depth of cut and you need to cut deep enough to do some good without going thru. You will need a clamping jig of sorts or someone to hold the neck in place as you make the cuts thru the break. Then cut hardwood pieces (long grain)to match the saw kerf thickness and match the curve of the bisquit jointer blade and trim with jig saw or band saw and sand them round. There will be a small "w" like groove in the bottom of the cut from the offset cutter teeth, use a thicker " Hot Stuff" glue on these as it will fill gaps better than the water thin type. Put some glue in the slot and on the sides of wood piece before pushing the wood into slot and expect some glue squeeze out and be prepared to wipe it away or push into next slot. Make sure all your pieces fit before hand and are not too tight. Have a little pile of rags to wipe up things, like your fingers, it could get messy and it's harder to do stuff with your fingers glued together. A little touch up paint and bobs your uncle. It should be a very strong joint when you are finished. HTH

[spud1950]

apply thin" hot stuff "glue forcing the break open slightly to get glue saturated

I wouldn't have thought that type of glue would be right for this type of repair. Does it work that well on wood? I would think a proper wood glue like Tite Bond would be the way to go.

[billyboy]

Superglue would be good to use to stabilize the break so you could work on it and due to it's water thinness it does saturate and it will go where only watered down tite bond would reach depending on the crack, As far as glueing in the cutouts you are probably right if the pieces fit perfectly flat side to side, ie., no chatter on the kerf cut and the fill pieces sanded perfectly flat. A good wood glue joint is suposed to be stronger than the wood itself. Super glues are indeed brittle and will melt laquer and annoy the sinuses but I have done it on a quick and dirty, cheap guitar, and it's held for years. Also, working with waterbase glue is certainly easier in the cleanup area, and you don't have to worry about glueing your hands together.

[Plucky]

Seb, If the break is openable, or is wide enough to slide in a thin business card, you can use carpenters' glue or hide glue. Super glue or Krazy glue(cyanoacrylate) should be reserved for extreme situations only. For example, if it is a cheap neck that has an immovable hairline crack and you have nothing to lose, and you have no other resources available, and don't mind that the repair will fail in the not-so-distant future. Also, once you use cyanoacrylate, and the repair fails, your only reasonable option is to use more of the same, as no water-borne glue will bond after.

Post some pictures if you need advice on a clamping method.

-Good luck

[sebtones]

thanks for all the help guys, i need y'all as neighbours! on closer inspection ive realised the the headstock is actually held on by the vinyl/plastic(?) headstock coating and the rest has come away totally..its kind of an angled break along the grain(sorry no pics, batteries are dead atm)just above the truss rod. its actually still in tune!!! held in place by the locknut, ha ha. anyway i really only want a quick fix repair until i can find a replacement neck on ebay(damn economic crisis has killed the aussie $$, last year it was equal to the US but now im paying a huge premium to buy of US ebay ) its too cheap a neck to bother with extensive repairs so a quick super glue fix would be fine i think? maybe i should just glue and clamp it and hope for the best?

[spud1950]

held in place by the locknut, ha ha.

You mean the truss rod nut? From what you describe,sounds like an easy repair. Just remove the nut so you can seperate the pieces,use carpenters glue ,put the pieces back together and tighten the truss rod nut back on to clamp them together.Wipe off any glue that squeezes out with a damp cloth.Let it dry over night.You'll have a good permanent repair.Why not do it right? Super glue is NOT the proper glue to use for this.

[Jag]

Hide glue would probably be best for this repair. I agree with Spud, do it right. Unless you really botch the whole thing, you probably won't even need a new neck. There are many vintage Les Pauls out there with this exact repair! Just don't flake off any chips or splinters, you want the neck to fit back together just like a puzzle piece. Get the glue in there and clamp it securely until the glue dries.

[sebtones]

actually i meant the locknut was holding the strings in tune until i loosened it. good news though, ive found a guy locally with an rg470 aanj neck so i'm back in business thanks for all the helpful replies though, good knowledge for the future!(i think i'll do a repair anyway for the practice)

[billyboy]

When i suggested hot stuff, i assumed the neck was "snapped" with maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 inch of jagged edges which is not really enough long grain to glue very well and in this scenario your best bet is to put spleens across the fracture to give it strength. If the break is with the grain and there is an inch or more of longrain it might hold with wood glue. The other folks are correct about the use of wood glue. I did do a spleen repair with super glue and it has held for years, no excelerator on the spleen glue, andthats not to say it won't snap in the same place if it takes a bump or fall.