Most surreal... (headstock repair info needed)

dklsplace

dklsplace

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Well you know the old saying.....beer is food! :wink:
 
jp

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Dreamlander said:
Well, I think you guys probably convinced me (depending on the price) to take it to a luthier. I don't know anyone in Fargo, but I am going to check around. I just really don't want to ship the guitar, and I am going to be in the cities in a couple weeks so if anyone knows someone in Minneapolis, they should point me in that direction. Does anyone know what a reasonable price for a repair like this would be?

On another note I ran across a website were the guy said he always breaks the headstock completely off and then reglues it. Now that sounds scary. Anyone know if this is common practice.
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Oh man, what a drag, Dreamlander! Yes, strap locks are a minor investment when compared with the financial and emotional cost of consequences.

A pro headstock repair can (or should) cost anywhere from $125 to $200 depending on the severity of the break and your cosmetic needs (do you want an absolute invisible repair). I've found that luthiers vary according to what they think your guitar needs and the pride they take in their work. As an example, some luthiers may just do a simple glue and clamp repair. Others because of their pride in the quality of their work, will want to leave no trace of the seam and will do extensive finish work. Most will listen to the customer, of course. As you can imagine, this accounts for varying degrees of pricing. Be clear expressing what you want.

Also, despite general consensus by luthiers on what is considered a strong headstock repair, some luthiers have developed their own ideas on neck reinforcement. Most will glue and clamp a clean break. I've seen some reinforce by drilling holes and embedding a number of dowels in the neck, which are then trimmed and sanded flush. As you mentioned, some believe it's best to completely open the break and glue, while others will go further by creating two flat surfaces to glue together. I've even seen on the net, a luthier who clamped and glued the original break, then routed channels down the back of the headstock to the neck and filled them with wood supports. Then he sanded flat and refinished. Wow! I tend to believe that in your case, if the break is clean and both pieces refit cleanly, that a simple clamp and glue will be fine, but definitely by a pro. I've seen enough simple breaks like this hold up well. Get several opinions and trust your gut.
 
C

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Dreamlander -- that one made me cringe -- and reminded me of when that happened to my other favorite guitar years ago... smashed the whole side in...

Here's what I'm thinking I would do in your shoes:
You could look for a luthier online who would be willing to give you "advice" on how to repair it. You could then pass along that information to a fine furniture/woodworker in your area who could follow the instructions -- and would have professional tools, glue, etc.

When this happened to my husband's Gibson, the local luthier added some kind of reinforcement pieces of wood (sort of like dove-tailing a joint) inside the break iteslf. Then, through some magic refinishing technique, he managed to make the break all but disappear. I would think a fine furniture/woodworker could do the same thing -- with a bit of guidance from a luthier.

Don't know if anyone would be willing to provide the advice, but being you don't live near someone that can help, you might find someone sympathetic to your cause!

Good luck...
 
chazmo

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A strap lock is definitely a good idea, but in light of this I would offer that the best prevention is never to take your hand off the neck when you're slinging the guitar. I'm not sure if what happened to dreamlander occurred before or after the guitar was in position, but most of my precarious moments have been as I was throwing the strap over my head and sliding the strap around over my shoulder. Holding the neck of the guitar is a good way to avoid the dropsys.

Anyway, sorry to read about this, but ditto what everyone said about the repair. It'll be difficult to hide the repair, but you'll get back a perfectly usable guitar. And, unless you're prepared to sacrifice the neck, I wouldn't experiment on this.
 
Guilderagain

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Dreamlander

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zom-zom said:
I live in Minneapolis, and if you're going to be in town, Hoffman Guitars does excellent repair work.

http://www.hoffmanguitars.com/guitar.htm
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I am pretty sure I will be in Minneapolis monday. I am going to have to contact this place and swing by.

Guilderagain said:
Dreamlander,

Here's a similair damage repaired. It's amazing how it can be restored close to original!

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Lut...okenHeadstocks/PegheadCrack/pegheadcrack.html

I found this at this great website: Frets.com

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/pagelist.html

Alex
PS This was neat to see too from this site: http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/FieldTrips/GuildNash/guildnash.html
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Man that makes it look so easy I want to fix it myself, but since I have never done once before and it is a '74 SFIV. I will leave to the pros. I need to start looking for some junk guitars with busted headstocks to practice on.
 
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